The Honest Truth

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2015

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-2 ½

Chapters 3-4 ½

Chapters 5-6 ½

Chapters 7-8 ½

Chapters 9-10 ½

Chapters 11-12 ½

Chapters 13-13 ½

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Chapters 9-10 ½Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 9 Summary: “Miles to Go: 24”

The driver—Wesley, a park service biologist—insists that Mark gets in the car, and Mark reluctantly concedes. Mark is guarded, but Wesley’s demeanor eventually calms him enough to doze off. When Mark wakes again, Wesley offers him a ham and cheese sandwich, which Mark shares with Beau. Wesley starts a conversation, and Mark quickly realizes that Wesley suspects his identity. Instead of confronting Mark outright, Wesley tells his own son’s story. Wesley’s son joined the army to earn free college, but he died in Iraq before he could attend school. Wesley, visibly grieved, remarks, “A daddy is supposed to keep his kids safe. He’s supposed to protect them. That’s all there is to it. That’s the truth. And I couldn’t help my boy” (148). Wesley empathizes with the missing boy’s parents, but Mark’s decision is already set. Mark explains his perspective (speaking in the third person to avoid self-incrimination) and insists that the missing boy probably just wants people to leave him alone. By the conversation’s end, Wesley is more sympathetic to Mark’s wishes and considers helping him along his journey.

Chapter 9 ½ Summary

Jessie watches the TV intently as the weather report becomes bleaker. The oncoming storm will affect an expansive area, but the reporter assures that heavy snow will only affect mountainous areas. Mark’s search party receives this as good news, but only Jessie knows Mark’s true destination—Mount Rainier—and that he’s in danger. She questions whether keeping Mark’s secret is what he really wants, thinking, “What if he wanted her to tell? What if he needed her to tell? What if he was huddled somewhere, shivering and terrified, wondering why she hadn’t called for help?” (156). Doubt adds tribulation to the secret that already threatens to tear her apart.

Chapter 10 Summary: “Miles to Go: 8”

Mark and Wesley arrive at the Paradise Visitor Center, but Wesley is still reluctant to let Mark go. Mark tells Wesley about his grandfather—his climbing obsession, how kidney disease slowly withered him away, and his last words: “I never wanted to die like this” (160). Mark, healthy at the time, promised his grandfather that he would climb Mount Rainier for him. Mark wants to end his life with adventure and exercise the freedom to determine his own path. Finally, after Mark lies about how far up the mountain he will climb—and his intent to return—Wesley reluctantly lets Mark leave, tentatively promising to give him a couple of hours’ head start before notifying the authorities. Wesley drives away slowly, and Mark takes a picture of the disappearing truck. Mark commands Beau to stay outside, and he enters the visitor center. He buys snacks for the hike, and a bored cashier collects his money. Mark realizes that the monotone cashier could be the last person he ever talks to, so he returns one candy bar, asks for quarters in change, and heads toward a payphone. Mark thinks of a number carefully and dials Jessie’s phone.

Chapter 10 ½ Summary

Jessie answers the phone and recognizes Mark’s voice instantly. Mark tells her that he made it, and Jessie doesn’t know how to interpret the news: “He didn’t exactly say it proud. He didn’t exactly say it scared. Like his words couldn’t decide what part of his heart they came from. And her ears couldn’t decide what part of her heart they’d heard from” (169). Mark explains how he wants to hear her voice, how he feels a little lonely, and that he loves her. Hearing his weak voice, Jessie’s “heart soared and broke at the same time” (171). She begs Mark to reconsider his decision, but Mark hangs up. She whispers that she loves him, too, to a silent phone.

Chapters 9-10 ½ Analysis

Wesley is the narrative’s first experienced figure that speaks into Mark’s life. He reluctantly takes a parental role, understanding that Mark would retreat if he pushed too fast. Wesley respects that he only met Mark minutes ago, but he still feels a need to impart his perspective before simply allowing Mark to continue his dangerous quest. Wesley even unwittingly echoes advice Mark’s mother once gave him. Wesley, commenting on faithful dogs, says, “Dogs teach you love and kindness. They remind you what’s important” (141). Then, when Mark once again counters how good dogs still die, Wesley points out, “Sure. Course they do. But their dyin’ don’t make their livin’ worth any less” (142). This conversation mimics Mark’s conversation with his mom almost exactly, reinforcing a lesson that Mark is still processing.

Wesley is also the only character to utter Mark’s catchphrase, which occurs while he tells Mark about his son’s death: “A daddy is supposed to keep his kids safe. […] That’s the truth. And I couldn’t help my boy” (148). Like the earlier reiterated conversation, Wesley doesn’t realize that his words directly reflect themes in Mark’s life. Unlike the former reference, however, his use of the phrase “that’s the truth” echoes not Mark’s mother but rather Mark himself. These lines establish Wesley’s role as a wise, experienced adult and someone willing to sympathize with Mark’s situation.

Mark and Wesley’s conversation also allows Mark to verbalize his deeper reasons for climbing Mount Rainier. Mark must tell his story in the third person if he wants to keep his identity a secret, though he knows his meticulous phrasing doesn’t fool Wesley. However, by telling his own story through ostensibly an outsider’s perspective, he can explain motivations that haven’t yet surfaced in his daily thoughts. Mark lists his life’s difficulties and says, “So maybe he just wants to climb a mountain and disappear. [...] Maybe that’s all he wants. Or at least all he gets. And maybe they should let him have it” (151). Mark’s impetuous actions ultimately exercise his freedom of choice. Cancer stole nearly all of his power to choose, and given the latest prognosis, all of Mark’s opportunities might end soon. If he wants to feel any sense of independence, he can’t give anyone else the chance to take it away from him.