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On My Honor: A Newbery Honor Award Winner

by Marion Dane Bauer

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Friendship, choice, and guilt

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Paperback New English

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Awards & Recognition

  • Award recognition

    Newbery Honor Book

    Identified as a Newbery Honor Book; this is an honor, not a Newbery Medal win.

  • Critical praise

    Booklist starred review

    Booklist gave the book a starred review and called it a powerful, soul-stirring novel.

AlbakiReads Editorial

Friendship, choice, and guilt

During a bike trip, Joel’s decision to swim in the Vermilion River with his friend Tony leads to a tragic loss. The novel centers on Joel’s fear of confessing his disobedience and the guilt he carries afterward, while his father helps him face what happened. At 96 pages, the story places a young boy’s struggle with responsibility within the close relationships of friendship and family. It also explores how people reckon with choices when they did not foresee their consequences.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Children ages 9–12 interested in realistic fiction about friendship and family.
  • Readers exploring themes of guilt, responsibility, and the consequences of choices.

Themes

FriendshipGuilt and conscienceResponsibilityFamily supportConsequences of choices

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

Newbery Honor Book. "A gripping, compassionate portrayal of a boy's struggle with conscience" (Kirkus) by bestselling author Marion Dane Bauer.

While on a bike trip, Joel's best friend Tony drowns while they are swimming in the forbidden, treacherous Vermilion River. Joel is terrified at having to tell of his disobedience and overwhelmed by his feelings of guilt, even though the daring act was Tony's idea, and Joel didn't know that Tony couldn't swim. But Joel's loving and protective father will help him deal with the tragic aftermath--and understand that we all must live with the choices we make.

"A powerful, soul-stirring novel told simply and well." --Booklist (starred review)

"This is a devastating but beautifully written story of a boy's all-consuming guilt over the role he plays in the death of his best friend. Bauer's honest and gripping novel joins the ranks of such as Katherine Paterson's Bridge to Terabithia in its handling of these issues." --Publishers Weekly

"Descriptions are vivid, characterization and dialogue natural, and the style taut but unforced. A powerful, moving book." --School Library Journal

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