Author: Smith, Roland
Title: Peak
Publisher: Harcourt Date: 2007 ISBN: 978-0-15-202417-8
Price: $15 #of pgs: 246 Call number: FIC SMI
Annotation: Peak Marcello is 14 and has a passion for climbing, so much so that he is arrested for scaling tall buildings. His family makes a deal with the judge to send him to live with his father, who is preparing for a Himalayan expedition to climb Mount Everest. Peak could be the youngest climber to reach the summit. His father's motives for wanting to join the group are less than fatherly as he is using the trip for financial gain and publicity. While preparing for the climb Peak works under a Sherpa for training and befriends Sun-jo, a Nepalese boy his own age. As the climbers are about to make final preparations an overzealous Chinese police captain searches them for passport and underage violations. Mix the dangers of mount climbing, family issues, international cultural struggles and Peak's difficult decision concerning all of those issues and you will find this story well-crafted.
Strength: Well crafted plot development; exotic setting; cultural diversity; adventure