Zach lives with his grandparents on a remote island in Puget Sound in Washington State. With only his little brother, Gilbert, to keep him company, Zach feels cut off from the world. But when Gilbert is kidnapped, Zach tries the only thing he can think of to find him: astral projection. Soon, his spirit is soaring through the strange and boundless astral realm—a shadow place. While searching for his brother, Zach meets a boy named Emory, another astral traveler who’s intriguing (and cute).

As Zach and Emory track the kidnappers from the astral realm, their bond grows, but each moment could be Gilbert’s last. Even worse, there’s a menacing, centuries-old creature in their midst that devours souls and possesses physical bodies. And it’s hungry for Zach.

Reviews

“Sometimes you pick up a novel that hits a narrative sweet spot, and Shadow Walkers is one of those. … I devoured the book, a good story for any age.”
– NPR’s All Things Considered

“Hartinger’s latest combines mystery, romance, and the paranormal…[a] quick genre bender that has something for everyone.”
– Booklist

“The perfect blend of horror, adventure, and romance. … And let me say, the creature in this book will haunt you. I don’t care if you are eight or eighty, this is a well thought out and well conceived baddie. Once or twice I was sure I felt the chill of its presence as I read the book. It’s that well done. Creepy, horror, scary, creepy, terrifying and did I say creepy? … [And] I really, really liked Zach. He wasn’t whiny, he wasn’t annoying and a lot of teen protagonists can be. … Just a wonderful book.”
– Daemon’sBooks.com

“Hartinger’s 8th novel deftly meditates on isolation, interpersonal connectivity, and how drastically the Internet has changed modern teen life. …This kind of content was unimaginable ten years ago; since his first novel Geography Club, Hartinger’s been at the forefront of the quiet revolution moving past stories that center around being gay, and infusing GLBT characters into mainstream Young Adult fiction, balancing gay characters that aren’t abrasively off-putting to librarians, teachers, and parents, yet at the same time speak to the young readers that so desperately need popular representation. That in itself is pretty awesome.”
– Lambda Literary

“Hartinger presents an entertaining mingling of coming-of-age and supernatural. His approach toward homosexuality is refreshing … And through a veil of mild violence, teen fantasy, and otherworldly terror, this tale reminds readers of more meaningful ways of communicating.”
– Kirkus Reviews

The Last Chance Texaco
By Brent Hartinger

(For readers 12 and up)

Fifteen years old and parentless, Lucy Pitt has spent the last eight years being shifted from one foster home to another. Now she’s ended up at Kindle Home, a place for foster kids who aren‘t wanted anywhere else. Among the residents, Kindle Home is known as the Last Chance Texaco, because it’s the last stop before being shipped off to the high-security juvenile detention center on nearby Rabbit Island–better known as Eat-Their-Young Island to anyone who knows what it‘s really like.

But Lucy finds that Kindle Home is different from past group homes, and she soon decides she wants to stay. Problem is, someone is starting a series of car-fires in the neighborhood in an effort to get the house shut down. Could it be Joy, a spiteful Kindle Home resident? Or maybe it’s Alicia, the bony blond supermodel-wannabe from the local high school who thinks Lucy has stolen her boyfriend. Lucy suspects it might even be Emil, the Kindle Home therapist, who clearly has a low opinion of the kids he counsels. Whoever it is, Lucy must expose the criminal, or she’ll lose not just her new home, but her one last chance for happiness.

In the tradition of S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders and Louis Sachar’s Holes, Hartinger writes about a subculture of teenagers many people would like to forget, in a novel as fast-paced and provocative as his first book, Geography Club.

Awards and Honors

• A 2005 ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers
• A Yahoo.com Summer Read
• An ALA “Popular Paperback”
• A Teenreads.com “Best of 2004″
• A Genrefluent “Favorite of 2004″
• A MyShelf “2004 Favorite”
• A 2005-2006 Missouri Public Library “Best of the Best”
• A 2006 Michigan Library “Thumbs Up!” Award Nominee
• A 2006 Utah Library “Beehive Award” Nominee
• An 2006-2007 Iowa “Teen Award” Nominee
• A 2006-2007 South Carolina Young Adult Book Award Nominee
• A 2005 Maryland Library “Great Book”
• A 2005-2006 Maine Student Book Award Nominee
• A 2004 Texas HS Reading List (TAYSHAS) Pick
• A 2007-2007 Missouri “Gateway Award” Nominee
• A 2006-2007 Berkeley Book Award Nominee
• A Girls Life Top Ten Summer Read
• An EmbracingTheChild.org Book of the Month

Reviews

“Hartinger draws on his own previous experience as a group-home counselor to write a fast-paced, riveting story filled with multi-dimensional characters who command our admiration as they struggle against their personal demons…This book should have wide appeal to parents and adolescents alike. Grade: A”
– Rocky Mountain News

“The Last Chance Texaco has everything a reader could want…Never have I read a book that screamed so loudly to be made into a movie…Don’t pass this one up!”
–MyShelf.com

“A fast-moving, heartfelt story…beautifully conceived and executed, very well written [with] characters who seem very real…brutally honest [but] full of hope…You won’t be taking a chance with The Last Chance Texaco. It will reward you on every page.”
– (Oregon) Statesman Journal

