Warning: Contains Plot Spoilers!

Grand & Humble
By Brent Hartinger

Synopsis

Harlan and Manny are both seventeen years old, but they couldn’t be more different. One is a popular athlete with a beautiful girlfriend, the son of a powerful U.S. Senator; the other is a quirky theater geek, the son of a struggling single father. And yet, Harlan and Manny share the same sense of foreboding, that something is not quite right in either 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 haunts them still. 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.

Major Themes and Ideas

(1) People are the sum total of their experiences.

(2) The course of our lives is not set. One small change in direction can subsequently make a huge difference.

(3) The past informs the future. In many ways, the past and the future are the same.

(4) Change is possible through inner strength.

Discussion Questions

(1) Grand & Humble is a book about mirror images: in the two storylines, some things are exactly the same, and some things are exactly reversed. In what ways are Manny and Harlan the same? In what ways are they opposites?

(2) Mrs. Swan tells Harlan, “For most people, the past and the future are very much the same thing.” How is this true for the characters in the story? How is this true in real life? In the book, Harlan is worried about his own future, while Manny is investigating his past. How are they searching for the same thing? How do Harlan’s premonitions and Manny’s nightmares relate to the event that took place at the corner of Grand & Humble?

(3) Are there reoccurring themes in our lives? Some people claim that humans are doomed to forever repeat the mistakes of their past. Is this true? What, if anything, can be done to break the cycle? How do the characters in Grand & Humble break the cycle?

(4) It’s not just the main characters in Grand & Humble who are mirror images of each other; their best friends, and Harlan’s mother and Manny’s father are too. How are Ricky and Elsa the same, and how are they exact opposites? How are Harlan’s mother and Manny’s father the same, and how are they opposite? How does the author describe these characters to make them seem the same, and make them seem different?

(5) Mrs. Swan tells Harlan of evil spirits and dark forces. Do you think these spirits really existed in the book, or was Mrs. Swan just sensing the unrest in Harlan’s soul? Might it have been Harlan’s subconscious mind that spelled out the words “H20 danger tub” on the Ouija board?

(6) At several points in the book, Manny interacts with Ricky, a character from Harlan’s world. And Harlan also interacts with Manny’s friend Elsa. Manny and Harlan both have moments of recognition, where they see a glimpse of a life that might have been, and that might one day be. Have you had moments like this? What do those moments mean? Do you believe that humans perceive things and have insights that are currently beyond scientific understanding?

(7) To confront and finally defeat his mother, Harlan must become like her. What does it say about Harlan that he is willing to do something so totally out of character? How does his stepping out of character help him to become a new person?

(8) To wrest the truth from his father, Manny is forced to accept some unpleasant things about his father’s past. What does it say about Manny’s father that he almost allowed his child to die? What does it say about Manny’s father that he has since spent his life since then making up for his mistakes?

(9) What do you think is the meaning of the book’s title? What role does the metaphor of the intersection play in the book?

(10) The book’s premise is that one small change early in life can subsequently turn someone into a completely different person. Do you agree with this, or is who we are more innate than that? What exactly is destiny?

Suggested Class Projects

(1) Have students imagine an alternate time-line in which a character exists who is the exact opposite of who they are. Have them write a short story about this character.

(2) Using a ruler and protractor, have students look at the effect a small change in an angle makes the farther the line is drawn. Likewise, using a compass, show how a small change in compass bearing can quickly change your course. From this, discuss how a change at one point in a life can make big changes further down the line. Example: a “good paying” job right out of high school might mean more money immediately, but it could also change the financial trajectory of a person’s life later on.

(3) Bring mirrors or digital technology to class. Have students examine their own images. Also have them compare the two halves of their faces, either by holding mirrors up to their faces, or rearranging the computer images. Human faces are not, in fact, symmetrical. Use this exercise to illustrate the idea of mirror images present in the book, and to point out that, as in Grand & Humble, people are more than their individual elements.

(4) Have students make a list of their traits, then write a list with the opposites of those traits. Have them pick one of those “opposite” traits, then role-play that trait for ten minutes. Have students write or talk about the experience. What did they like about their new role? What did they not like? Did they still feel like the same person?