Overview

When thirteen-year-old Mark Miller runs away from his home in north central Washington, he does it right: he carefully plans the details of his escape, packs exactly what he needs, and sends the police and his parents chasing him in the wrong direction. And he brings his dog, Beau, the friend he can always count on.Back home, his best friend Jessie wrestles with the news of his disappearance. His most trusted confidant through many difficult years, she thinks she may know where he has gone—but she doesnt know why. And then she finds out: the cancer that Mark has fought for years has returned, and this time there may be nothing the doctors can do. Mark just might be dying, and now she is sure that she knows what he intends to do. It has long been his secret dream to climb formidable Mt. Rainier, and she fears that he has set off to do just that, or die trying. Knowing what her best friend is facing, Jessie struggles with the meaning of “loyalty” and “friendship.” Is it the duty of a friend to keep the secret and let him live out his final wish, or to tell his parents so that he can be rescued from a certain, lonely death on the distant mountain top?Mark takes trains, buses, walks, and even hitchhikes in his quest for the mountain. He survives getting mugged on the nighttime streets of Seattle, the pounding headaches of his returning cancer, and a plunge into an icy mountain river, all with Beau by his side. He pushes through doubts, fears, and the discovery of his identity by a stranger. Along the way he records his thoughts in a journal, and documents important moments with the camera he wears around his neck.Finally, he begins his ascent of the mountain, in the midst of an unseasonable winter storm. Pushing through cold, exhaustion and despair, Mark stumbles upon an unlikely peace. The anger which has motivated him is blown away by the alpine winds, and he accepts the reality of his life, and perhaps even his death.When his rescuers find him—led by Beau who had gone for help—he is near death. He is brought to a hospital, where he is joined by his parents and Jessie. In the days that follow he shares the story of his trip with Jessie. He tells her of the hardships and friends he met along the way. And he asks her to tell his story for him. In what may be a last, difficult act of friendship, Jessie puts pen to paper and begins to write down the story of her friends final adventures—and the truth that he found on the mountain.

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9781491519035

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Dan Gemeinhart is a teacher, librarian, and father of three. The Honest Truth is his first book.

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