Peak by Roland Smith

I have a lot of things on my bucket list--I'm going skydiving this Spring! :) But, after reading this YA novel, I know that mountain climbing with NEVER make it to my list. It hurts. People die. And you have to be in top physical condition, which, face it, people, that isn't going to happen to this librarian unless I hire a personal trainer and a chef.

Peak Marcello is arrested at the beginning of this book for an odd reason. He was, um, climbing a skyscraper. That's illegal, people! So in court the judge is willing to keep him on probation if he gets out of the media's eye. And so he goes to live with his real dad who is a professional mountain climber. But there is a reason why his dad hasn't contacted him much--he's busy and a bit selfish, too. In a promotional stunt, Peak's dad wants Peak to be the youngest boy who has ever reached the top of Mt. Everest. This isn't easy. Sure, Peak has been climbing for years. But, whoa, the descriptions of the difficulties facing these characters made me shiver while I was reading. It's COLD! Fingers fall off, people die, a simple virus wipes out a whole camp. However, I loved that I learned so much about climbing high peaks--Roland Smith really did his research. And, most of all, I enjoyed watching Peak grow up during his difficult climb.