Grand & Humble
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4.0 • 40 Ratings
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- $2.99
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- $2.99
Publisher Description
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 again 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
“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.”
– 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
“A wonderful story told with a sure and able hand.”
– Crime Spree Magazine
Winner of the Washington State Book Award!
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Two 17-year-olds with very different lives both begin experiencing strange phenomena in Hartinger's (Geography Club) suspenseful novel. Rich, popular Harlan, the son of a senator, begins having premonitions of his own death (one of which almost comes true when a bus narrowly misses him on the corner of Grand and Humble Streets). Meanwhile, theater "geek" Manny has terrible nightmares, which make him question his own past questions that his usually sensitive father does not want to answer. Readers will be curious about the connection between these two opposite protagonists, whose stories unfold in alternating chapters. But they may find that some of the plot points stretch credibility. It's hard to believe, for instance, that Manny did not previously question his missing baby pictures, and Harlan's mother seems overly cruel (she began blackmailing him back when he was in the Boy Scouts) and micromanages his life, using guilt trips and threats. Still, despite the contrivances, readers will likely be impressed when they finally discover the link between Manny and Harlan (and they will have something to think about when the book ends). Ages 14-up.
Customer Reviews
Best Book I've Read In A While
Oh. My. Goodness! This book was not much of a thriller - more of an adventure. I love the plotting and how they switched between two characters to tell a story. I would recommend this as a good read for ANYONE. I love it so much!
Speechless
This book had me on the edge the whole time.
Plus the the title of the book really fits into the story.
OOMMGG!!!!!!!
This was the best book I have ever read in my entire life! So interesting. Manny and Harlan were the same people but not! Ugh I cannot explain how great and intelligent this writer is. Even if kinda the same novel was written a while ago, this specific book caught my eye. I've never been into reading but this book made me definitely change my mind about books, and made me have a second best author. Well written. Well done.