Brent Hartinger

Russel Middlebrook is convinced he's the only gay kid at Goodkind High School. Then his online gay chat buddy turns out to be none other than Kevin, the popular but closeted star of the school's baseball team. Soon Russel meets other gay students, too. There's his best friend Min, who reveals that she is bisexual, and her soccer–playing girlfriend Terese. Then there's Terese's politically active friend, Ike. But how can kids this diverse get together without drawing attention to themselves? "We just choose a club that's so boring, nobody in their right mind would ever in a million years join it. We could call it Geography Club!" Brent Hartinger's debut novel, what became first of a series about Russel Middlebrook, is a fast–paced, funny, and trenchant portrait of contemporary teenagers who may not learn any actual geography in their latest club, but who learn plenty about the treacherous social terrain of high school and the even more dangerous landscape of the human heart.

Geography Club

When friends Rob, Liam, Mia, and Galen gather for a weekend of fun deep in the forest, one is hiding a lie and not everyone will live to find out which one it is.

Three Truths and a Lie

Two books in one tell of sixteen-year-old friends Russel, who is gay, and Min, who is bisexual, as they face separate romantic troubles while working as extras on the set of a horror movie.

Double Feature

Sequel to: Geography Club, The Order of the Poison Oak, and Double Feature.

The Elephant of Surprise

The powerful sequel to "Geography Club" is a humorous, hip, and thoroughly engaging story filled with skinny-dipping, making out, Indian legends, and the mystery of a secret society called The Order of the Poison Oak.

The Order of the Poison Oak

""I guess this was what they meant by a loss of innocence. Who knew?"" Russel Middlebrook is twenty-three years old, gay, and living in trendy Seattle, but life isn't keeping up with the hype. Most of his friends have a direction in life-either ruthlessly pursuing their careers or passionately embracing their own aimlessness. But Russel is stuck in place. All he knows is that crappy jobs, horrible dates, and pointless hook-ups just aren't cutting it anymore. What's the secret? What does everyone else know that he doesn't? Enter Kevin, Russel's perfect high school boyfriend. Could rekindling an old flame be the thing Russel needs to get his life back on track? Or maybe the answer lies in a new friend, an eccentric screenwriter named Vernie Rose, who seems plenty wise. Or what the hell? Maybe Russel will find some answers by joining his best friend Gunnar's crazy search for the legendary Bigfoot One way or another, Russel is determined to learn the all-important secret to life, even if it's a thing he doesn't even know he doesn't know. Author Brent Hartinger first made a splash writing books for teens. "The Thing I Didn't Know I Didn't Know," Hartinger's first book for older readers, is just as much of a page-turner as his earlier works, with plenty of his trademark irreverent humor. But now his books have grown up along with his readers, exploring the issues of new adults, especially the complicated matter of love and sex. "Praise for Brent Hartinger" "Hits the narrative sweet spot." - NPR's "All Things Considered" "Downright refreshing." - "USA Today" BRENT HARTINGER is an author, teacher, playwright, and screenwriter. "Geography Club," the book in which Russel Middlebrook first appears (as a teenager), is also a successful stage play and a feature film co-starring Scott Bakula. In 1990, Brent helped found one of the world's first gay teen support groups, in his hometown of Tacoma, Washington. In 2005, he co-founded the entertainment website AfterElton.com, which was sold to MTV/Viacom in 2006. He now lives in Seattle with his husband, Michael Jensen.

The Thing I Didn't Know I Didn't Know

It's a horror-movie extravaganza in this companion to Brent Hartinger's Geography Club! Two books in one recount the stories of best friends Min and Russel who sign up to be extras on the set of a zombie film – then learn that there's nothing scarier than high school romance! Read one story, flip the book over, and read the other! In Attack of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies, Russel must choose between his long-distance boyfriend and a close-to-home ex who wants to get back together. In Bride of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies, Min struggles to accept her cheerleader girlfriend's decision to stay in the closet. Russel and Min's separate stories affect each other in surprising ways – but you'll have to read both books to find out how!

Attack of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies / Bride of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies

Split Screen

Alternating chapters follow the lives of two very different high school boys, popular Harlan and geeky Manny, whose recent nightmares and premonitions of disaster are linked to mysterious past events. By the author of Last Chance Texaco.

