The Honest Truth by Dan Gemeinhart is a novel written about a 12 year old boy named Mark who has a dream. In general, Mark is a normal boy. His best friend is a girl named Jessie and he has a dog named Beau. But there is one thing that separates Mark from other normal little boys.
Mark belongs in a hospital. Mark needs pills, machines, tubes, and treatments. He’s got a problem that he can never get away from. But Mark wants to get away from his problem; to accomplish his dream. Mark wants to climb a mountain.
Mark has always dreamed of climbing a mountain. He loves the glory of it. He loves how powerful, how strong it would make him. Not only would it be an incredible feat, but climbing a mountain is also a symbolic idea; such a small, broken human being, accomplishing a huge task. It shows that even the weakest creatures can do the most difficult and glorious challenges, if they put their minds to it.
The chapters alternate between Mark’s and his best friend, Jessie’s, point of view.
Mark’s chapters were around 10 pages long, whereas Jessie’s chapters were around 2-3 pages long. Jessie’s part would give us a peek at what his chaotic home was like without him. It showed short scenes of them searching for him, and a view of how Jessie was feeling and thinking. I would’ve liked for these parts to be extended. What was happening on the other side with his family and Jessie was important. Maybe they were not crucial to the story, but it was nice to see what everyone else was experiencing. I can only imagine what it would be like for your sick best friend/son to run away and disappear. It would have been great if we could have gotten a little more insight into that.
The fact is that Mark is weak, and in no condition to climb a frozen, deadly mountain. Mark’s journey is long, sad, and hard, but he is determined to make his dream a reality. So he pushes on, and works harder than any sick little boy should. Will Mark be able to climb the mountain successfully? Will Mark make it out alive?
The Honest Truth is a book for someone looking for reality with a twist of adventure and wonder. It’s a story that touches your heart and makes you look at things differently. I loved that it was such an unusual plot, so it pulled me in right away. When you think about people who are sick or have diseases, the last thing you would expect them to do is run away and climb a mountain. But this novel takes that idea and warps it into an amazing, believable tale.