Welcome To The Inner Workings of Brent's Brain

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!

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

"Another winning novel from the bestselling author."
-- TeenReads.com

"This book was so much fun...Project Sweet Life was sneak up on me good, it kept getting better. Highly Recommended."
-- The HappyNappyBookseller

"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

"Funny and touching at turns, this is a terrific book for boys (though not limited to them, of course) who want humor in books. It would have been easy for the humor to get out of hand and to overtake what is, in essence, a bit of a coming of age story. However, Hartinger manages to have some fun without going over the top."
-- The Goddess of YA Literature

"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



						Project Sweet Life by Brent Hartinger (for readers 10 and up) Synopsis


						"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!* 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 "Another winning novel from the bestselling author." -- TeenReads.com "This book was so much fun...Project Sweet Life was sneak up on me good, it kept getting better. Highly Recommended." -- The HappyNappyBookseller "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 "Funny and touching at turns, this is a terrific book for boys (though not limited to them, of course) who want humor in books. It would have been easy for the humor to get out of hand and to overtake what is, in essence, a bit of a coming of age story. However, Hartinger manages to have some fun without going over the top." -- The Goddess of YA Literature "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