Grand & Humble

by Brent Hartinger

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! Winner of the Washington State Book Award!

Genres: Young Adult, Mystery, Fiction, LGBT, Gay, Suspense, Mystery Thriller

211 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

I am Brent Hartinger, a novelist and screenwriter. I’ve published fourteen novels and had two of my books turned into feature films — with several more movies still in the works. One of my movies even co-starred SUPERMAN's David Corenswet.

I try hard to write books that are page-turners and commercial (and movies that are fast-paced and accessible). If I had to describe my own writing projects, I would say, “Strong central concept, strong plot, strong character and voice. Not artsy, self-indulgent, or pretentious, but still thoughtful and smart with something to say.”

I mostly write YA books — LGBTQ and thrillers, sometimes LGBTQ thrillers. My first novel, GEOGRAPHY CLUB (2003) was one of the first in a new wave of break-out LGBTQ young adult fiction, and it was adapted as a feature film in 2013.

My latest book is INFINITE DRIFT (2025), a mind-bending YA supernatural thriller with a bonkers bisexual love triangle.

Here are all my books:

STANDALONE BOOKS
* Infinite Drift
* Project Pay Day
* Three Truths and a Lie
* Grand & Humble
* Shadow Walkers

THE OTTO DIGMORE SERIES
* The Otto Digmore Difference (book 1)
* The Otto Digmore Decision (book 2)

RUSSEL MIDDLEBROOK: THE FUTON YEARS
* The Thing I Didn't Know I Didn't Know (book #1)
* Barefoot in the City of Broken Dreams (book #2)
* The Road to Amazing (book #3)

THE RUSSEL MIDDLEBROOK SERIES
* Geography Club (book #1)
* The Order of the Poison Oak (book #2)
* Double Feature: Attack of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies/Bride of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies (book #3)
* The Elephant of Surprise (book #4)

I answer all questions, so feel free to contact me on social media, or through my website: BrentHartinger.com

Cheers!

Brent Hartinger

Reviews

[Louie the Mustache Matos · Rating 4 out of 5]

A couple of things should be said up-front, just because people have their own ways that should be respected, so if you don't like YA, this is YA. I used to be anti-YA, but then you get step daughters, and all of a sudden, YA ain't so bad. Also, a minor character is gay and it's a minor plot point. So if those things trigger you, don't read this.

The story is about two boys with opposing characteristics. Their lives are about as polar opposite as you can get, but there is something that despite their completely disparate lives, is shared. I will leave it there so as not to giveaway the MacGuffin, which comes somewhere near the end.

The story is a mystery thriller, slice-of-life. The story does not tie neatly into a bow, although there is a distinct plot twist that is kind of common to soap operas, but not common in real life. I love that. The writing is a little odd, to me. I don't love the writer's voice, but the story was told in an intriguing, entertaining way. This is an unexpectedly good, fun read.

[J.S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Harlan and Manny, two 17 year old boys, are opposites of each other. Harlan is the son of a Senator and lives a life of wealth and privilege with his aloof and distant parents. He's the star of the high school swim team and dates the prettiest girl in school. Manny lives with his dad, who acts more like a friend than a parent, in a poorer neighborhood. He's the school theater's audio/visual geek and is most certainly not popular. But it turns out they have a lot more in common than either of them know.

I've had this on my Kindle app for a couple of years but hadn't really thought much about it. Until recently. Because I needed some fiction to offset the non-fiction I've been reading lately. And although initially I was a bit turned off - the writing just felt a little odd in some places and some characters sounded a little too cliché - I was pulled into the story before the mid-point and couldn't put it down. And the ending? I can see how some reviewers are turned off by it - I certainly didn't see it coming - but I thought it was clever. (Although I'm not sure why some reviewers are saying they didn't get it.) A read that surprised me by being much better than I expected.

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would give this book a solid 3 1/2 stars. I loved the main characters, Manny & Harlan, and their sidekicks Elsa & Ricky and the story was very engaging from the start. The pacing was great and it was a great page-turner. However, I found the ending a bit lacking. I understand the message the author was conveying, but there were a couple of loops that just didn't feel closed to me. But all in all it was an enjoyable read.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very, very, very confusing. I did not understand the ending AT ALL, but it was confusing in a good way I think, as if it was actually written to be confusing. I'm glad I read it. I didn't put it down once while I was reading it, just sat for three hours reading, until the book was finished. I am a swimmer like Harlan, and this is the first book I've read that is even close to being accurate about the sport. I'm really critical of books that have swimmers in it, because it seems like they always get it wrong in some way, but this one actually did a good job. I'd recommend this book, although I think Hartinger should have made in longer and included more details in the end.

