Review: In Honor by Jessi Kirby

Title: In Honor
Author: Jessi Kirby
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Age Group: Young Adult
Category:  Contemporary Romance
Release date: May 8th, 2012
Pages: 240 (Hardcover)
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Source: Won
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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?

In Honor turned out the be so much more than a feel-good summer read.  In this story, we follow Honor, a recent high school graduate, on a road trip from Texas to California.  It's not just an ordinary vacation, either.  She's attempting to fulfill something she feels strongly about before she can move on to her college life.

While reading, I felt like I was in the same boat as Honor because the day before I started the book, my grandmother passed away.  I wasn't sure if I should read this one quite yet or not, but I'm so thankful I decided to.  Not only did it provide me with a heartwarming, inspiring story, but it gave me a few moments to both remember and forget about the pain as I read.  Honor frequently deals with the same along the way; forgetting, the guilt and missing her brother like crazy, and it's actually comforting to be able to relate to.

We learn that Honor's brother, Finn, was one of the few people she could ever count on.  When she receives a delayed letter from him after his death, she decides to take one last road trip in the Impala he spent so much time working on.  She thinks of his urging her to go to California, put her feet in the ocean, and go see the last concert of their favorite singer as a last wish, so she's determined to make it there even though it means missing college orientation.  Only there's one thing she hadn't planned, and that was Rusty, her brother's best friend.  He refused to let her leave alone and thank god he hadn't!  The two run into more than a few difficulties along the way and he ends up being the rock she needed to lean on.

I loved that the book was packed with honesty, adventure and a some much-needed hilarity.  Without giving anything away, I'm going to say that the ending was absolutely perfect for me.  Although the topic of the book is very painful and heartbreaking, it turned out to be surprisingly uplifting.  Here's this girl who's at a rough time in her life just trying to make the best out of bad situation.  I can't blame her at all for trying to get away for a while, and even though she realizes that the trip was about so much more than a concert, she still accomplishes what she set out to do.  Overall, I found In Honor to be an extremely touching book that was able to keep a smile on my face throughout many of the chapters.