Grand & Humble - Softcover

Hartinger, Brent

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0984679499 ISBN 13: 9780984679492

Publisher: BK Books, 2016

Synopsis

Two Teenage Boys, Both at a Crossroads...

Harlan and Manny are both seventeen years old, but they couldn't be more different. Harlan is an athlete with a beautiful girlfriend, the son of a powerful U.S. Senator, and possibly the most popular kid in his high school. Meanwhile, Manny is a quirky theater geek, the son of a struggling single father, and one of the school's least popular kids. And yet, Harlan and Manny both share the same sense of foreboding, a feeling that something is not right in each of their lives.

They have something else in common as well, even if they don’t know it. Fourteen years ago, when they were both three years old, a tragedy occurred — an accident that would link the two boys together forever, even as it ultimately drove them apart. It’s an event that both of them barely remember, but it still haunts them in the form of Harlan's premonitions and Manny's nightmares. Somehow both boys know that nothing will ever be right until they can each unravel the secret of the terrifying instant that lies at the center of both their lives.

An All-New Edition, Rewritten and Revised by the Author!

“An astonishing surprise ending, unlikely to be anticipated but fairly clued for the reader detective. The immensely talented author is a master of structure, but even without the stunt conclusion, the well-realized characters would grip readers of all ages.”– Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine

“Talk about a fork in the road!...[A] taut and clever thriller.”– Kliatt

“A taut, skillfully woven psychological thriller with an ending they’ll never see coming; fans of coming age stories and clever plots will be absorbed by this haunting parable.”– BCCB

“This suspenseful novel also includes genuinely thought-provoking questions about why we are who we are, and how the smallest choices may have the largest consequences.”– TeenReads.com

Winner of the Washington State Book Award!

About this title

About the Author

Brent Hartinger has been a full-time author for many years, writing novels, plays, and screenplays. He lives in Washington State. Among his books are Geography Club and its sequel, The Order of the Poison Oak, as well as The Last Chance Texaco and Split Screen. Like Dave and his friends, as a teenager he resisted getting a job for as long as possible but finally was forced by his parents to go to work as a lifeguard at age sixteen. He still smells like coconut sunblock.

Review

"Two high school students--one a popular athlete and Senator's son, the other a geeky outsider--are troubled, by premonitions and nightmares respectively. In alternate chapters, they are brought to an astonishing surprise ending, unlikely to be anticipated but fairly clued for the reader detective. The immensely talented author is a master of structure, but even without the stunt conclusion, the well-realized characters would grip readers of all ages." (Highest Rating) - Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine

"Suspense builds as the ominous dreams become more intense and each boy struggles to find a way past their fears. Parallels and double meanings abound in this tricky, but satisfying, double narrative. It`s all about fate and connections for the grand and the humble." - Kirkus Reviews

"This is a taut, skillfully woven psychological thriller with an ending they'll never see coming; fans of coming age stories and clever plots will be absorbed by this haunting parable." - The Bulletin for the Center for Children's Books

"There's a surprise twist at the end: talk about a fork in the road!...This taut and clever thriller by the author of [three other books] will appeal to mystery and suspense fans." - Kliatt

"The novel's surprising ending will inspire many to reread the story immediately, picking up on clues that they might have missed the first time around. In addition to being well-plotted, though, this suspenseful novel also includes genuinely thought-provoking questions about why we are who we are, and how the smallest choices may have the largest consequences." - TeenReads.com

"A brilliant twist near the end makes their worlds collide in a moment of epiphany. Grand & Humble is a wonderful story told with a sure and able hand. It is both a whodunit with tinges of the paranormal that tells the tale of two boys who have more in common than they could ever imagine and an allegorical tale of growing up." - Crime Spree Magazine

"Like a guided tour up the rickety, shadowy staircase in a haunted house, we follow Hartinger's tale, hearts pounding, until he reveals the ultimate collision of fates that will make you think twice about typecasting anyone ever again." - South Florida Sun-Sentinel

"Riveting...As soon as I read the amazing ending, I went back and re-read the book from this new perspective. In too many young adult books, the characters are stick figures spouting teen-speak. In Hartinger's books, they are respected, realistic individuals." - Puget Sound Parent

About this edition

• Publisher: BK Books
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 0984679499
• ISBN 13: 9780984679492
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 209