Peak (Peak, #1)

Peak loves to climb. When he gets busted climbing and tagging a high rise, he faces a court date and a possible lengthy stay in a detention facility. Peak's dad, world famous climber, Josh, shows up offering to take him away from New York as an alternative. Josh has his own agenda - to make Peak

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the youngest person to get to the top of Mt. Everest. I learned a ton about climbing while I read this book. It was exciting, and I really liked the roles of the Sherpa characters within the book! I started reading and before I knew it I had read the whole thing!

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Peak by Roland Smith
The book Peak is one of the greatest books I have ever read. It is about a kid named Peak who is arrested for climbing a skyscraper and is sentenced to 3 years of probation. Instead of risking his freedom he went to live with his father in the country of Tibet. Peak wants to

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redeem himself by climbing the great Mount Everest. On his journey he meets many friends like Sun-jo and a Sherpa named Zopa. The story mostly takes place along a icy, frozen, massive Mount Everest and in the state of New York. I would recommend this book for anyone who is in Grades 5 and up. This is a great book and I hope you get a chance to read it soon.

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Peak Marcello is a teenager unwittingly rewarded for climbing private buildings in New York: instead of jail time, he is sent to Thailand to spend time with his father. Mr. Marcello pushes Peak farther into climbing, however with ambitions that measure all the way to the top of Mt. Everest.

An intense book. This journey of a boy to come to grips with his relationship with his father, his jealousy and fear, and his delinquent behavior is a very compelling story. It does bog down a little bit in the middle with an overabundance of description of lots of tense mountain climbing. Worth

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the read. Boys may really enjoy this.

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When 14 year old Peak gets arrested for climbing a skyscraper to leave his tag on it, he begins his journey to the other side of the world with the father he barely knows. He recounts the details of his most difficult ordeal on two moleskin notebooks. With compelling insight into the mind of a

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brave, yet very human young man, this book is an enjoyable read which incorporates a setting not often seen in young adult literature. Recommended for fans of Hatchet and other survival fiction.

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I never would have picked this book up unless I had been assigned to read it. I was pleasantly surprised by the plotline and characters, however, and I am glad I finished the book. This is an adventure story about a boy named Peak. Peak was born un expectedly to two avid mountain climbers, but his

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dad, Josh, didn't stick around. Peak is raised by his mother who remarries and moves the family to New York, a far cry from the Wyoming upbringing Peak so enjoyed. When Peak is arrested for scaling a skyscraper, the judge offers him the opportunity to go to Tibet with his father or spend time in jail. Peak agrees to go with Josh, though he is surprised that his father wants anything to do with him. When Peak arrives in Tibet, however, he realizes his dad doesn't have plans to put him in a special school; instead, Josh has plans to take him to Everest's summit as a publicity stunt for Josh's climbing company. Roland Smith keeps the reader in suspense and manages to tug at the reader's heartstrings at the same time. I loved the characters in this book and think it was wonderfully written. Anyone who like this book should consider Into Thin Air by John Krakauer.

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Peak was born to climbers, hence the name. It also sparked an interest in him to climb. When he gets caught climbing up the sides of skyscrapers, the best solution found is to pack him off with his biological father, who lives in China. What Peak doesn't know, is that his father is in the middle of

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taking an expedition up Everest and is going to bring Peak along. This book is about climbing, surviving harsh climates, Everest, and family.

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After being arrested for scaling a NY City skyscraper, Peak Marcello gets shipped off to his father in Tibet. From there he finds out that his father has planned for him to be the youngest person to reach the summit of Mt. Everest, although his father’s motives are not completely altruistic. A

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thrilling high-octane adventure from start to finish! Will put you on the edge of your seat!
Ages 12+

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All children between the ages of 10 - 14 with a sense of adventure and love of the outdoors should read this book. As should anyone else who simply loves a good story. This book should sit high on the list of books for reluctant male readers, as it is action-packed, but easy-to-read. Another

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caveat, a nice break from the fantasy genre.

