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Item Barcode | Collection | Call Number | Status | Item Holds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33607002028747 | Young Adult | SMITH | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
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Summary
Summary
In this unputdownable, spine-tingling adventure of a lifetime called "a winner at every level,"* fourteen-year-old Peak Marcello attempts to be the youngest climber to summit Mount Everest.
After 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 an overseas climbing company.
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. It's also one that could cost him his life.
This thrilling teen climbing adventure is "the perfect antidote for kids who think books are boring" (Publishers Weekly starred review).
Roland Smith's Peak Marcello's Adventures are:
Peak The Edge Ascent Descent*Booklist, starred review
Author Notes
Roland Smith was born in Portland, Oregon on November 30, 1951. He received a Bachelor's degree in English from Portland State University. His job working for a children's zoo began a 20-year career as a zookeeper. After working to save wildlife following the Exxon Valdez oil spill, his first non-fiction book, Sea Otter Rescue, was published in 1990. He continued to draw upon his zoo experiences for other non-fiction titles, including Journey of the Red Wolf, which won an Oregon Book Award in 1996. His first novel, Thundercave, was published in 1997. His other fiction books include The Captain's Dog: My Journey with the Lewis and Clark Tribe, Zach's Lie, Jack's Run, Cryptid Hunters, Peak, and Shatterproof. He also writes the I, Q. series and the Storm Runners series.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (3)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 6 Up--Roland Smith's adventure novel (Harcourt, 2007) is told in the first person by 14-year-old Peak Marcello, so named by his rock climber parents. Peak writes about his adventure as a school assignment. He loves to climb, but lives in Manhattan with his mom, stepfather, and twin sisters, so he attends climbing camp and climbs skyscrapers. When Peak is arrested for climbing the Woolworth take him to Thailand where has a climbing expedition company. When teenager arrives in Katmandu, he is whisked off to a Tibetan base camp where he soon discovers his father's plan to make him the youngest person to summit Mt. Everest. He is aided by a diverse cast of characters--a monk, a Nepalese boy, Sherpa's, porters, and a TV crew. Listeners are carried along as Peak experiences acclimatization, below freezing temperatures, harrowing crevasses, lack of oxygen, and the deaths of fellow climbers. Ramón de Ocampo creates age, gender, and ethnic appropriate voices for all of the varied characters, augmenting the suspense that is inherent in the story. Although not an essential purchase, it will be a hit with patrons who love adventure.--Jo-Ann Carhart, East Islip Public Library, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Publisher's Weekly Review
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) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Library Journal Review
Though he's only 14 years old, Peak Marcello has climbing in his blood. With two famous climbers for parents, it could have been worse, he says-he might have been named Crampon. When he is caught scaling skyscrapers in New York City, he is sent to live with his father. Turns out, Dad is leading an expedition to Everest and wants Peak to be the youngest climber ever to make the top. Cold Weather Appeal: Brrrrr, but it is cold at the top of the world. The frozen corpses and empty oxygen bottles will be familiar to readers of Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air. Why It Is for Us: Peak combines alpine adventure with a bit of "Free Tibet" commentary, focusing on the plight of the Sherpas who bring the climbers to the top and the border dispute with the Chinese government. Peak himself is a winning protagonist with the sense to know when to step aside for the greater good.-Angelina Benedetti (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.