Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
The Honest Truth (Scholastic Press, 2015) by Dan Gemeinhart is such a heart-wrenching story and a compelling read. Look at the opening lines, “The mountain was calling me. I had to run away. I had to.”
Mark and his dog, Beau, trained to be quiet in a duffle bag, leave home in Wenatchee without looking back. To throw off anyone looking for him, Mark buys bus tickets to Spokane, but then uses a train ticket to Seattle that he’d already purchased online. His plan? To climb to the top of Mount Rainier to die.
I love that we get his best friend, Jessie’s point of view too.
I’ve already recommended others of Dan’s books; I’m only sad I didn’t read this one earlier. It appears to be his first book published.
Read about the author here–he’s also a librarian–and check out his other books here.