By Dan Gemeinhart
Published in 2015
10+ years
Suggested age group
Realistic Fiction |Adventure | Emotional
Genre
What is The Honest Truth by Dan Gemeinhart about?
The Honest Truth is an emotional story about friendship, courage, and survival as a boy runs away to climb Mount Rainier while battling a serious illness.
Discover our Review and Summary of The Honest Truth by Dan Gemeinhart
A once-in-a-lifetime adventure of a boy called Mark and his dog, Beau. The journey teaches him courage and leads to a meaningful realisation through bittersweet life experiences – that happiness comes from within and shows the true value of family.
Mark was diagnosed with cancer at the age of five. He fought it once, but it has now come back after seven years. Mark is struggling and unsure of his future. He has a dream to climb Mount Rainier- an almost impossible mission. It is his calling, the only thing that can truly make him happy.
One night, Mark and Beau run away to fulfil his lifelong desire. He leaves behind a note for his best friend, Jessie. Jessie is torn – should she tell everyone, or keep Mark’s secret safe?
On this journey, Mark faces real-life experiences – good, bad and ugly. He reaches a crossroads and finds himself going back and forth between continuing the journey or returning home.
One of my favourite parts of the book is at the start of Mark’s journey. On a bus ride, he meets a very talkative young girl who gives him confidence in his decisions and takes his mind off doubts and worries.
My favourite character is Beau – he is brave and very loyal to Mark, standing by him through thick and thin. Beau is a very important character in this story; Mark’s life would have been very different without him.
Is The Honest Truth Worth Reading?
Overall, I loved reading this book. It explores challenges and emotional impact on children suffering from cancer, while also emphasising that even though they may be different, they can still do the same things as anyone else and live a content life.
I recommend this book to readers who enjoy stories about friendship and adventure. I rate it 4 out of 5 starts because, although it has a great storyline, the writing style is not always very impressive.
If you enjoyed this, you may also like:
Shine by Candy Gourlay, a powerful YA book about Identity & Finding Confidence.
Boy in the Tower by Polly Ho-Yen, Dystopian survival book about isolation and emotional resilience.
Holes by Louis Sachar, a survival adventure book about friendship, mystery and resilience.