Ascent by Roland Smith

From Goodreads,

"A few months after returning from Afghanistan, Peak Marcello is in Myanmar visiting Alessia. Myanmar has been in the grips of a brutal military regime for more than fifty years, but recently the government has allowed more tourists to enter.   While there, Peak is invited to climb Hkakabo Razi, one of the most isolated mountains in the world, to discover the exact elevation of the mountain. But getting to the mountain will involve a four-week trek through tropical rain forests rife with hazards—from venomous reptiles and leeches to corrupt police and military. In the end, summiting Hkakabo Razi may be the easiest thing Peak does."

Goodreads - Ascent

I read Peak when I was in high school.  I found the book at a thrift store last summer and decided to reread it.  That lead to me discovering that Roland Smith had published a second book titled, The Edge.  In ordering that book I found that Smith was publishing ANOTHER book titled Ascent.  I ordered was able to get it and quickly started reading it while the story of Peak and his friends were still fairly fresh in my memory. 

Ascent starts just months after where The Edge leaves off.  Peak gets the opportunity to go climb Hkakabo Razi with his friend Aleesia and her bodyguard Ethan.  But to get to the mountain they must first endure the hardships of the tropical rainforest from the animals and insects living within to the murderous mad man hunting them.  The book and Peak continue to ascend in hopes he reaches the summit. 

I absolutely loved Peak when I read it, and I thought that The Edge was okay.  But Ascent was a whole new level.  When the book first started in the rainforest I felt like I was just dropped off in the middle of a book with no back story on how or why we were where we were.  So naturally I hated this book when it first started.  It was slow and I was trudging through it, much like the characters were in the book.  Things picked up in the middle of the book, and I found myself getting a little more invested in it.  But once the third part of the book started I was so pumped up and excited for Peak to climb Hkakabo Razi.  It wasn't until the day after I finished the book that I realized Smith had written this so that the reader was feeling the same way as the characters in the book, and that they too were making the ascent to the summit.  I don't know if he meant for this to happen, but I definitely loved that the book started slow and picked up pace as we went on until we reached the top or the end of the book.

The only thing I absolutely despised was the beginning and ending of this book.  As I said earlier I felt like I picked up a book and started reading in the middle without getting a solid back story.  But the ending killed me.  I was so excited to see what happened on the climb back down and what obstacles they would encounter.  Did I get that?  No.  The book ended.  It just ended with everyone standing all happily overlooking the mountain.  I needed more after the summit.  I wanted there to be danger and excitement well after the summit had been reached.  I seriously hope that Smith decides to write a fourth book to give me more about Peak and his team. 

I am a big fan of the Peak Marcello series and this book did not disappoint.  I give this 5 stars and would love to get a set of the Peak series to put in my classroom.  (I rarely let students get their hands on my personal copies.)  I would recommend this to fans of the Peak series or people who enjoy adventure books. 

The Edge by Roland Smith

From Goodreads,

"Fifteen-year-old Peak Marcello hasn’t climbed since intentionally failing to reach the summit of Mount Everest. He’s been enjoying life at sea level, spending his time with the Two Peas—his younger twin sisters—and being a regular, law-abiding teenager. But then his old climbing buddies, JR, Will, and Jack, show up with an offer Peak may not be able to refuse: the International Peace Ascent. The billionaire Sebastian Plank is recruiting a global team of young climbers to make an inspiring, world-uniting documentary. Peak’s been chosen as the U.S. representative. A part of him wants to stay home and out of the spotlight. But another part is itching to get back out there. In the end, the itch has got to be scratched, and Peak, along with his mom, is helicoptered in to a remote base camp in the Hindu Kush Mountains.

But the trip quickly goes from good time to nightmare. Attacked by an unknown and unseen enemy, some of the climbers are kidnapped—including Peak’s mom.

Peak has no choice but to go after them."

