Peak

In this unputdownable, spine-tingling coming-of-age adventure of a lifetime called “a winner at every level,”* fourteen-year-old Peak Marcello attempts to be the youngest climber to summit Mount Everest.

After 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, a world-famous mountaineer who runs an overseas climbing company.

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. It's also one that could cost him his life.

This thrilling YA climbing adventure is "the perfect antidote for kids who think books are boring" (Publishers Weekly starred review).

Roland Smith's Peak Marcello's Adventures are:

• Peak
• The Edge
• Ascent
• Descent

*Booklist, starred review