Dominic is obsessed with climbing. His father taught Dominic and his brother to climb when they were little and now his brother is top ranked young climber. Summit, an outdoor sports bar company, decides to sponsor a youth team to climb Mount Everest. Most of the team members are selected to join the training camp by letter, including Dominic’s brother, Chris. When Summit holds a contest to fill one of the spots at the camp, Dominic knows he has to win it.

Camp is not what it seems. Hard conditioning and strenuous workouts are all part of the day. The final team is to be made up of four members and Dominic is surrounded by older, stronger climbers. Strange and mysterious events cause even more tension between the competitors. Someone is leaking information to the press and the pressure causes more than one climber to crack.

Korman’s writing is quirky and fun to read. The story is split over three books, making it more manageable to read. His use of emails, newspaper articles and narrative texts, allows the reader to see multiple perspectives. Young climbers will appreciate his use of climbing lingo, while those new to the sport will enjoy learning about the sport.

Notes for Parents:

Reluctant boy readers are often sucked into this series as well as the other Gordon Korman series such as The Island, and The Dive. Sixth and seventh grade boys looking for an adventure book, will be happy with this series. Although it is one story spreading across three books, it allows for the reluctant reader to be successful.