Goodreads - The Edge

This book is a sequel to the book Peak.  In this book Peak has returned home and is trying to return to a normal life by spending lots of time with his sisters the Peas.  Peak returns to his mother's shop and finds the film crew who followed him on Everest.  He talks with them and quickly realizes he has been recruited to be a part of a Peace Summit.  He is very reluctant to join, but eventually decides to.  His mom tags along and they embark on a journey to Afghanistan.  Peak finds that Zopa is the climb master and that Zopa has an off feeling about the entire trip.  Things go awry and Peak and his friends must fight to survive the Peace Summit.

After I read Peak, I got excited after finding there was a second book.  I promptly found the book on Amazon and had it shipped as soon as possible.  I really expected this book to be about Peak making a second attempt at Everest.  It ended up that a Peace Summit is taking place and Peak has been recruited, along with his mother.  I really liked that this book forged more of a relationship between Peak and his mother, especially since Peak was with his father primarily in the first book.  We didn't see or hear a lot about Peak's mother, and it was good to have her truly incorporated into this book.  I really enjoyed that Peak and his mother went on this climb and encountered an enemy who was out to hurt them.  I felt like the enemy really created more of a bond between Peak and his mom.  I also loved the irony of the Peace Summit, but there was no peace on this climb.

A few parts of this book were very thrilling and exciting, but at others it was very dull.  I felt like this book lacked the pizazz that Peak did.  The book was very dull and boring at the beginning.  There was absolutely nothing exciting happening except for everyone meeting for the climb.  I found it hard to adjust from reading about snow capped mountains to reading about Peak climbing in the desert.  I felt like the most exciting part was when Peak and Ethan realized that people had been murdered.  The rest of this book was very dull and lacked any sort of enthusiasm.  I didn't feel like this sequel did the first book justice, and I wish that Peak had been a stand alone book.

I give this book 3 stars out of 5.  I would recommend this to anyone that has read the first book.  My brother in law is currently reading this book, so I'm excited to talk to him about his thoughts on the book.

Peak by Roland Smith

From Goodreads,

"The only thing you’ll find on the summit of Mount Everest is a divine view. The things that really matter lie far below. – Peak Marcello

After fourteen-year-old 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 a climbing company in Thailand. 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. But it's also one that could cost him his life.

Roland Smith has created an action-packed adventure about friendship, sacrifice, family, and the drive to take on Everest, despite the incredible risk. The story of Peak’s dangerous ascent—told in his own words—is suspenseful, immediate, and impossible to put down."

Goodreads - Peak

Awards:

• National Book Award
• Booklist Editors' Choice

This book is about a troubled teen named Peak who gets caught scaling a skyscraper.  In a rush to keep him out of juvie his father rushes in and whisks him away on the climbing adventure of a lifetime.  His father quickly tells him his plan to make Peak the youngest person to reach the Everest summit.  This book progresses as Peak meets friends who will carry him to the top and as he finds who he really is.  

I read this book when I was in high school and I really enjoyed it.  I found the book at a thrift store and decided to go ahead and purchase it to reread and possibly put in my classroom.  I love the thrill this book has.  There is so much excitement and adrenaline packed in this book that it makes me feel as if I could climb Mt. Everest.  Peak was a fabulous main character and I loved his transformation.  At the beginning of the book he was troubled and acted very similar to his father in the sense that he did what he wanted when he wanted.  As the book progresses and Peak starts to focus on the summit, he starts to change.  He realizes that family and friends are more important than thinking only about yourself.  His full transformation is realized as he sees the summit in sight.  (I don't want to ruin the ending, so I'll just leave you hanging....)  

While I loved Peak and his transformation, I really disliked the way the secondary characters were written in the book.  They weren't ever important and I never kept their names straight.  I just felt like there wasn't a lot of connection with secondary characters in the book.  I think this could have been done so that the reader only felt focus on Peak.  Peak didn't care much about those around him, and I do think that the lack of connection with secondary characters was done so that the focus stayed on Peak and Peak only.  It just made Peak seem lonely, which is probably what it felt like while climbing Everest.  

I give this book 4 stars.  I recently found out there is a second book titled Edge.  I look forward to reading it and giving a follow up review to see how the two books connect.  I would recommend this to adventurous students probably in middle or high school.