[Alia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay! So I finally finished it and what??? I had such high hopes ...

Okay so it sets the book up as two boys trying to figure out what their seeing in their minds, and ends the book with it being the same person from two different realities...

Manny is seeing flashbacks from his past of a car accident. Harlan is seein what he believes to be the future. Manny ha his friend Elsa helping him while Harlan has Ricky. Throughout the story they try to find out what happened/is happening. Their lives are parallels to each other.

What we find out In The end is that both are having flashbacks to the car accident that happened when they were driving out to see the mom's brother. In Harlan's world, they survive the accident and the mom's brother dies a year later. In manny's world, the parents died in the car accident as he loves with his uncle, the mom's brother.
In the last chapter it's both of their pov. Harlan ends up asking Manny's friend and Manny ends up either going on a date with Ricky, or befriending him and going to hang out.


I just,... I hated the the twist. Sure I wasn't expecting it but it made no sense. I like the story leading up to it , but if it ended differently, I would have loved it more.

[Felicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I probably died a little bit at the end of this one. The twist was one that I did not see coming. Well, I mean, I vaguely saw something, but nothing like this.

It was a book worthy of being our book of the month and, although it wasn't scary like I thought it was going to be, it was a suitable October read nonetheless.

In an effort to not have to put a spoiler alert on this, I'm just going to say that I loved this one in a manner akin to the way I loved Invisible. No lie.

Probably the most amazing book I've read in a while.

[Mike Oaks · Rating 4 out of 5]

What if…

To be honest, I was confused through most of the book. The individual stories of the two Main characters were good, but I kept wondering how and when they would intersect. And then they did. 3.75 for coffee and Indian food.

[Nikki Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I still have a couple of questions but overall, a good book!

[Lisa RV · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. A quick read that kept me intrigued. I recommend not reading the synopsis and going into this book knowing nothing about it. The writing was okay; what I really appreciated was the concept. I enjoyed trying to figure out what exactly was going on (and failing).

[Scot · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author, in a prefatory note, says this is a revised and improved version of a novel he wrote earlier. Such an introductory comment might have raised my expectations too high.

This is a young adult novel with two protagonists, whose separate but related stories and settings are told in alternate chapters. Harlan is the rich, popular alpha in their high school culture, a charming jock who is class president, while Manny is the lonely theatre nerd, an av kid in charge of lighting. But they are both dealing with typical adolescent issues like finding the right girl or problems with their parents. They are both also developing a gift of premonition, a second sight that suggests danger or even death looms ahead of them.

I give this book credit for some well developed secondary characters (Elsa the overweight friend who wants more than friendship, Ricky the true bro who has your back through thick and thin) and the mother of Harlan is about as evil they come for coldhearted parental villains. However, the tension of the novel builds toward some inevitable meeting or collision between the two, where Grand and Humble intersect. When we got there I was very disappointed by how the author chose to complete the novel and tie up loose ends. I felt cheated and confused by what I see as inconsistencies that I guess I was supposed to overlook.

[Kimoya Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

I still don't get what happened, but i do understand a bit about what happened, like someone had the wrong child and there is an extra child. And where did that extra child come from and how the hell they allow that to happen. Also I was a bit disappointment because I thought the two would meet and there will be an ending hard to forget, one that will keep us guessing and realizing what took place, unless there's a book two, but I doubt there will be.
Anyways, yeah I hated the ending, I wanted the two boys to cross path and realized their lives had been mixed up. At one point I though it was 2 different worlds, 2 different countries but was really surprised to know that the two are practically in the same classroom. I doubt that's the ending. hmmm I guess it was.
The read was interesting and I somewhat enjoy it. At a point I thought something was special about the two and in the end it turns out that they are brothers, or their parents was special. But, no we got this ending...

ALSO IT SHOULD NOT BE TAGGED AS GAY, GLBT!! only one character said to be gay and he wasn't even one of the protagonist, a disappoint there. I was really expecting a gay prog too. Was also expecting Manny to be as well, I was really hoping then and there it would be revealed when he was in that fast-food restaurant, sucked to know I got tricked there...Someone needs to remove those tagging.

