On My Honor

Title: On My Honor

Author: Marion Dane Bauer

Target Age Group: Late Elementary/Middle School

My Rating: 3 out of 5

Summary: Joel and his friend Tony plan to ride their bikes miles away to Starved Rock park, even though they know their parents probably won't give them permission. Joel asks his dad, and his dad surprisingly agrees, even though Joel was secretly hoping his dad would say he couldn't go. Along the way, Tony stops by the river and suggests that they go swimming, which was what Joel wanted all along. Tony wanted to go swimming in the river, though, whereas Joel wanted to go at the community pool. The boys swim in the river, and Joel dares Tony to swim out to the sandbar across the way. Joel is a great swimmer, and has no trouble reaching the sandbar. When he turns around, though, Tony is gone. After searching the river, Joel realizes that Tony must have been pulled under and drowned. Much of the book deals with Joel feeling responsible for Tony's death and the battle he deals with inside himself about what he should tell his parents and Tony's parents. In the end, Joel tells everything he knows.

Review: Bauer is a good author, as far as the writing itself goes. I don't like the story. It's hard to read, even as an adult. However, there are some good aspects to it. First, it deals with the reality of consequences in life when we choose to do things we know we shouldn't. I think that's something every young person should understand, even if they don't actually have to experience it firsthand. I actually read this, because the 4th graders at work read it this year, and I heard good things about it from my coworker. I don't think it's horrible, I just don't know that I would have 9 and 10 year olds read it. It's heavy. It's real, but I know I wouldn't have been ready for this book in 4th grade. That being said, maybe 11 or 12 would be old enough? Maybe this isn't a great review, but it's a super short read, and I don't know what else to say. It is a smallish book anyway, and then there were only 90 pages of text. I read it in about an hour!