Peak Author: Visit Amazon's Roland Smith Page | Language: English | ISBN:
0152062688 | Format: EPUB
Peak Description
From School Library Journal
Grade 6 Up—In this high-altitude adventure, 14-year-old Peak Marcello's passion for climbing is clearly in the genes, but when he is arrested for scaling tall buildings, his mom and stepdad make a deal with the judge to ship him out of the country to live with her ex-husband and squelch the media attention that might inspire "Spider Boy" copycats. The teen's father, Josh, and his Himalayan expedition company are preparing teams to climb Mount Everest and suddenly Peak is faced with the possibility of becoming the youngest climber to reach the summit. Excited about the adventure, he learns that Josh may have less-than-fatherly motives involving publicity and financial gain for his company, at the expense of his paying customers. Peak is handed off to his father's head Sherpa for training and altitude acclimation with a Nepalese boy his own age, named Sun-jo. At the same time, a media crew gathers at base camp to witness the climb, and an overzealous Chinese police captain doggedly searches for passport violations and underage climbers. Facts about Mount Everest, base camps, and the dangers of climbing are plentiful, depicting an international culture made up of individuals who are often self-absorbed and indifferent to the Tibetan Sherpas, who risk their lives for them. Peak's empathy for Sun-jo helps him make a critical decision as they near the summit, revealing his emotional growth and maturity. A well-crafted plot and exotic setting give the novel great appeal to survival adventure fans.—
Vicki Reutter, Cazenovia High School, NYCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
From Booklist
*Starred Review* Fourteen-year-old New Yorker Peak ("It could have been worse. My parents could have named me Glacier, or Abyss, or Crampon.") Marcello hones his climbing skills by scaling skyscrapers. After Peak is caught climbing the Woolworth Building, an angry judge gives him probation, with an understanding that Peak will leave New York and live with his famous mountaineer father in Thailand. Peak soon learns, however, that his father has other plans for him; he hopes that Peak will become the youngest person to climb Mt. Everest. Peak is whisked off to Tibet and finds himself in the complex world of an Everest base camp, where large amounts of money are at stake and climbing operations offer people an often-deadly shot at the summit. This is a thrilling, multifaceted adventure story. Smith includes plenty of mountaineering facts told in vivid detail (particularly creepy is his description of the frozen corpses that litter the mountain). But he also explores other issues, such as the selfishness that nearly always accompanies the intensely single-minded. A winner at every level. For more mountaineering adventures, suggest Edward Meyers'
Climb or Die (1994) and Michael Dahl's
The Viking Claw (2001), both for a slightly younger audience.
Todd MorningCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
See all Editorial Reviews
- Age Range: 12 and up
- Grade Level: 7 and up
- Lexile Measure: 760L (What's this?)
- Paperback: 256 pages
- Publisher: Harcourt; 1 edition (August 1, 2008)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0152062688
- ISBN-13: 978-0152062682
- Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.5 x 0.7 inches
- Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Peak by Roland Smith
From the back of the book:
For a climber, saying that you are stopping by Everest is like saying you are stopping by to see God.
When fourteen-year-old Peak Marcello's long-lost father presents the opportunity for them to summit Everest together, Peak doesn'te ven consider saying no -- even though he suspects there are few strings attached. And if he makes it to the top before his birthday, he'll be the youngest person ever to stand above 29,000 feet. It's not a bad turn of events for a guy who's been stuck in New York City with only sky-scrapers to (illegally) scale.
This is a great "guy" read, though I believe female readers will enjoy it as well.
Peak was considered and rejected for the 2011-2012 Pikes Peak Battle of the Books List. Now that I've had a chance to read the book, I think it is a shame that it was not added to the list.
What I liked about the book: The adventure. Smith has created a well plotted story with lots of spine tingling thrills. The story also contains messages about facing the consequences of your actions and making sacrifices for others. The messages are clear, but not presented in an overbearing manner. Young readers don't mind having a message in their reading, they just don't like to be hit over the head with it. I like that the story is told in Peak's voice. It helps pull the reader into the story.
What I didn't like about this book: I liked it all, but to be honest - I started reading this book with the preconceived notion that I would not like it. A colleague had read the book and was insistent that it is not suitable for 5th graders. However, the book appears on several 5th grade reading lists. I usually try to read books with an open mind.
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