Grand & Humble

Living with his grandparents on a tiny island off the Washington coast, Zach feels cut off from the world, but when his little brother, Gilbert, is kidnapped Zach and a new friend, Emory, seek him in the astral realm, where a centuries-old creature hungers for Zach's soul.

Shadow Walkers

Two Thousand Pounds Per Square Inch

The guy looked at me with a stare that would have frozen antifreeze. "You the new groupie, huh?" "Yeah," I said. "So?" "So no one wants you here. Why don't you go back where you came from?" I can't go back, I wanted to say. That was the thing about living in a group home. There was nowhere for me to go but forward. Brent Hartinger's second novel, a portrait of a subculture of teenagers that many people would like to forget, is as powerful and provocative as his first book, Geography Club.

The Last Chance Texaco

Thing I Didn't Know I Didn't Know

When their fathers insist that they get summer jobs, three fifteen-year-old friends in Tacoma, Washington, dedicate their summer vacation to fooling their parents into thinking that they are working, which proves to be even harder than having real jobs would have been.

Project Sweet Life

Book 1 in The Otto Digmore Series "Road trip!" Otto Digmore is a 26-year-old gay guy with dreams of being a successful actor, and he's finally getting some attention as a result of his supporting role on a struggling sitcom. But he's also a burn survivor with scars on half his face, and all indications are that he's just too different to ever find real Hollywood success. Now he's up for an amazing new role that could change everything. Problem is, he and his best friend Russel Middlebrook have to drive all the way across the country in order to get to the audition on time. It's hard to say which is worse: the fact that so many things go wrong, or that Russel, an aspiring screenwriter, keeps comparing their experiences to some kind of road trip movie. There's also the fact that Otto and Russel were once boyfriends, and Otto is starting to realize that he might still have romantic feelings for his best friend. Just how far will Otto go to get the role, and maybe the guy, of his dreams? Author Brent Hartinger first introduced the character of Otto Digmore in 2005, in his Lambda Award-winning books about Russel Middlebrook. Back then, Otto was something pretty unusual for YA literature: a disabled gay character. Now, more than a decade later, Otto is grown up and finally stepping into the spotlight on his own. The Otto Digmore Difference, the first book in a new stand-alone series for adults, is about much more than the challenges of being "different." It's also about the unexpected nature of all of life's journeys, and the heavy price that must be paid for Hollywood fame. But more than anything, it's a different kind of love story, about the frustrating and fantastic power of the love between two friends.

The Otto Digmore Difference

Russel Middlebrook needs to get away. It's tough being sixteen and out at your high school. So being a summer camp counselor sounds like the perfect solution -- but Russel has no idea how crazy this summer will be. Rowdy ten-year-old burn survivors, Indian legends, moonlit skinny dipping, and passionate summer romance are just the beginning ... and then there's the new secret society, the Order of the Poison Oak.

NOW A FEATURE FILM! And being developed as a TV series... "Our parents just said we had to get summer jobs. They didn't say what summer jobs!" Dave and his two best friends, Hannah and Curtis, are looking forward to a summer of complete freedom, but their parents have another idea: they insist that the three teenagers get summer jobs. But the friends come up with a plan: Why not invent fake jobs to get their parents off their backs? The trouble is, their parents are going to want to see them bringing in real money. And that means finding a way to get-rich-quick, but without breaking the law, and without doing any actual work. The summer passes and Dave, Curtis, and Hannah try a long list of schemes: trying to catch bank robbers to win the reward; scientifically calculating the "correct" number of jelly beans in a contest jar; finding and exploring a network of underground smugglers' tunnels; and even diving for sunken treasure. But "Project Pay Day" never quite goes according to plan, and they don't get the money they need. Soon summer is almost over, and they have no choice but to solve a big local mystery, or face the consequences of their actions, which includes their parents breaking up the trio for good! (For readers age 10 and up) A previous version of this book was published under the title Project Sweet Life. "A hilarious story filled with mishaps, close calls, and outrageous adventures...The novel will be especially appealing to middle school boys."- School Library Journal "The 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 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 teens 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

Brent Hartinger

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