Reading Journal Entry: Grand & Humble, by Brent Hartinger

Three children's books kick off the week, all thanks to A Fuse #8 Production (I think).

Grand & Humble, by Brent Hartinger, is about two high school boys, Harlan and Manny. Harlan is the son of a high-powered politican; popular, athletic, dating the prom queen. Manny is a theater geek (with All That That Entails). Harlan has begun having weird premonitions of disaster; Manny ominous nightmares. Just when you begin to think, hey, what exactly is the connection here? Everything snaps into focus.

Almost a mood piece, this is excellent, excellent work. My one quibble is that I wanted a more solid sense of place from the city where Manny and Harlan live. Grand & Humble is the intersection of two streets; the cover art is really what drew me to the book. But the evocative image of the two street lights isn't matched by a corresponding mental image of the intersection.

1 comment:

AnnaMartin said...

Beth. I have a serious question for you.

In English, when reviewing a book, is it ever all right to writein the past tense?

As in, "Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck, was the heroic tale of a poor farming farming forced by the depression to moved to California." That is clearly wrong.

I am being told to write a book review in the past tense. The author wrote. He said. But that is WRONG!

Does "Kong, Bellin believes, is meant to represent the African American male, and his demise at the hands of white America, atop the Empire State Building, is the ultimate lynching," sound wrong

does "Kong, Bellin believed, is meant to represent the African American male, and his demise at the hands of white America, atop the Empire State Building, is the ultimate lynching," sound wrong?

I can't possibly be expected to write, "Kong, Bellin believed, was meant to represent the African American male, and his demise at the hands of white America, atop the Empire State Building, was the ultimate lynching," can I?