Peak by Roland Smith (246 pages)
Fourteen-year-old Peak Marcello loves to climb. His parents are climbers and have definitely passed on their skills to him. He loves to climb so much that he illegally scales skyscrapers in New York City - which leads to an arrest. In order to avoid jail time, Peak leaves the country with his estranged father, Josh, who takes him across the world to climb Everest. His plan is to have Peak be the youngest person to ever reach the summit, but Peak is turning fifteen soon, so he must climb fairly rapidly. Full of climbing lingo, action-packed mountain sequences, and breathtaking descriptions of life in thin air, this 2009-2010 Sequoyah nominee will keep you rooting for Peak as he attempts to be the youngest person to reach Everest’s peak.
Miss Simer’s Rating: ***
