Lost and Found

By: Orson Scott Card

Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki

Length: 9 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

"Are you really a thief?"

That's the question that has haunted 14-year-old Ezekiel Blast all his life. But he's not a thief, he just has a talent for finding things. Not a superpower - a micropower. Because what good is finding lost bicycles and hair scrunchies, especially when you return them to their owners and everyone thinks you must have stolen them in the first place? If only there were some way to use Ezekiel's micropower for good, to turn a curse into a blessing. His friend Beth thinks there must be, and so does a police detective investigating the disappearance of a little girl. When tragedy strikes, it's up to Ezekiel to use his talent to find what matters most.

Master storyteller Orson Scott Card delivers a touching and funny, compelling and smart novel about growing up, harnessing your potential, and finding your place in the world, no matter how old you are.

©2019 Orson Scott Card (P)2019 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Good book from a great Author

I was just reading some reviews of this book after finishing it, and I can't  believe how picky people have become. Here are a few complaints I don't understand.

"Dialogue is 'too witty' to be realistic"- It is not. If anything, it isn't witty enough. Orson Scott Card is a very, very smart person as far as I can tell from his books and articles. I am not particularly smart across the board, I'm absolutely terrible at math for example, but I tend to crush language and communication tests, I have taught language arts to adolescents for years, and I paid my bills as a writer for a few years as well. I'm moderately competent as a speaker and writer, and I know how kids this age behave. The two young folks in this book are not at the top of the teen wit scale. There is a kid like this in almost every classroom...and they generally irritate me. They also make me cringe at my own childhood awkwardness. Frankly, if you think they are too witty, you might need to step up your own game a bit. I found the dialogue to be irritating at times, but also spot on for the weirdo segment (of which I was a part as a child), and a nice touch of verisimilitude.

I think what most people mean when they say "too witty" is actually "awkward and unfunny". I believe that is correct. Also, that is fine. This isn't a funny book. It is a sad book about a serious topic. This isn't a Disney run Marvel movie. You don't  get comedy and snarky comebacks with every scene. You get realistic, cringey kids in a crappy situation.

"Smart characters shouldn't act dumb during crisis": Yes they should. Humans act stupid during times of crisis. That is entirely accurate. That is why professionals in dangerous  jobs train gross motor skills and simplify planned actions intended to be used during stressful situations. When "poop" gets real, you get dumb. You fumble. You forget seemingly simple things. This is a well documented fact. Everyone wants to be cool under pressure, but it takes practice for most people. The children in this book, and most adults, have not practiced performing mundane tasks during a fight or flight reaction. So, when a smart guy forgets something obvious in a life or death struggle...that is realistic. Notice that the cop in this book (they guy who has trained for bad situations) is not as panicky and forgetful. That isn't unrealistic. It's an accurate portrayal of reality.

"Why doesn't the dad have a cell phone? Even homeless people have cell phones": If you've never been in a position where you didn't have the money to feed yourself or your kid, you might not know what sacrifices you would choose to make. Yes, some homeless people have cellular phones, but not all. Some people struggling to make rent have cellular phones, but not all. Seeing one poor person with a cell phone does not automatically guarantee that all poor people made the same choice. In the case of the father and son in this book, the dad is usually near a phone and has access to a vehicle, while the kid is out and about and generally inaccesable. They don't absolutely need two phones, so they save the cost of a second phone line every month. I spent a few years broke after my daughter was born. My wife and I made the same decision. The three of us spent about $120 a month on food. We ate a lot of rice and beans from sacks (still do, but now we do it because we like the taste). We got all our clothing second hand for three years. 20-40 dollars a month for a second phone would have been a ludicrous extravagance. We had a smart phone because it was a necessity. It was required for my wife's job. Otherwise, we'd have had no phone at all.  Frankly, if you are struggling to pay bills, consider cutting superfluous phone lines. It's not hard. It's kind of like living in the 80's.

Is the book perfect? No, but the most common complaints don't make logical sense. Also, sorry if there are typos. I wrote this on my phone in a fit of aggravation, and now that I'm spent I don't care enough to proof read.

A total listening pleasure.

This is a gentle version of Orson Scott Card's quality story telling in that there are no big battle scenes. Yet it carries a similiar suspense, and with the excellent, fully developed characters we've come to know and love in his writing. Once again, he's produced a thoughtful, uplifting, entertaining story. At one point I thought it might get to scary for me, but he told only enough to set the stage for his plot, without gratuitous abuse or violence. A master story teller.
I thought Stefan Rudnicki did an excellent job narrating and his voice worked so well for this story.

Love it overall! A little dark.. (note to parents)

I really loved the concept of micro powers and would like to see more of that in a second book. The teen angst and sarcasm was brilliantly written. The dangers faced is too dark for a younger audience. Although explaining such things to our children to protect them is necessary in the depraved world around us today. Parents should preview the book beforehand and discuss after. Hope this helps protects our children. This is just my opinion. Great story and again would love to see another book with powers that we seem to all have. Mom always knew when we were up to no good! LOL

Ezekiel and Beth two people I won't soon forget...

