Peak by Roland Smith

Peak is an absolute thriller! Roland Smith expertly relates the exhilarating tale of a young boy
on an expedition to the summit of Mount Everest. For years I have been urged to read Peak, many of
my friends having claimed that it as an excellent boo!. "ut it as not until recently that I finally
committed myself to reading the novel. I must admit that I as duly impressed. Peak really is a
spectacular story. #he boo! is a fren$y of confusion, betrayal, friendship, family, adversity, and, of
course, action pac!ed adventure. "est of all, the entire narrative is told from the highly relatable
perspective of one young climber.
%ea! Marcello is a fourteen year old climber, and the son of to famous and successful
mountain climbers. &lthough his parents are no divorced, his father has become estranged, and his
mother can no longer climb due to a serious in'ury, %ea! still longs to become a great climber.
(oever, since him, his mom, stepdad, and affectionate tin sisters have uprooted to )e *or! +ity,
he rarely has the chance to practice. "ut recently, %ea! has ta!en to planning routes to the top of )*+,s
s!yscrapers, scaling them, and tagging them ith a picture of a mountain, hoping someday a indo
asher or maintenance person ill marvel at them and onder ho they ever got there. "ut, on his last
scaling attempt, he is arrested on the rooftop by the police.
#he story becomes a media circus, and even his dad ho he has not seen in seven years comes
to sort things out. In order to avoid imprisonment for over three years, %ea! has to leave ith his dad,
and travel to "ase +amp on Mount Everest here his father is leading an expedition to the summit.
"ut, %ea!,s dad, -osh, didn,t travel all the ay to )e *or! 'ust to help his son. (e has a plan to get
%ea! to the summit of everest before his approaching birthday. #his ould ma!e %ea! the youngest
person to ever summit Everest and provide great publicity for his father,s climbing company. "ut
tensions rise as %ea! discovers that Sun.-o, his friend ho is also the grandson of -osh,s former head
sherpa /opa, is also attempting the summit. Sun.-o is older, but is still fourteen, ma!ing %ea! orried
that Sun.-o and /opa ill try to sabotage %ea!,s chances of ma!ing the summit. Furthermore, the
people in -osh,s climbing group ho spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on their expedition despise
%ea! for all the delays he has caused. 0n top of this all, there is a +hinese officer trying to find and
arrest Sun.-o. &s %ea! travels up the great mountain, conflicts arise and the 'ourney becomes
dangerous in more ay than one.
Roland Smith is an engaging riter and ma!es even small details interesting. #he story is full of
action, and even the smallest moments in %ea!,s 'ourney become exciting hen you factor in the fact
that he is ascending the orld,s highest mountain from sea level. &dditionally, all of Smith,s characters
are surprisingly relatable, especially the to young boys %ea! and Sun.-o. &s the story unfolds, the
reader begins to feel a strong connection to the boys, and can,t help feeling sympathetic for their losses
and empathetic to their struggles.
Smith uncovers the harsh dangers and realities of the ascent of Everest. #he reader gets a feel
for both the excitement and the tragedy, the glory and the sorro associated ith the ord,s tallest
mountain. "y the end of the boo!, I felt both inspired and horrified by Mount Everest. Roland Smith
does an excellent 'ob of illustrating both the beauty and terror of it and teaches us that even some
incredible achievements aren,t orth the sacrifice. Readers can learn many valuable lessons from Peak,
as the story contains both important morals and a fascinating plot line.
In summary, Peak as both inspiring and eyeopening to me. I ould recommend this boo! for
third or fourth graders and far beyond, as it can truly be en'oyed by all age groups. #he story has
something for everyone, it is heartarming and emotional, but still adventurous and high sta!es. My
one hope is that others ill en'oy it to the same extent that I did.