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Peak by Roland Smith This work has been published in the Teen Ink monthly print magazine.

By
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.

This work has been published in the Teen Ink monthly print magazine. This piece has been published in Teen Ink’s monthly print magazine.




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This article has 47 comments. Post your own!

breezy101 said...
Oct. 31, 2011 at 8:16 pm:
i read the book and loved it and now am currently writing an essay on it, can anyone help me out and tell me what chapter his mom calls him and talks to him about summiting everest?
 
Bookworm1997This teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. replied...
Jan. 23 at 1:16 am :
I read this book and it was really great. I liked the ending a lot.
 
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tatertotstewie said...
Oct. 27, 2011 at 1:48 pm:
I have read this book multiple times, and i must say this review has reopened my eyes as to what a good of a book this is.
 
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madrack said...
Oct. 10, 2011 at 3:19 pm:
Fair enough--this is just my opinion. It was a good reveiw.
 
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madrack said...
Oct. 7, 2011 at 3:12 pm:
I read this book in my class 2 yrs ago, and I hated it.
 
soldoutThis teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. replied...
Oct. 9, 2011 at 7:53 pm :
It's ok if yu dont like the book, but yu might want to praise/critique the review at least. i think the review makes it sound like a worthy read. i especially appreciate how yu exposed the conflict, but barely touched in on any events occurring. im giving it a five-star rating
 
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riter2 said...
Oct. 1, 2011 at 7:15 pm:
Rolund smith is a guy, not a "her".
 
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Grace4297This teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. said...
Jun. 17, 2011 at 8:42 am:
I loved that book! I've read all of Roland Smith's novels and I would definitely rate Peak as one of my favs. With the I.Q. series of course.
 
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VivaSarcasmThis teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. said...
May 26, 2011 at 4:29 pm:
I'm actually reading this book now, and it is my favorite by Roland Smith (I've also read the IQ series). I highly recommend it as a light read-it's short and easy to read while full or action/adventure, plus information about mountain climbing in the Himalayas I didn't know about. A+
 
josephcook6242 replied...
Sept. 16, 2011 at 4:00 pm :
i would have to agree with u that peak is a good novel. i have to a report on it in my english class, i hope this book blows her mind oon how good it is.
 
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satian said...
May 11, 2011 at 9:14 am:
i read this book with my class and it was pretty cool
 
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KKWilli11111 said...
May 5, 2011 at 8:15 pm:
This book was amazing with all the drama and everything, it was a great book and i would totally read it again
 
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alwer299 said...
May 4, 2011 at 5:59 am:
i read that book with my class....i hated it. it was a sucky book, that does not deserve praise.
 
ElectroMagneticPulseThis teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. replied...
May 4, 2011 at 9:45 am :
I haven't read the book so I can't really defend it, but i think it should be mentioned that books always seem better when you get to read it on your own time and free will - it's almost never as good if you have to analyze it for class. Or at least that's how it's always been for me. I think I'll take a look at Peak - nice review!
 
alwer299 replied...
May 4, 2011 at 7:54 pm :
that is totally true. we just read lord of the rings for a reading group (my teacher isn't the most tradional person) and i couldn't stand it because we had to read it really paying attention and in certian amounts of time. BUT peak was jujst truly a terrible book. the plot was really odd and hard to believe and the whole book was just badly written. i wouldn't have liked it even if i read it on my own. and now i remember it was even totally a reading gorup book it was some form of read -... (more »)
 
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T+G= <33 said...
Apr. 25, 2011 at 4:56 pm:
Loved the book ive read it mabye 5 times now and cant put it down
 
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zeroman123 said...
Mar. 30, 2011 at 11:17 am:
i hated this book
 
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russianreaderThis teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. said...
Mar. 21, 2011 at 5:46 pm:
I love this book! I read it right before my mom went to Everest, so it really connected with me!
 
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SouthernBelle97 said...
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.
 
