Set between books one and two, the narrator is Gabe, a boy readers will not know from the first installment. He's not immediately likeable--he's trying to break into the business of working as a skip tracer--but he has So Much Growth in this tiny story. Zu makes an appearance as well, tying together threads from TDM, and like always, she's awesome. Above all, this tale gives readers a look at the other side--why certain parents might have handed their kids in, how people fell into work as skip tracers, the stakes a "non-freak" faces on a daily basis. And the ending: a powerful, emotional punch. I'm starting to think this is a Bracken standard. 
 Originally reviewed here.