The Honest Truth

Question 1

What is Mark’s illness?

Answer 1

Cancer

Question 2

Who are the “angels” Mark sees?

Answer 2

Women singing in San Cristobal’s Restaurante

Question 3

What does Mark eventually do with his pills?

Answer 3

He dumps them on the road

Question 4

Why does Mark throw up after eating his food at the diner?

Answer 4

He takes his pills

Question 5

Why does Mark hate being bald?

Answer 5

It’s a sure sign of cancer

Question 6

What makes Beau special?

Answer 6

He has one brown eye like Mark, and one green eye like Jess

Question 7

What stops Mark from telling the police his location?

Answer 7

Beau barks at him

Question 8

What does Mark call the gang of boys?

Answer 8

Wolves

Question 9

Why does Mark call Jess?

Answer 9

To hear her voice

Question 10

Why doesn’t Shelby want to talk to her dad?

Answer 10

She’s mad at him for getting a divorce and leaving

Question 11

Why doesn’t Mark ever want to take off his hat?

Answer 11

It shows that he’s bald

Question 12

How did Mark and Jess exchange notes?

Answer 12

By hiding the notes behind a brick

Question 13

How does Mark hide Beau?

Answer 13

He stuffs him in a duffel bag

Question 14

Who gave Mark his inspiration to climb Mt Rainier?

Answer 14

His grandfather

Question 15

Who calls the police about Mark?

Answer 15

Either Mark or Wesley, it’s never revealed

Question 16

Why does Mark get in Wesley’s truck?

Answer 16

He senses something trustworthy about him

Question 17

How does Mark get up the mountain in the snowstorm?

Answer 17

Wesley drives him

Question 18

What made Mark look up to his Grandpa?

Answer 18

He loved climbing and promised Mark that they were going to climb Mt Rainier together

Question 19

Why does Mark say that looking at his Grandpa was like looking at himself?

Answer 19

Grandpa always dreamed of doing great things, but he got sick and never recovered

Question 20

While climbing, what happens to Beau?

Answer 20

He gets stuck in a crevasse

Question 21

How does Mark get Beau out of the crevasse?

Answer 21

Mark plays tug-of-war with him

Question 22

How do the rescuers find Mark?

Answer 22

Beau guides them to Mark

Question 23

Why did Mark throw his watch?

Answer 23

It reminded him of the fact that his time is running out

Question 24

How far up did Mark get on the mountain?

Answer 24

He went off the trail and didn’t get close to the top

Question 25

In what way did Mark get to the top?

Answer 25

He and Beau climbed farther than they ever should have

Question 26

What type of poem did Mark favor and write in his journal?

Answer 26

Haiku

Question 27

Where was Mark running away to? Why?

Answer 27

To hike Mount Rainear. Because he learned that his cancer was back and wanted to go there to die. It was what he was going to do with his Grandfather.

Question 28

What did Mark throw away at the train station? Why?

Answer 28

His grandfather’s watch because he didn’t want to be reminded of time.

Question 29

How did Mark’s best friend Jessie know where Mark went?

Answer 29

He left a note in their secret hiding place for messages.

Question 30

What did Mark learn from the boy who left him the $20, the Hispanic women at the restaurant, the van driver, and Wesley, the man with the truck?

Answer 30

That there were kind people in the world

Question 31

Name three obstacles that Mark overcame.

Answer 31

Bullies beating him and the loss of most of his money.
Almost drowning after falling into the river.
Almost losing Beau when he fell through the crevasse

Question 32

Why did it take so long for the police to locate Mark?

Answer 32

He sent them on a wild goose chase, making them think he was somewhere else by buying a train ticket to another destination and calling in the missing person’s hotline and giving them false information.