[Karen Selander · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a YA book, that would have been helpful to know when I was looking for a book to read, but it got good reviews, so I downloaded it, and was not disappointed. It's a super quick read, but clever and unlike other YA books I've read, it speaks appropriately to it's intended audience. I thought both of the main characters talked, acted and responded just like a kid their age should. There was no overly witty placating banter about topics way over their heads, which was nice and reduced the common annoyance I feel with most YA books out there. And the plot line and twist was creative and well done

[Kandice · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author’s foreword says this is a rewrite to clean it up and clear some inconsistencies in anticipation of using this as the source for a screenplay. Boy am I glad I didn’t read the original version because this was a mess. I don’t see how this could ever work as a screenplay. Maybe a Disney Teen movie, with a ton of work, but a real movie? Never.

I think he was trying to be clever and mystical, but the story just came across as silly. Two boys, having similar visions of sorts with parents who are mysterious, to say the least. That sentence right there sounds more interesting than the book ever got.

[Pontiki · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this book, especially since it's a "thriller". In my mind, that's a total misnomer.

The premonitions and dreams of Harlan and Manny, respectively, are all explained at the end, but too much of Manny's conclusions are far fetched. I preferred Harlan's struggle for independence from his mother, but again, his blackmailing her at the end was out of left field for his character.

I also thought they would cross paths sooner, and the title's underlying meaning would go a lot deeper than it did.

The story was OK, but not well executed, with too many disjointed bits and terrible resolutions at the end.

[Franklin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't know what the "twist" is, until it was mentioned by the end of the book. It took time for me to realize that "Manny" and "Harlan" are the same person. Although it would make sense if you reread it, and I'm definitely NOT doing that.

I could have rated this higher, but I was just expecting that they're going to fall in love with each other (LOL how wrong I was).

[Chelsea Harjo · Rating 2 out of 5]

The whole book felt rushed and mediocre. The characters came to wild conclusions based on very little evidence, just to further the story along. It didn't feel very convincing. I was hooked, just to find out how it ended, but was disappointed in the ending and the story development along the way. The writing overall was subpar.

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quick read but I thought this book was just ok. It did have a twist ending which I didn't see coming and I kept thinking there was some scary supernatural reason for what was happening which never developed.

[Bradley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Brent Hartinger but this book disappointed. I think I'm at that point where I have read too much, watch too much TV/film because all forms of entertainment becomes predictable. I was twenty pages into this book and I had already figured out most of the plotline.

[Gaby · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought, for once in my life, I outsmarted a thriller. Nope, I was wrong, Brent Hartinger does it again - this man is just a freaking genius and this book was soooo clever and I’m still annoyed about that. Wow, just wow.

[Brenna · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is not good.

[Patricia Otto · Rating 2 out of 5]

Confusing. Not sure what happened in the end and who the heck is Jerome? The voice was good and entertaining.

[Isaiah · Rating 4 out of 5]

To see more reviews check out MI Book Reviews.

Brent Hartinger is one of my favorite authors, has been since I was in middle school. He is one of the authors that I actively check in on to make sure I am caught up on his books. Somehow this book passed me by. I grabbed a copy from the library the second I could and I am glad I did.

Did you ever wonder what your life would be like if you had different parents? While this question is a spoiler, it doesn’t spoil things completely. I try to keep endings a secret, this instead is a reference to the adoption plot of a secondary character. He brings up that his dad doesn’t like him being gay, but that he is also adopted so he knows his dad feels like his “real” kid wouldn’t be gay. It was a wonderful little interlude in the middle of the book. The character was mentioned by both the main boys, but in varying degrees. I was really surprised that this background character was so fleshed out. There was so much to him, but he didn’t really play a major role in the book. He was a background best friend that swam with Harlan and ate lunch with Manny once. That’s it. He just left such a big impression on me that I had to gush about him.

Another secondary character was Elsa. She was also a character that went between the two boys to varying degrees. She was Manny’s best friend, but just a girl to Harlan. There is implications that Harlan and Elsa might go on a date at the end of the book, but I don’t know where I see that going. He is the popular boy going through a hug emotional crisis, he probably isn’t ready to date anyone (read that as I love Elsa and I don’t want her hurt while Harlan figures out his stuff). Manny is clueless to how amazing she is and how much ambition she has. She is a bit of a pushover and that worries me. Again, another fleshed out secondary character. I would love a book about Elsa, but I doubt I will get one this far after this one was published.

