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Highlights
- WINNER OF THE 2024 GRATEFUL AMERICAN BOOK PRIZE FOR BEST YOUNG ADULT HISTORICAL FICTION!Ray Elias is a precocious but withdrawn sixteen-year-old growing up in an affluent suburb of New York in the early sixties.
- 324 Pages
- Young Adult Fiction, Politics & Government
Description
Book Synopsis
WINNER OF THE 2024 GRATEFUL AMERICAN BOOK PRIZE FOR BEST YOUNG ADULT HISTORICAL FICTION!
Ray Elias is a precocious but withdrawn sixteen-year-old growing up in an affluent suburb of New York in the early sixties. Numbed by the assassination of President Kennedy, Ray chances upon a TV documentary about the most recent presidential election and is drawn to the ebullient senator from Minnesota, Hubert Humphrey, who unsuccessfully challenged John Kennedy for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1960.
With the senator as his newfound hero, Ray fashions a mission for himself: make Humphrey Lyndon Johnson's running mate in 1964. To the amazement of his friends and cynical father, Humphrey learns of Ray's plan to lobby the delegates and, impressed with his sincerity and ambition, takes Ray under his wing.
Ray enters college as the senator is elected vice president, but the relationship unravels when Humphrey becomes an ardent public supporter of the Vietnam War, despite his personal belief in the war's futility. As the tension between them grows and their bond deteriorates, Ray is devastated by his loss of faith in Humphrey. However, he finds consolation for his disappointment in Ruth, a spirited classmate from the other side of the tracks who teaches him understanding and empathy.
As Ray matures to young adulthood he reconnects with Humphrey-who has by now achieved a political revival and is mulling a fresh run at the presidency--and the two reconcile after Humphrey finally acknowledges his breach of Ray's trust, and Ray forgives his former mentor.
Loosely based on the author's real-life relationship with Vice President Hubert Humphrey, Humphrey and Me portrays the often highly emotional journey that comes with embracing our heroes, while set against the backdrop of the tempestuous political eras of the 1960s and '70s.
Review Quotes
"In this heartfelt account of a crucial period in American history, an idealism that can sometimes seem lost today comes alive again."-Andrea Barrett, National Book Award-winning author of Ship Fever
"Humphrey and Me is a smart and thought-provoking story--made even better by knowing it's based on the author's own experiences."--Steve Sheinkin, three-time National Book Award finalist
"Democracies are strongest when they produce leaders who can inspire the young. Stuart Brody's engaging and entertaining novel Humphrey and Me explores this crucial and timely dynamic between a young man and an idealistic politician. It reminds us that Hubert Humphrey, despite his flaws, was a virtuous and important 20th century figure, one deserving of our admiration and respect."--Thurston Clarke, author of the New York Times bestseller The Last Campaign: Robert F. Kennedy and 82 Days That Inspired America
"Brody, who was inspired by his own relationship with Humphrey, packs the novel with significant historic details . . . . An important chapter in American history told with clarity and honesty."--Kirkus Reviews
"In this thoughtful and moving novel, Brody illuminates in fiction what he explored in his wonderful treatise The Law of Small Things--how we learn to be good. He demonstrates why choices matter in the formation of character, and in so doing, he helps us understand the basis of human freedom."--Larry Arnn, president of Hillsdale College
"By paralleling first person accounts of a young man's political awakening with that of his indefatigable mentor, Stuart Brody has rendered a timely affirmation of how enduring societies depend upon an apprenticeship of values. Most importantly, he has resuscitated for our cynical age a uniquely American notion of leadership and service."--Aaron Woolf, Peabody Award-winning documentary filmmaker
"Politics may be a dirty business, but there are still people who get in the game for the right reasons: to do what's right! In Humphrey and Me, Stuart Brody highlights one of the good guys--not because he was perfect, but because he genuinely believed in doing good. It's a great reminder of the complexities needed to understand people on a deeper level, and while it can be complicated, it can also be rewarding. It's a journey about finding consensus and alignment as opposed to agreement. Get started!"--Jeffrey Hayzlett, Host of C-Suite with Jeffrey Hayzlett
"The story could round out a school history unit on the mid-1960s political scene, giving insight to student activism."--Historical Novel Society
"The issues Ray confronts in Humphrey and Me are not unlike those Americans wrestle with today: Social injustice, racism, labor disputes, nuclear proliferation . . . decades have passed since Hubert Humphrey, called by many 'the last great true liberal, ' took a stand on these issues. And that is why the book is so poignant; we still struggle with them. . . . While Ray and the author's life experiences are a braid of fact and fiction, there are scenes in Humphrey and Me relating to the human condition in 1960's America that occur today."--Patagonia Regional Times
"The writing is strong and the plot moves quickly. The era feels authentic, from what the characters eat to mention of TV tables and junk mail. The dialogue is crisp and realistic, and the characters have satisfying arcs. For a first young-adult novel, Humphrey and Me is impressive; t