The Honest Truth

by Dan Gemeinhart

Overview

The debut of a phenomenal new middle-grade talent.

It's never too late for the adventure of a lifetime.In all the ways that matter, Mark is a normal kid. He's got a dog named Beau and a best friend, Jessie. He likes to take photos and write haiku poems in his notebook. He dreams of climbing a mountain one day.But in one important way, Mark is not like other kids at all. Mark is sick. The kind of sick that means hospitals. And treatments. The kind of sick some people never get better from.So Mark runs away. He leaves home with his camera, his notebook, his dog, and a plan. A plan to reach the top of Mount Rainier. Even if it's the last thing he ever does.The Honest Truth is a rare and extraordinary novel about big questions, small moments, and one incredible journey.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780545665766
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	01/27/2015
Sold by:	Scholastic, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	923,803
Lexile:	550L (what's this?)
File size:	7 MB
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Dan Gemeinhart is a teacher-librarian and father of three daughters. His debut novel, The Honest Truth, was a New York Times Editors' Choice selection, an Amazon.com Best Book of the Month, and an Indie Next List pick. His follow-up, Some Kind of Courage, was met with critical acclaim, garnering two starred reviews. Dan lives with his family in Cashmere, Washington. Visit him at dangemeinhart.com.

Read an Excerpt

From THE HONEST TRUTH:The mountain was calling me. I had to run away. I had to.And I didn't need anyone to go with me. I tightened the straps on my backpack and held the front screen door open with my foot. "Come on, Beau!" I called, and my voice didn't shake one bit. It was strong. Like me.Beau came rocketing out the door, his tail slapping my legs. He danced on his front paws on the porch, his mismatched eyes smiling up at me, his tongue hanging out happy. I bent down and scratched him behind his ears the way he loved, the way only I knew how to do. "You're always ready for a walk, aren't you, buddy?" He panted out a yes."Well," I said, grabbing the handles of my duffel bag and standing up. "You're in for a doozy." I looked out to the horizon, to the white-topped mountains in the distance. "The biggest walk of all. That's the truth."

Editorial Reviews

11/01/2014
Gr 5–8—Twelve-year-old Mark wants to climb a mountain before his imminent death from cancer, so he runs away to Mt. Rainier with only his faithful dog, Beau, to accompany him. In alternating chapters, Mark's best friend Jessie, at home, narrates her moral dilemma: should she honor his last request or reveal his location to the worried adults who would deny him his wish? As each event befalls Mark along his journey, Beau increasingly proves himself, while Jessie vacillates. Gemeinhart, a first-time author, keeps the pace with short, active chapters leading to a satisfying, if somewhat predictable, ending. Descriptions of place and character are good, the Northwest Washington setting palpable, and Mark's continuous descriptions of headaches and nausea, if a bit repetitive, can be chalked up to realism. The actions of the adult characters along the way are slightly less believable but suspension of disbelief is possible with such a compelling premise and Mark's ringing sense of confidence. Recommended for general purchase and for classroom structured reading. This will be especially interesting to capable but reluctant readers, particularly dog lovers.—Rhona Campbell, Georgetown Day School, Washington, DC

School Library Journal

The Mark chapters brim with action…The love between boy and dog is palpable throughout and helps power the narrative forward. In fact, some of the most heart-thumping moments in this page turner involve Beau and the transformational love Mark feels for his dog. The Honest Truth is about nothing less than life and death, and choosing between them when life means a new round of cancer treatments.

The New York Times Book Review - Cynthia Kadohata

★ 11/03/2014
Gemeinhart debuts with an emotionally hard-hitting survival story about 12-year-old Mark who, facing another bout of the cancer he’s been fighting throughout his childhood, runs away with his loyal dog, Beau, to fulfill his dream of climbing Mount Rainer. Armed with cash, camera, notebook, and a pen for jotting down the haikus that come constantly to mind, Mark soon encounters distressing setbacks, culminating in the onset of a dangerous storm. His harrowing adventures are interspersed with brief third-person half-chapters focusing on his best friend Jessie, who knows where he is and the danger he is in, and struggles whether to keep his secret. Jessie’s internal battle between her loyalty to Mark and her empathy for his frightened parents is nearly as intense as Mark’s trip to the mountain and his attempt to climb it. Both children’s reflections on dying ring very true, as do most of the secondary characters Mark meets. The many moments of heart-racing suspense, as well as the underlying gravity, may overwhelm faint-hearted readers; hardier ones will find it a gripping page-turner. Ages 8–12. Agent: Pam van Hylckama Vlieg, D4EO Literary. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for The Honest Truth:An Amazon.com Best Book of the Month (February)A Kids' Indie Next Pick (Winter '14-'15)*"An emotionally hard-hitting survival story... a gripping page-turner." — Publishers Weekly, starred review"A heartbreaking, moving novel that makes you want to embrace the boy at its center and hold him close." — Holly Goldberg Sloan, New York Times bestselling author of Counting by 7s"Debut author Gemeinhart has pulled off an impressive combination of suspenseful adventure thriller and cancer narrative... Touching but unsentimental, this is a deeply moving adventure." — Booklist"Gemeinhart presents a rousingly riveting two-hanky read." — Kirkus Reviews"Writer/librarian Dan Gemeinhart has taken great care to craft a believable and poignant tale of steely resolve and undying friendship. Reluctant readers will especially enjoy the forward-moving adventure, and dog lovers will be thrilled with this truly magnificent tale of "boy loves dog" (and vice versa)... an outstanding debut novel." — Bookpage"Gemeinhart... has crafted an extraordinary story about savoring life and exploring the meanings of strength." — Alaska Airlines Magazine

From the Publisher

Narrator Nick Podehl expresses the complex feelings of young protagonist Mark as he attempts to climb a mountain, his final wish before surrendering to a fatal illness. Each chapter of Mark’s voyage is followed by a passage from his worried family and best friend, Jessie. Podehl switches smoothly from the frustrated voice of Mark to the concerned voices of his family and friend. The characters Mark meets along the way are each given a unique voice—from the annoyed gift shop cashier to the tired but well-meaning bus driver. This heartfelt story will take listeners on Mark’s climb to the top as he begins to understand life and death. M.D. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

SEPTEMBER 2016 - AudioFile

2014-10-22
With only his faithful dog, Beau, for company, Mark, a boy with recurrent cancer, runs away from home to fulfil his dream of climbing Mount Rainier. Told in alternating first-person voices, Gemeinhart's heart-rending yet suspenseful novel tells the equally gripping stories of the boy who went to the mountain and the girl who stayed behind. In certain respects, the story of Mark's best friend, Jessie, who spends the novel waiting, hoping and worrying, is the more morally complex of the two. Even though he's only 12, Mark makes a personal decision that affects others but in the end is his choice. But Jessie is the keeper of the secret, a task that becomes harder and harder as Mark's parents become increasingly frantic and a dangerous snowstorm approaches. Mark, who is plagued by headaches and nausea, must use every ounce of his courage and smarts to persevere. Along the way, he's helped and hindered by various characters; the most poignant is a biologist who lost his son in Iraq, and the most fabulous is a dog loyal enough to give lessons to Lassie. An overexplanatory conclusion mars the story, though it's still undeniably moving. Writing with care to keep from too-explicit detail, Gemeinhart presents a rousingly riveting two-hanky read. (Fiction. 9-13)

Kirkus Reviews