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I loved this book. I could not put it down for two days. I feel that I could have read it in a day if I had a full-time nanny. The strength's of this book are in the characters that unfold in the story. Peak is a dynamic character in the story. He undergos his own personal confict resolution with

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his real dad as he attempts the climb of his physical and personal life on Mt. Everest. The weaknesses of the book for me was the language...vocab. I found myself not understanding some of the mountain climbing lingo throughout the book. The author did explain the climbing vocab when he first introduced it, but it would have been nice to have it revisited a couple more times as it was used.

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I thought this was a pretty good book, but it moved pretty slowly at times. I liked how the action happened at the beginning to get the reader hooked, but after that it slowed down a bit. I thought the book was very strong in the area of conflict. There was always some sort of conflict going on

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throughout the story and it also included both kinds of conflict, internal and external. I thought this book was pretty weak in the area of characterization. There were descriptions of the characters, but I still felt that they were a bit vague. I learned most about the characters through the dialogue that they shared. The setting was pretty good. Again there was brief descriptions, but for me, who has never been mountain climbing, it was a bit hard for me to visualize some of the climbing that was taking place.

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This is a well written book. It is a story about a boy climbing Mt. Everest in China. The climax in the book will hook you and if you like climbing then you will enjoy reading this book. The suspense of the climax will keep your attention all the way to the end. The characters really make the book

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interesting. I would recommend this book to anyone!

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Fifteen year old Peak Marcello has been arrested for scaling the Woolworth building. It was the sixth skyscraper he'd climbed, but the first time he'd been caught. Things would be less dire if a boy hadn't died trying to imitate Peak's climb. As the son of two professional climbers, Peak had plenty

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of climbing experience other copycat pranksters wouldn't have. The judge wants to make an example of Peak, and sentences him to three years in a juvenile detention center. Peak is surprised when his famous mountaineer father, Josh Marchello, shows up at his trial...after all, he hadn't seen him in the last seven years. He's even more shocked when his father offers to take custody of Peak and move him to Chiang Mai, Thailand. The judge agrees, hoping to end the media frenzy and the imitation climbers. Except on the plane, Peak's dad says they aren't going to Chiang Mai right away. First they are going to Kathmandu, Nepal. Then they are joining up with the expedition Josh was leading to the top of Mount Everest. If Peak makes the summit, he'll be the youngest person ever to stand above 29,000 feet. If he makes the summit.

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The novel “Peak” opens with a 14-year old boy (by the same) illegally climbing a New York skyscraper and getting arrested. Peak goes to court and the judge, who is initially considering a three-year jail sentence as punishment, decides to let him go live with his long-lost father in Thailand.

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But Peak’s father has plans for him to become the youngest climber to summit Mount Everest, for selfish reasons of his own.

It took a few chapters for me to get into this book, but once Peak arrived at the Everest base camp I was very interested in the story. I’ve always enjoyed reading about mountaineering and the author, Roland Smith, seems to have done his research to make the story believable. After reading this book, it was easier to appreciate the difficulty of climbing Everest.

In this book, Peak is portrayed as a real kid with personal issues and struggles. He has to deal with the distant relationship that he has with his dad, who’s been out of the picture for the last seven years of his life. He also makes a surprising decision in the midst of competing with another boy his age to get to the summit.

Overall, I thought this was an entertaining and exciting read. I enjoyed the adventure and the suspense and I think kids will too.

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Peak is a teeneager who has always wanted to climb. He lives in New York, and is caught tagging buildings. His long - forgotten father shows up and gets him out of trouble. His father runs a climbing company and wants Peak to do one thing while he is with him - become the youngest person ever to

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top Mount Everest. Peak makes new friends along the way and expiriences some tough challenges. This book is GREAT!!!

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Peak offers its readers a chance to explore a place that they may never be able to go. It also offers the readers a chance to learn so much about mountains and the processes of climbing them and delves into the conflict of so many people being able to climb the highest peaks of the world as

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"tourists". Excellent.

