On My Honor

Joel and Tony have been best friends since they were small. Joel has always been the obedient, cautious one; Tony is a charismatic daredevil. Tony's latest scheme is to bike out to the state park and climb the bluffs. Joel doesn't want to, but what boy wants his best friend calling him a coward?

It almost sounds like the set up to a heavy lesson story, doesn't it? Instead, through a third person narration closely tied to Joel's point of view, we see a realistic boy who wants to do the right thing, but also save face with his friend. While it isn't necessarily the type of story I'd choose to reread, I can see why it was a Newbery Honor book.

In On My Honor by Marion Bauer, the tone is serious and reflective, showing the challenges of friendship and coping with loss. The book is a valuable learning experience for children because it teaches important lessons about trusting your gut and safety. Joel's character grows a lot throughout the story. At first, he is a carefree kid, but after a tragic event, he learns to cope and has an eye-opening experience with real life. Reading this book in 4th grade, while living close to where similar tragedies happen, made it feel very real and personal. I could deeply empathize with Joel’s struggles and felt a mix of fear and sadness rereading this at an older age. This story had shaped the way I made decisions growing up at a young age show more and was a reminder to think carefully about the consequences of my actions. show less

Two boys set out for a long summer bike ride to some bluffs in the local state park, but Tony, the daredevil of the two, pushes Joel (who has been hesitant about the whole expedition from the start) to do something Joel knows is too dangerous: go for a swim in the river. Joel has promised his dad not to do anything he shouldn't, but Tony is persistent, and both boys pay for it in different ways, in the end. A short but powerful book that skillfully captures childhood friendships, peer pressures, and survivor's guilt.

"Tony's the only one who doesn't have to live with his decision." I agree, Dad, that Joel has been punished enough. He's probably never going to get the smell of the river out of his mind, nor ever want to swim again. Maybe be timid of everything for the rest of his four-score years.

And Tony, well, Tony would have died of doing something reckless, probably sooner rather than later. Climbing the bluffs the next day, or drinking and driving as a teen, experimenting with drugs as a young man, whatever.

We parents try to raise our kids to be brave, but not reckless. It's a pretty narrow line between the two. And at the same time remind them to be honorable & honest. It's amazing how many kids do turn out to be decent & healthy adults, show more actually. show less

Cautious Joel and his reckless friend Tony go on a bike ride to a local park, but stop on the way to go swimming in a muddy, turbulent river. When Tony calls Joel a coward, Joel challenges his friend to swim across the river to a sandbar, 100 feet away, but when Joel gets to the sandbar, Tony is gone.
Once it is clear that Tony has in fact drowned, Joel must decide whether to be honest in reporting what happened, or to lie to save his own neck.
A simple, straight-forward story about honesty and guilt. There was very little coping with the death of a close friend. It was all about the guilt of having been a part of the chain of events that led to his death. A bit more grief would have given the story another angle of discussion and show more greater realism as well. show less

Saddest book I've ever read. Very hard to read as the mother of boys, but once I started, I had to finish. Very well written. Would be great book to open discussion on making good decisions. Heart breaking.

On my honor was a very sad book of two friends one was a daredevil while the other was very careful and scard. I would recommend this book because it can relate to any young kid growing up. I think that Joel should have told his parents sooner because the outcome could have been alot better then waiting till the police came. He could have tried to convince him to stay go to the state park, go swimming or just not go anywhere. I believe that if he had made these suggestions that Tony would not have died that day. I believe that Tony was a great friend to Joel as Joel was to him, it just goes to show that sometimes as a kid we make bad decisions and someone could get hurt or even worse die.This is why I feel that if someone wants to do show more something you feel is a bad idea you should voice your opinion as oppose to just staying shut.
I think the author is great. I also think that this book needs to be read to children because it shows what peer pressusre can do to children and also hurt many people in the process. show less