YMMV / Hidden Talents

• Alternative Character Interpretation: How much of the teachers poor treatment of Martin is due to him accidentally using his powers to piss them off?
  • Were Martin’s friends aware of their powers to begin with? Even though all of them initially disbelieve Martin, they seem uncharacteristically angry when he insists; a far cry from the goofy way they were acting earlier. Is it possible Martin read their souls and the other boys felt that deep down, they knew something was wrong with them?
  • Are the voices in Lucky’s head real? A brief thought of his in the sequel brings this into question. It’s possible that Lucky’s only ability is to sense lost objects while the voices in his head are potentially an undiagnosed mental condition.
  • Is Lip really a bully, or is he only tagging along with Bloodbath to avoid becoming his target? His small stature and relative harmlessness when not around Bloodbath would suggest the latter.
• Creator's Favorite: Lubar has mentioned that he likes Trash, which is likely why he’s the main character in the sequel.
• Cult Classic: The book is rather obscure, but is usually remembered fondly by those who actually read it.
• Ensemble Dark Horse: Trash is virtually the only thing people recall when remembering the books. That is, those who have ever read the book.
• Mainstream Obscurity: While plenty of people remember reading Hidden Talents, David Lubar’s Weenies Series is far more well known.
• What Do You Mean, It's for Kids?: The sequel. The first book was relatively benign, with a comedic tone and the highest stakes being that the main characters had to deal with a school bully; the worst a character suffered was a broken arm. The second book, on the other hand, has the boys being separated, Martin running away from his abusive dad, Trash being kidnapped and experimented on, and Lucky undergoing Sanity Slippage and being institutionalized.