Peak- Roland Smith
Rating:
**** Very Good
By Aidan Thirsk
Peak
is one of the greatest books I have read, it is a truly great story that really
gets the reader emotionally involved. It’s aimed at teenagers for the reading
level, so it is a very easy read, but doesn’t detract from how outstanding the
story is.
Peak
is a story about a boy, named Peak, who gets caught climbing a skyscraper and
spray painting by the police and when he is tried in court, he is bailed out
under the condition that he moves to his fathers, in Thailand. What Peak
doesn’t know is that his father, Josh, plans on having Peak climb Mount Everest
with him. Since Peak is only 14 years old, Josh wants to have Peak become the
youngest person to climb Everest, in order to do that, Peak has a quick
deadline till he turns 15. Before the climb Peak meets up with another boy,
Sun-jo, and the rest of the group planning on climbing Everest (Josh is a guide
who climbs Everest regularly). Peak and Sun-jo befriend each other and help
each other along the very rough trip to the summit of Everest. As the group
climbs the mountain, they experience deathly cold weather, lack of oxygen, and
social skirmishes. Peak bears even more than the others, being so young, and
being seen as getting a free ride to the top because of his father being the
guide. Finally after the long journey and having deaths and severe illnesses,
Peak and Sun-jo make it to the Summit of Everest. Peak is about to climb the
final stretch, but after finding out Sun-jo’s father died saving Josh and that
Sun-jo is 14 as well, Peak helps Sun-jo reach the top before him, making Sun-jo
the youngest person to ever climb Everest.
I
think what made the story so great for me is the fact that a 14 year old boy
was able to accomplish such an amazing feat. Peak being so close to a High
School students age made me connect with the story a lot more than I would have
if it were just a story about an adult. It also makes climbing Everest, a
seemingly impossible endeavor, so much more impressive. The story really makes
me appreciate the hard work and preparation that the people who have climbed
Everest have put in. The way the journey was described sounded unbelievably extreme
and it shows the kind of passion the people have for being able to deal with
the harsh conditions and pushing till they get to the end.
Smith, Roland. Peak. Orlando,
FL: Harcourt Children's, 2007. Print.
Excellent review. No feedback needed.
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