Ascent by Roland Smith is about a man named Peak, a climber. In this book, Peak travels towards the mountain Hkakabo Razi, inevitably ascending it near the end. Peak travels with his friend Ethan, fellow climber Alessia, and Lwin, their tour guide. On this trip, Peak deals with developing his relationships and the tough road through the jungle and then up the mountain. The book provides insight into Peak’s inner thoughts and his entire journey.
Overall, Ascent was an adventure story with a lot of parts that are hard to relate to, situation wise. Due to the mountainous and heavily forested nature of the area, I found myself unable to form a connection with the main character until the author started to describe Peak’s inner thoughts in detail. This allowed me to form an emotional connection instead. For example, when Peak would complain about the heat and the bugs, I related since I do not like the heat or bugs. I felt like I was part of the group along this tough journey.
The most memorable thing of the entire book is the description of the character Peak’s experience ascending up the mountain. The descriptive words helped me picture what was going on, and provided me with what the situation must have been like. I felt like I couldn’t breathe or talk because of the speed in which Peak went up the mountain. It was a hard journey and I felt like I accomplished the ascension with Peak.
Reviewed by Jaewon Cha, 6th grade, Twin Hickory Area Library
HCPL TeenScene's Read + Review 