...I looking forward to learning more about them and their adventures. Also with Stefan doing the narration.... I found this story for young people enjoyable, I was hooked in the first chapter and could hardly wait to begin the story again after each chapter. I was pleasantly misled on a few occasions and glad for the challenge. I am eager to embark on another journey with Ezekiel and Beth.

Good performance, disappointing story.

Narrator was decent, had no complaints about how they told the story. Can't find much else to say good about the audiobook.

Plot of the story was interesting, but didn't feel connected to any of the characters. All the adults in the story seemed like different iterations of the same character, obvious points were over analyzed and repeated every other paragraph, and every time the main character has a conversation with another character, it quickly turns into "I know what you're thinking,..." from both characters.


In my opinion, listen to Mr. Card's earlier works (Ender Quintet) before you read this. Otherwise, this book might turn you off to some of his better works.

Quirky and well-written

This story is charming despite a somewhat dark storyline. I love the quirky characters who are so well drawn they seem like people you know or want to know. The clever dialogue, dramatic tension, and excellent pacing make it hard to put down. Surprises throughout. Moments I laughed out loud and moments that brought tears. Excellent narrator. Highly recommend!

More Please!

A wonderful, engrossing tale by a master story teller. Excellent narration. I hope this is the start of another series!

Laughed and cried in the same 5 min

You will fall in love with the characters and the dialogue. Alternately witty and heart tugging this is an interesting, unique narrative with tons of ❤️.

Excellent

Excellent book and audio.
Strongly recommended.
One of cards best.
Reads like a good mystery.
I would love to see a sequel.

Unique story

Excellent narrator and interesting story. I highly recommend it. The main characters have an interesting way of expressing themselves.

Thoroughly enjoyed!!

Orson Scott card and Stefan Rudnicki are the Rodgers and Hammerstein of great audiobook experiences. Orson Scott Card definitely has a talent for creating interesting stories involving children with unique gifts. This was a great listen that annoyed my wife, as having my AirPods on so often meant not hearing her properly or at all.

I always feel like I learn something about myself after listening to one of Scott Card’s stories. And Rudnicki’s narration is perfect. What a voice he has. Reminds me a little of the great Leonard Nimoy.

Flawed genius is still genius

For all its oddities, this is still an amazing book. It's central thematic element centres on kids with "micropowers". That's like superpowers, but basically useless -- like the ability to make another person yawn, or know without looking whether a person's navel is an inny or an outy. That people might have low-budget supernatural powers is something that Card has used to good effect in his earlier fiction, but it's played for laughs a lot more here.

And that's good, because the main plot of the novel concerns child abuse and abduction. An ability to mix ghastly material like this with humour takes genius. Card's genius is flawed in all sorts of ways, but it's still genius.

Even if we accept the existence of "micropowers", a lot of the story is not very believable. People, in general, aren't as quick-witted as Card's characters. Teenagers aren't generally as respectful to their elders (although perhaps they are in Utah -- I don't know). In fact, people aren't generally so wholesome. The bad guys are mere ciphers -- they play no real part in the story except to have justice done on them. The good guys are unfailingly brave and resourceful.

But, for all that, it's still a great book. It's great because of the way Card balances horror and humour, and for his appreciation of the human condition.

interesting storytelling

The story was compelling and some good characters. Some crass language and adult themes. Makes you think.

Mixing genres, the core device intrigues

Mixing genres, the core device intrigues; though the whole story doesn't feel like a satisfying whole.

It was the author's name that made me want to sample his latest. Ender's Game was memorable, this sounded like a different enough genre to make me want to explore Card's range.

While I liked the central idea, it did feel like a few different books were contained within, and that more could have been made of the rather unusual plot device.

Ezekiel Blast is known in school as a thief. He conveniently 'finds' lost things and returns them to their owners. But he insists to Beth, a girl of short stature that wants to walk with him to school, that he has never stolen them - he simply has an ability to be able to find lost things and reunite them with their owners.

When an actual 'lost person' case is investigated, and the detective involved comes to Ezekiel, he has the opportunity to try and channel his ability to really do some good.

I enjoyed the opening of the book particularly, the possibilities associated with Ezekiel's 'micropower', the introduction of a support group of similarly-abled youngsters (it almost felt like a real-life Avengers!), and the sassy character of Beth, aged 13 but with the body of a 6 year old.

When missing people came into the story, I didn't actually find this as interesting, or the best way of investigating the idea of Ezekiel's ability. I didn't feel much in the way of tension or excitement, either before or after cases were concluded.

The narrator as well, with a deep and rich voice, didn't feel right at all for a teenage boy and those around him. It jarred with me throughout, despite being a very pleasant voice to listen to.

I was interested enough to know where the story was heading but disappointed, I'll have to say that it wasn't less pedestrian in its scope.

A lot of promise, for me it didn't deliver on that.
One for teenagers and above, with some quite mature concepts of abduction/child pornography and similar.

With thanks to Nudge Books for providing a sample Audible copy.