“Hartinger clearly knows the culture [of group home life]…The talk is lively, and the whodunnit will keep readers hooked to the end.”
– Booklist

“Readers will root for Lucy and come away with a greater understanding of the complexities of group homes and their inhabitants. Hartinger excels at giving readers an insider’s view of the subculture.”
– School Library Journal

“Hartinger has a wonderful ear for the diction and eye for the furniture, of all sorts…Lucy, cagey and smart, becomes a character we care about.”
– Chicago Tribune

“After dealing with kids in the system for 17 years and living with foster kids 13 years, I look very closely at books about them and usually find them wanting, but The Last Chance Texaco is right on. Hartinger captured the voices of the kids perfectly and portrays [the situation] extremely well.”
– Genrefluent

“The Last Chance Texaco is a fast-paced, dramatic story, populated with authentic characters…His dialogue is pitch-perfect and his narrative is utterly believable.”
– The Bremerton Sun

Grand & Humble
By Brent Hartinger

(For readers 12 and up)

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 theatre 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.

Winner of the Scandiuzzi Children’s Book Award!

Other Awards and Honors

• A Richie’s Pick
• A TeenReads.com “Best of 2006″
• A Genrefluent “Best of 2006″
• A New York Public Library “Book for the Teen Age”
• A Michael Cart “Nothing but the Best” Top YA Title of 2006
• A Maryland “Great Book”

Reviews

“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

“The minor characters are nicely drawn, including Harlan’s best friend, Ricky, who is gay. Manny’s best friend, Elsa, is deaf, and their signing talk is relaxed and friendly. Best of all, though, is the edge-of-fantasy feel that will make readers ask, ‘What if?’”
– Booklist

“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 (also including Geography Club and Last Chance Texaco) they are respected, realistic individuals.”
– Puget Sound Parent

Project Sweet Life
By Brent Hartinger

(For readers 10 and up)

“This summer was going to be the sweet life and now it’s not.”

Dave and his two best friends are looking forward to a sweet summer of freedom, but their fathers have another idea. Instead of spending the summer swimming, biking, and kicking back, the three fifteen-year-olds are supposed to get jobs. Dave, Victor, and Curtis have a plan, though: They’re going to tell their fathers they have jobs but not actually get them. The trouble is, their dads are going to want to see that they’re actually bringing in money. And that means finding a way to get rich quick…without breaking the law, and without doing any work.

But as the summer passes and the three friends try everything from attempting to catch bank robbers, to scientifically calculating the “correct” number of jelly beans in a contest jar, to diving for sunken treasure, they soon discover that things may not be quite as simple as they thought!

Awards and Honors

• A Ritchie’s Pick
• A Flamingnet Top Choice
• A 2009 Washington State Library “Washington Reads” Pick
• A Beehive Award (Utah) Nominee
• A Thumbs Up Award Nominee
• A Rhode Island Teen Book Award Nominee

Reviews

“A hilarious story filled with mishaps, close calls, and outrageous adventures. Peppered with Dave’s mom’s strange culinary creations (fish stick stew, spaghetti meatloaf, canned-tuna tacos, anyone?)…the novel will be especially appealing to middle school boys.”
– School Library Journal

“The boys’ friendship, lightly and expertly depicted, drives the book, while their smartly plotted moneymaking schemes are creative, highjinks-filled, and hilariously almost effective.”
– Horn Book Review

“The characters ring true, and teens will appreciate that the trio puts more effort into evading work than they would have expended at a real job. An amusing story with great teen appeal.”
– Booklist

“Marked by sly wit and a certain old-fashioned jauntiness, this tale of three chums on a quest for indolence strikes many a wish-fulfillment fancy…Hartinger blends urban legend with the actual history of Tacoma’s routing of its Chinese community (author’s note included) to craft an irresistible setting (who wouldn’t want to explore lost tunnels under a city in search of treasure?), humorous episodes tinged with mild danger, and a light-hearted mystery”
– BCCB

“This comedy of errors builds quickly and surely, with each potential scheme ending in disaster yet spawning ever new possibilities. Hartinger is relentless in ramping up the tension on his young characters. He does so with wit and flair, moreover, building into the mix an episode from the racially troubled history of Tacoma, Washington…Lovable, flawed, and genuinely charming, Hartinger’s characters drive the story…here is a funny, realistic yet whimsical story delivered up with loving care.”
– CLCD

“This book was hilarious and had me turning pages to see what the next Project Sweet Life plan would be. The best part was that none of it ever felt like it was unrealistic — I really believed that the crazy adventures and money schemes could actually work! Author Brent Hartinger has the perfect voice of teen boys. His characters sounded exactly like the teen boys I know.”
– GreenBeanTeenQueen

“An ingenious plot with a little Tom Sawyer, a little Homer Price, and a lotta laughs! That’s what I call ‘sweet!’”
– Michael Cart, Booklist columnist

“It all comes together exquisitely in a fast-paced, fun, and occasionally freaky tale on (and sometimes under) the streets and shores of Tacoma. In addition to all of the action, I especially love how Hartinger has thoroughly woven an important and unrecognized
historical event into the heart of the story.”
– Richie Partington, RichiesPicks.com