The main plot follows two boys, Harlan and Manny, as they deal with anxiety. They have anxiety for different reasons and they manifest in different ways, but they are both experiencing anxiety for reasons they can’t figure out on their own. They turn to the secondary characters to help them. It was a wonderful look at anxiety in teenage boys, something not often discussed. The boys weren’t gay, which is huge. The only teenage male characters I have read that have depression or anxiety have been gay. This gives straight boys something to help them deal with their anxiety.

[Kevin Gerardo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is great for readers that are just wanting to read a very suspenseful and mystery book. This book as a very interesting story to it but it can be slightly difficult and confusing to understand if you are not fully paying attention to the chapter and character you are on reading about. The book goes from different characters point of view in every chapter and sometimes it will go from both of the characters point of view n the same chapter. The story has two very important characters which are Harlan a popular athlete whose parents are wealthy and also very well known by other people in the community. Manny is a very unwealthy nerd whose father keeps mostly to himself and is very secretive. The one thing that links them together, is an accident that happened when they were both three years old. They both dont know that the flashbacks they are having they both happen to be their at the same time and place. Harlan tries to understand his dreams a little more in depth in order to save his own life, and Manny looks to his dreams to uncover secrets about his past and how it has made who he is now. The ending of the book was very confusing that I had to read the last couple chapters a few more times because you just had to pay close attention to what they were describing. This is a book I would totally recommend to readers that just love to get in depth with the book.

[GeneralClucksTheThird · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grand and Humble is an amazing book. The characters had deep personalities, and a good deal of it was spent on building suspense. However short it was, it used the space well. The book was meta as anything. The ending was near-confusing, but satisfied earlier questions one might have. This book is about wondering what might’ve been, and how it would have changed the present.

Even though this is the first book I’ve read of the author, I found it interesting and engrossing. In the future, I plan to read more of his books. He had an intense and serious mood that really drew the reader in. The plot twist was amazing, with enough “breadcrumbs” to make it worth it. The entirety of this book will pull you in, and you’ll end up shook by the end. My rating; 5 out of 5.

[Alison · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was weird. It wasn't a bad book, but it was just weird! It wasn't my type of book, and there wasn't really a plot to me, it was just Manny having nightmares and Harlan having premonitions. I was just confused the whole time I was reading the book. Then, in the end, I kind of figured out what it was. (I think it's like alternate realities because the same thing happened to Manny and Harlan, so they're the same person but in Manny's reality his dad adopted him and in Harlan's his dad didn't) and then when I read it again the first sentence made sense but I was still confused through the whole thing. So I'd recommend it because it wasn't a bad book and there are probably people who love books like this, just not me.

[Garth Mailman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grand & Humble
Brent Hartinger

A novella written, it would seem, for children. The subject is two high school teens. Harlan a popular jock with a best friend swim partner,Ricky, and Manny who feels most at home in his lighting booth.

One theme here is parents who want to run their children’s lives. Tchaikovsky’s parents sent him to law school at the age of 10.

And a Ouija board figures in the tale. But most prominent are nightmares that prove to be omens of real events. After pages and pages of foreboding decisive action finally ensues near the end of the tale. Harlan finally asserts his independence and Manny makes a shocking discovery.

[Alyssa · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I definitely understand why some people have complained that this book is confusing. However I thought the ending really tied everything together. It's a quick and enjoyable read so I recommend it, especially since the plot twist was very good in my opinion. It was fun to theorize about and was made even more enjoyable when I realized that none of my theories were correct. Grand & Humble is a humorous and entertaining book that keeps you guessing until the very end.

[Mariana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating: 3.5 stars
This was a quick and fun read, I was confused by the ending because I started reading expecting a love story between the main characters. It wasn't that, but I was a fine with the actual twist.
The writing was not the best in my opinion and I hated the angst and the drama. Some of the parents were really unrealistic and so unidimensional.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I have enjoyed other books by this author, this one was new to me. I believe it was some sort of sensation in 2006 and he has since revised it after producing a screenplay. It tells parallel stories of two high school students; those stories merge in an very original way at the end.

[ѦѺ™ · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best stories I have read from Brent Hartinger!
The mystery surrounding the two MCs kept me turning the pages as fast as I could and I was not prepared for the big reveal at the end! What a finish!