The only thing you’ll find on the summit of Mount Everest is a divine view. The things that really matter lie far below. – Peak Marcello
After fourteen-year-old Peak Marcello is arrested for scaling a New York City skyscraper, he's left with two choices: wither away in Juvenile Detention or go live with his long-lost father, who runs a climbing company in Thailand. But Peak quickly learns that his father's renewed interest in him has strings attached. Big strings. As owner of Peak Expeditions, he wants his son to be the youngest person to reach the Everest summit--and his motives are selfish at best. Even so, for a climbing addict like Peak, tackling Everest is the challenge of a lifetime. But it's also one that could cost him his life.
Roland Smith has created one of the best realistic fiction pieces that I have honestly ever read, taking me along an icy, heart racing, breathless adventure set in the Himalayan Mountains, on one of the most dangerous and sought-after excursions in the world: climbing Everest. As earlier stated in this post, I mentioned the pristine character development, not only in Peak, but also in Joshua Wood, his father, and Holly Angelo, a New York reporter who seems to want to only climb Everest to get an exclusive story on Peak. However, as the story develops and unfolds, Joshua begins to realize what it truly means to be a father, and how he had messed up in the past. On the other hand, the eccentric and outrageous Holly learns what it feels like to feel alone, even when surrounded by hundreds of people. She learns that people are not merely pawns in a chess game, or newspaper stories just waiting to be written; each person has their own story to share and to create, and it's all based on how they act and react. It was amazing to see how humbled she became by seeing just how small she and her problems were compared to the majestic mountain. As for Peak, well, let's just say he learns that friendship and selflessness is more important than glory or fame, any day. (And just a side note, I love his loving brotherly relationship with his younger sisters. It's so heartwarming to see an older sibling having so much care for them when nowadays, it's more common to see a sibling feud.)
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Recommended? Absolutely, from ages 8-10+ (Younger than 10 is dependent on how well they handle vocabulary challenges, but even then, younger children will enjoy the adventure side of it)
The only reason I deducted a half-point was because at sometimes I felt that certain situations while they were ascending and descending the mountain were confusing, due to the fact that I am not a climber, and a lot of the terms used weren't necessarily clarified. (It doesn't really bother me since I can simply look it up on my Kindle, but for some younger readers who might be reading this may have a harder time trying to figure out what exactly the context is describing.) Other than that, this book, in my opinion, couldn't have been written any better. There was fairly little "cursing", if any at all, and the words used weren't vulgar.
Well my book cubs, that wraps up this post for today. Next I will be moving onto "Life On The Edge" by JohnJoe McFadden and Jim Al-Khalili.
As always, much love,
Catheryn
The Book Lioness ❤️
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