"In Honor" Review

Date Published: May 8, 2012

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Number of Pages: 235

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

First Thoughts:

Wow, I absolutely loved this book; it’s one of those books where you just want to keep on reading till the very last page. It has a lot of the emotions mixed together and I loved how the author was able to take a completely depressing issue and bring life to it; she made it inspirational. I loved reality based stories and this one was no exception, the author’s writing was beautiful, the characters were easy to connect with and the pace was extremely fast…this is one book I won’t ever forget and perhaps I took more from this book than I had ever expected to.

Plot:

The plot was amazing, it had the perfect pace; just enough slow moments to help the fast moments stay balanced. The concept though isn’t all that original had its fair share of comical and gut-wrenching scenes. The way the author created obstacles for the characters helped the plot become that much more complex and fun to read. I think the best part of the story was when they were at the park…I think that was an essential spot that impacted the main protagonist for the rest of the book. And as for the emotions, there were plenty of scenes where I found myself on the verge of tears, the grief that the author placed upon the characters shoulders was enormous but I’m glad the author was able to really get the reader to see that true emotion. But there were plenty of comical scenes to help bring the reader out of that dark pit, so in overall sense the emotion was perfect, just the right amount of each emotion to create a good reality based story. As far as sub-plots go there were only a few and I wouldn’t even count them as being anything big, they were mostly just problems branching off another character, so in the end it’s mainly just one big conflict that all leads to the same plot. And like I mentioned above the pace was fast so I don’t think there will be any difficulties reading this book quickly. I just really enjoyed the whole story…I liked that things didn’t go the way that I expected them to go, I liked the risks the characters took in this book and mostly I just enjoyed stepping out of my life and seeing someone else’s for a change. So overall I really enjoyed the story and didn’t find anything wrong with the plot.

Romance:

Yes there was a little romance but not in the way that you would think. This story isn’t about love and the need of finding your soul mate. This story is about re-discovering yourself and taking your first steps of independence. And really the romance that is in this story is perfect and right in every way and the way it ends up is not what you expected and it kind of leaves you wondering well, what happens next? So overall this was not the main conflict of the story and I found it to fit in just at the right moments.

Characters:

I really loved Honor, I instantly connected with her, and her grief was instantly mine. She just had this aura that the author portrayed that really allowed me to understand her; to really be her. She was craftily created and I loved that she wasn’t perfect; she had flaws. As far as Rusty he definitely made a remember-able first appearance and I instantly liked him, he had this way about him that allowed me to see through his false façade and see the real Rusty. And as far as her brother Finn he technically never made a physical appearance in the book (duh!) but I felt his presence through Honor and I thought it was really cool to experience that. As far as some of the other minor characters they were all necessarily and precisely placed, loved every single one of them. So overall the characters were really easy to connect with and made the story come to life.

Transformation of the Character:

There was a really beautiful transformation that took place; it was gradual and very subtle. I really enjoyed seeing the process and seeing a very vulnerable character go through several obstacles until finally she was someone new; some different from who we met in the beginning of the book. There were actually two transformations and I really thought both were really beautiful and played out just right…I don’t want to go into details in chance of ruining the book for you but just take my word for it that the transformations did not feel fake or rushed.

Description:

I really enjoyed the way this author chose to describe each little detail of scenery without actually going into much detail, does that make sense? The landscape was beautifully described, I really felt like I was there traveling with Honor and seeing the country through her eyes. The best described scene no doubt had to be the sunrise at the park…it was so beautifully written and I’ll never ever forget that scene…as far as the amount of description I didn’t think there was too much or not enough, it seemed just the right amount for this story. The author really allowed the senses to take bloom and allow the reader to really get the full experience a book can offer. She was able to take a mundane image and turn into something meaningful…it’s not something you get to see in every book. I really enjoyed the description and believed it to be a strong point in this book. And as far as dialogue I felt that it was a little awkward at times but overall seemed to fit into each scene just right.

Style:

The author chose to write in first person and in only one POV. The choice she made fit just right with this story, we were really able to get inside Honor’s head and understand each line of thinking which better explained some of her awkward and comical scenes. As far as the writing itself it was beautiful and smooth, it wasn’t anything that made me stumble or make me go back to previous pages…no this was an easy and fast paced book. This book was really hard to put down, I just kept wanting to read more…it was that good. So overall I enjoyed the authors writing and choice of POV, it really added to the story.

Quote of the book:

“Suspended as we were, with no horizon line or landscape or anything else to draw a separation between the water and sky, I pictured us up there with the stars. Another story written in tiny lights.”

Goodreads Summary:

Hours after her brother’s military funeral, Honor opens the last letter Finn ever sent. In her grief, she interprets his note as a final request and spontaneously decides to go to California to fulfill it.

Honor gets as far as the driveway before running into Rusty, Finn’s best friend since third grade and his polar opposite. She hasn’t seen Rusty in ages, but it’s obvious he is as arrogant and stubborn as ever—not to mention drop-dead gorgeous. Despite Honor’s better judgment, the two set off together on a voyage from Texas to California. Along the way, they find small and sometimes surprising ways to ease their shared loss and honor Finn’s memory—but when shocking truths are revealed at the end of the road, will either of them be able to cope with the consequences?

Last Thoughts:

I would recommend this to fans of realistic type books and to any of you who have lost a loved one and had to rediscover yourself because of it. This was truly an inspirational and emotional story. I found it to beautifully written and paced just right. I would definitely read more by this author and recommend her to anyone willing to listen. This had definitely become a book I will hold dear to my heart.

My Rating: