Peak by Roland Smith | Teen Ink

Peak by Roland Smith MAG

September 30, 2008
By Anonymous

Peak tells the story of a boy becoming a man. It begins in New York where Peak Marcello is caught by the police while climbing a skyscraper. He must live with his father who has flown in for the trial. This doesn’t seem so terrible, but his father is a professional rock/mountain climber and is currently climbing Mt. Everest. Through his struggles with the mountain and his father, he tries to complete his goal, which has never been achieved before – a 14-year-old on Everest.

Peak is born to be a climber: body type, mind set, and determination are all qualities that make the best candidate for summiting Everest.

He is opinionated but doesn’t always speak his mind ­because of his circumstances. He sees things differently from others and doesn’t relate well to others during the climb.

When Peak realizes that one of the people who monitors the climb brought his grandson because he is 14 too and trying to summit the mountain like Peak, he sees this as a challenge while other people see Sunjo, the grandson, as an inferior climber trying to sabotage the trip. Most of the climbers are either extremely rich or celebrities who just want to be able to say they climbed Everest.

Peak has to fight his body, his father, himself, and the mountain using sheer will power to summit. He is manipulated by his father whose climbing business is struggling. His father needs Peak to succeed because then his company will have put the youngest person ever on Everest. This is the spark needed to jump-start his business, but Peak doesn’t like that he is ­being used by his own father.

Peak is an exciting novel and a stimulating story. The author keeps you on edge as Peak tries to summit the mountain. Smith has a way of getting her point across with ­excitement and suspense. If you like books full of action and drama, I implore you to read this one.



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This article has 53 comments.


on May. 4 2011 at 5:59 am
alwer299 BRONZE, Florence, Massachusetts
1 article 1 photo 27 comments

Favorite Quote:
when in doubt, eat chocolate.-me<br /> fate is like a strange, unpopular restaurant, filled with odd waiters, who bring you things you never asked for, and don&#039;t always like. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> - Lemony Snicket

i read that book with my class....i hated it. it was a sucky book, that does not deserve praise.

T+G= <33 said...
on Apr. 25 2011 at 4:56 pm
Loved the book ive read it mabye 5 times now and cant put it down

zeroman123 said...
on Mar. 30 2011 at 11:17 am
i hated this book

on Mar. 21 2011 at 5:46 pm
russianreader BRONZE, Charlotte, Vermont
2 articles 0 photos 51 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Good, better, best. Never let it rest. Until your good is better and your better is best.&quot;

I love this book! I read it right before my mom went to Everest, so it really connected with me!

on Mar. 7 2011 at 8:43 pm
I know I almost cried to.This book was amazing though. It really shows true friendship can do anything.

desle123 said...
on Mar. 7 2011 at 10:54 am
its 349 pages

sicilia SILVER said...
on Jan. 14 2011 at 11:00 am
sicilia SILVER, Apex, North Carolina
6 articles 2 photos 7 comments

Favorite Quote:
You have enemies? Good. That means you&#039;ve stood up for something, sometime in your life. (Wintson Churchill)

He lets the other kid go down the other side of the mountain to Tibet or somewhere and he doesn't go to the Summit, but his dad still gets to have sponsored the youngest kid ever thing.

sicilia SILVER said...
on Jan. 14 2011 at 10:58 am
sicilia SILVER, Apex, North Carolina
6 articles 2 photos 7 comments

Favorite Quote:
You have enemies? Good. That means you&#039;ve stood up for something, sometime in your life. (Wintson Churchill)

I read this book and absolutely loathed it. I had to read it for school once and it was absolutely TERRIBLE.

on Jan. 13 2011 at 9:59 am
This helped me sooooooo much!!!!!! This was an amazing book!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:)

Caryn BRONZE said...
on Dec. 23 2010 at 5:36 pm
Caryn BRONZE, Happy Valley, Oregon
1 article 0 photos 8 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot; Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.&quot; Matthew 7:13-14

I truly loved this book. For anyone, that hasn't read it. Read it! You won't be sorry.

Runner GOLD said...
on Dec. 1 2010 at 1:07 pm
Runner GOLD, Amherst, Massachusetts
15 articles 0 photos 30 comments
I love this book.

on Oct. 20 2010 at 5:48 pm
I read this book too, right before my mom went to Mt. Everest. This book gave a fairly accurate view into the life of a climber. READ THIS BOOK.

on Oct. 18 2010 at 1:09 pm
Kresint50401 BRONZE, Erie, Pennsylvania
2 articles 0 photos 17 comments
I read this book about a year and a half ago and it's sooo good! I cried in the end, I'm not gonna lie.

on Jul. 22 2010 at 5:51 pm
DifferentTeen PLATINUM, Seaford, Delaware
32 articles 2 photos 329 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;There&rsquo;s no such thing as true love, just spurts of insanity&mdash;falling over and over again, thinking that won&rsquo;t happen to me&quot;

I absolutely loved this book the millions of times I've read it and completed book projects on it. Ecellent review.

shabam34 GOLD said...
on Jun. 8 2010 at 8:20 pm
shabam34 GOLD, St. Helens, Oregon
11 articles 0 photos 72 comments

Favorite Quote:
Laughing until your stomach hurts :)<br /> That&#039;s what friends are for &lt;3

I am currently reading this book. I am so far about 100 pages into it. So far it is pretty good. The review is great!!!

husky65 said...
on May. 17 2010 at 9:25 pm
this is a good book and i was wonderin gif it had a movie

on Apr. 25 2010 at 3:06 pm
superswim_19 PLATINUM, Grand Haven, Michigan
21 articles 25 photos 143 comments
This is like my favorite book! I think Roland smith is an awesome author! =D

armybrat11 said...
on Apr. 25 2010 at 2:30 pm
I read and really enjoyed this book!

on Apr. 3 2010 at 7:48 pm
horsie_luver SILVER, Tigard, Oregon
5 articles 1 photo 56 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;I cannot live without books.&quot;-Thomas Jefferson

It probably depends on the publisher.

beast said...
on Mar. 22 2010 at 8:31 pm
great book. How many pages?