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Smith, Roland. (2007). Peak. New York: Harcourt Children’s Books. 256 pp. ISBN 0-15-202417-4 (Hardcover); $17.00

Peak's father leaves him to climb mountains while Peak is thrown in jail for climbing skyscrapers. When Peak is given a chance to avoid jail it is because his father believes that Peak

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can save his mountain climbing company--by having Peak become the first climber to reach the top of Mount Everest or Sagarmatha, as the Nepalese call it (p. 60). Zopa, the expedition leader and guide, is a bit too mystical but, nevertheless, the story moves rapidly and it is very exciting. The quest to make it to the top keeps readers eagerly turning the pages. This will be a big hit with those adventure-loving readers. Pair this one with John Smelcer’s The Trap or books by Will Hobbs and Gary Paulsen.

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I loved reading it. Once I started reading it I couldn't Stop!

What happens when you're 15 years old and you get caught scaling a skyscraper in Manhattan? Well, in order to avoid embarrassment to the city (because you've scaled 4 other buildings without getting caught) and to avoid a media frenzy, your estranged father, the famous mountain climber Josh Wood is

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awarded custody and whisks you away to Kathmandu and Mt. Everest.

Such is what happens to Peak--yes, his name is Peak. Unbeknownst to his mother, a former mountaineer until an injury sidelined her, Josh's mountaineering business needs some help and if he can be the one to put the youngest person atop Mt. Everest, it may just give him the boost he needs.

However, Zopa, Josh's best friend, former mountaineer and now Tibetan monk, also wants a youngster to make it atop the peak, his grandson Sun-jo. Sun-jo's father saved Josh's life and Josh must repay the debt by letting Sun-jo attempt the climb.

Along for the climb is Holly Angelo, reporter and a video crew, whose job is to document the climb.

Peak by Roland Smith is an easy read. Readers will feel the subzero weather, the wind gusting over 25 miles an hour, the climbers carrying heavy back packs. Smith takes time to explain the effects of high altitude, low oxygen levels so that the readers can understand it and empathize with the climbers who are felled by lack of O, as they call it.

There isn't a lot of action in Peak, but there's enough to sustain the reader. And, of course, readers will root for both Peak and Sun -jo to complete their journey. There's some sentimentality as Peak must leave is 6-year-old twin sisters for an extended period of time and his realization that his step-father, Rolf, isn't half bad, as far as dad's go.

Both guys and girls will like Peak. It's a great middle-school read.

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I would recommend this book to a friend because it is easy to understand. This book is also a really exciting book, with so many twists and turns in it.
3Q, 4P; Cover Art: Okay.
This book is buest suited for elementary to highschoolers.
Grade (of reviewer): 9th
(RN-AHS-NC)

This was probably my favorite book of this class. Peak is a young man with a habit of breaking the rules. He quickly finds himself on the side of MT. Everest, with a choice between following his selfish father's footsteps, or becoming a mature and generous adult like the rest of his family. From

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the harrowing description of life on everet, to the complex relationship between Peak and his young sherpa friend, this is truly a great book for young readers.

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Young or Old. Male or Female. This book is exciting! Peak finds himself in trouble for climbing a skyscraper and to get out of going to jail he goes to live with his father. His father doesn't let on to the judge that he's going to climb Everest with his son to try and beat the record for youngest

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climber to reach the summit.

A true coming-of-age story. In the end, Peak learns quite a lot about life and what's important. The message of the book is very clear.

You will want to sign up for a trip to Everest after you're finished! I give this book my highest recommendation to all readers.

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Fun quick read, with a great point of view.

I loved this book! If you love adventure, travel and especially mountain climbing, this will be a great book for you. Peak is the son of two skilled climbers. He finds himself in trouble for climbing buildings in New York City. This sets him on an adventure with his biological father. He winds up

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in Tibet on Mount Everest. His character is tested as he becomes close friends with a Tibetan boy also a part of the expedition. I had a hard time putting this one down!

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