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sicilia said...
Jan. 14, 2011 at 10:58 am:
I read this book and absolutely loathed it. I had to read it for school once and it was absolutely TERRIBLE.
 
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miracles are amazing said...
Jan. 13, 2011 at 9:59 am:
This helped me sooooooo much!!!!!! This was an amazing book!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:)
 
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Caryn said...
Dec. 23, 2010 at 5:36 pm:
I truly loved this book. For anyone, that hasn't read it. Read it! You won't be sorry.
 
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Runner said...
Dec. 1, 2010 at 1:07 pm:
I love this book.
 
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Kresint50401 said...
Oct. 18, 2010 at 1:09 pm:
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.
 
russianreader replied...
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.
 
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DifferentTeenThis teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. said...
Jul. 22, 2010 at 5:51 pm:
I absolutely loved this book the millions of times I've read it and completed book projects on it. Ecellent review.
 
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shabam34 said...
Jun. 8, 2010 at 8:20 pm:
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!!!
 
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husky65 said...
May 17, 2010 at 9:25 pm:
this is a good book and i was wonderin gif it had a movie
 
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superswim_19 said...
Apr. 25, 2010 at 3:06 pm:
This is like my favorite book! I think Roland smith is an awesome author! =D
 
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armybrat11 said...
Apr. 25, 2010 at 2:30 pm:
I read and really enjoyed this book!
 
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beast said...
Mar. 22, 2010 at 8:31 pm:
great book. How many pages?
 
horsie_luver replied...
Apr. 3, 2010 at 7:48 pm :
It probably depends on the publisher.
 
desle123 replied...
Mar. 7, 2011 at 10:54 am :
its 349 pages
 
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Silverwolf14 said...
Feb. 18, 2010 at 7:06 am:
Amazing story!
 
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Guymoon554 said...
Feb. 1, 2010 at 4:18 pm:
Peak is an amazing book stop reading this and read the book
thanks bye!
 
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gray gray said...
Jan. 5, 2010 at 5:48 pm:
i read tha book but i cant remember if he makes it to the summit or not..... can someone clue me in??
 
EMOEMY replied...
Jan. 27, 2010 at 8:02 pm :
****if you havent read the book stop reading this ASAP or youll regret it*******
he does but he refuses to touch(?) the top and lets the other kid. its a really cool thing for him to do.
 
sicilia replied...
Jan. 14, 2011 at 11:00 am :
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.
 
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chipmuck said...
Oct. 9, 2009 at 9:54 am:
I think the review was helpful and it told you alot about the book.
 
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Billybobfoo said...
Oct. 9, 2009 at 9:52 am:
I loved this book! I loved the part where the police were tying to get Peak down from the skyscraper! The book was so exciting! I would recomend it.
 
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marcus#8chiefs said...
Aug. 28, 2009 at 11:23 am:
i love the book peak !
 
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aceswild91 said...
Aug. 28, 2009 at 3:00 am:
This book is an inspirational masterpeice.
 
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Voice said...
Jun. 22, 2009 at 5:47 am:
I LOVE this book, I don't think I finished it but I LOVE it just the same, man I want to know how it ends, but I'm too lazy too see where I left off ;( TEARS.
 
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Kattykat418 said...
Mar. 3, 2009 at 8:12 am:
i love that book though the ending is disapointing it is also touching/moving
 
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Lanee said...
Dec. 20, 2008 at 1:53 am:
Great review, but - last time I checked - Smith was male. Ah, well, we're not all perfect, are we? Keep up the nice work, maybe work on your flow a little bit. Your first and fourth paragraphs seemed a little... iffy, if you know what I mean. Read them aloud, see what they sound like. ... Or maybe it's just me.
 
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chriscav76 said...
Nov. 20, 2008 at 1:59 pm:
I thought it was a good book. I think i would read it again and i am looking foward to keep reading more of your books.
 
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nonelse said...
Nov. 18, 2008 at 10:42 pm:
i loved this book!!! Also, the reveiw was very good!!!
 
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