Brent Hartinger

Funny, openly gay high school junior Russel Middlebrook-the star of Hartinger's Geography Club and two sequels-finds the adventure he is looking for when he falls for an anti-consumerist freegan who pops out of the school Dumpster. Through Wade, Russel is exposed to new experiences (like eating roadkill) and challenging ideas ("When you don't spend your whole life looking at a television or a computer screen, you can't help but take a good look at the world"). But just as their relationship show more turns romantic, Russel's friend Gunnar suspects that Wade and his freegan friends may be taking their beliefs to a dangerous extreme. show less

Stupid internet. I am not writing this review again. It's well-executed; definitely the best 'gay teen' book I've read. Not genius, but you can't have everything. Cliches are used, but not with an overly heavy hand. I cared a surprising amount about the characters and wanted to read more---lots more. I still want to know who 'patient zero' was!

What first drew me in to Shadow Walkers was the idea of astral projection. I would love nothing more than to be able to leave my physical body behind and just travel! Brent Hartinger hits the nail on the head with his explanation in this book. By the time I had finished reading, I'd say I had a pretty good handle on the concept. If you have ever wondered about astral projection, you'll find it simply fascinating.

Truthfully though, other than the astral projection aspect, this book had a show more difficult time holding my attention. The characters are sweet enough. Zach has a good head on his shoulders, although he feels trapped on his island home. Emory is sincere and definitely meshes with Zach. However it was Gilbert that stole the show, let me tell you. This fireball of a little brother was so adorable! When he goes missing I seriously had a moment of panic. Such a cute little kid!

The romance aspect of the book was also a nice addition. I thought it was fabulous that Brent Hartinger included a homosexual romance that wasn't angst driven or a social issue. It did fall a little flat for me though, mostly in the believability department. Although I enjoyed the fact that the boys were able to connect on such an otherworldly level, their relationship moved like lightning. I've heard of stress bringing people together, but even with my paranormal blinders on I had a hard time accepting that they would be so into one another in such a short time.

Added on is a bit of a side story about an astral creature that tries to devour the souls floating in the astral realm. I liked this addition, but I so wished it was a little more drawn out and explained. It was genuinely interesting! It just happened to be overshadowed by everything else going on. I'd honestly have to say that my favorite part of the whole book was the mystery surrounding Gilbert's disappearance. I had no idea where that part of the story was going, and as Zach searched I genuinely worried. When your favorite character ends up missing, well that's just something that you end up worrying about.

My final verdict on this book is that it is a sweet, short and unique read. Although it didn't sate my whole literary appetite, there was definitely enough there to keep me coming back! If Zach, Emory and Gilbert come back in a second book I'll be there to follow them on their adventures. show less

The latest installment in the Russel Middlebrook series takes a bit of a different turn in terms of presentation. While I can understand that some might think the idea of reading a story and then reading it again from another character's perspective, I contend that Hartinger's choice and method were both ingenious and well-done. Thus far readers have seen everything through Russel's eyes (thus is the nature of first-person narration). Since a number of things happened to Russel's friend Min show more that he didn't know about, it makes sense that the only way to present them to readers is to have Min tell her story. By doing so, Hartinger also helps us to understand Min even better - her narration is in a distinct voice that is in line with what we know of her character and gives us more insight into her life.

I enjoyed this just about as much as I enjoyed The Order of the Poison Oak and am looking forward to the latest book, The Elephant of Surprise. show less