Peak

by Roland Smith
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Published by: Houghton Mifflin
eBook Publish Date: June 22, 2008
Print ISBN: 0152062688
Filesize: 1.51 MB
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Overview
Editorial Reviews
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Overview

Thenbsp;emotional, tension-fillednbsp;story of anbsp;fourteen-year-old boy's attempt to be the youngest person to reach the top of Mount Everest

Editorial Reviews

Here's the perfect antidote for a kid who thinks books are boring. In his latest, Smith (Cryptid Hunters) introduces 14-year-old Peak Marcello (named by his mountaineering parents) as he's arrested for scaling Manhattan's Woolworth Building, in an attempt to graffiti his tag-a blue mountain peak-high on the side of it. Peak is headed for a long stint in juvie when his estranged father swoops into the courtroom with a solution that will get the media's newest darling-the papers have dubbed Peak "Spider Boy"-immediately and far out of sight. Before the trek to China, where Peak's father runs a commercial climbing operation on the Tibetan side of Mount Everest, Peak's English teacher, Vincent, gives him two notebooks to fill, which will complete his requirements for the school year. This conceit allows Peak to tell his story in his own wry voice and to share lots of Vincent's advice. "A good writer should draw the reader in by starting in the middle of the story with a hook," Peak recalls. "I guess Vincent thinks readers are fish." The hook here is irresistible-Peak will try to become the youngest person ever to scale Everest-overcoming Chinese bureaucrats, resentment of his father, rivalry with a Nepalese teen who has the same goal, avalanches, icy crevasses, howling winds, searing cold and many, many frozen corpses to reach the 29,028-foot summit. The nifty plotting, gripping story line and Peak's assured delivery give those who join this expedition much to savor. Ages 12-up. (May) Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.

Author Information

Bio of Roland Smith

ROLAND SMITH has written many books for children and young adults, including Zach's Lie, an ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers. He lives outside Portland, Oregon.