In Honor by Jessi Kirby

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?

Have you ever noticed that when you read a Summer Read in the winter, it doesn't work as well? I think that's what happened with me and this book. I was looking for a little warmth in the midst of all the cold, so I picked up this book and was disappointed. It secreted all the necessary things for a nice Summer Read (forbidden road-trip, a hot guy romance, wonderful adventures, and life changing secrets), but it just didn't mesh.

I didn't like Honor, there, I said it. I, as a reader, felt the strain in her written characteristics to be a good character. The author was trying too hard. They were things like selective naivety, self pitying/loathing, and doe-eyed innocence. She was a damsel in distress from herself and the world. Since I have two brothers myself, I understand how hard the death of Finn must be, but I felt like her grief was too exaggerated.

And....I didn't like Rusty either. Rusty was the fake rough-and-tough guy with a ting for the girl he can't have. He sometimes acts like a drunken know-it-all or a man-whore. It's not appealing and not a good match for the innocent character Honor was trying to be. My lack of feeling towards the characters made it hard to connect with the book. My heart just wasn't in it.

So, in the end, if you still want to read the book, have at it, but have at it in the summer. Some books are just like that. Summer is the time when you should read all the fluffy novels on the beach and be satisfied with them, but still, not all of them will please you.

Cover: 4/5 stars
Plot: 2/5 stars
-Love, Katie