Character Reflection 4/25

    This week I'm reading Peak by Roland Smith. In this book, Peak Marcello lives in New York and (illegally) climbs skyscrapers. His long lost father is a famous climber and he presents an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for them to summit Mt. Everest together. That would mean he would be the youngest person ever to stand above 29,000 feet! Immediately, Peak says yes and they go on an adventure full of surprises lurking around every corner. Will he make it to the peak of fame?
    Peak has some very interesting character traits. His first trait is hard to put into words. It is like a cross between being brave, reckless and impudent. Here is a passage that describes it.

I was trying to decide what to leave behind when Captain Shek walked up........."Where he go?" I shrugged. "You lying to me! I kick you off mountain if you lie." "Go ahead." I said, zipping my pack closed. Probably not the brightest thing to say, but I'd had enough of Captain Shek and everything else on Everest. He looked like he was about to explode. I don't think he was used to having a fourteen-year-old call his bluff............"I watching you." I walked away feeling his eyes drilling into the back of my neck, proud of myself for not even thinking about ratting out Sun-jo.

That passage might help you understand Peak's trait better. Peak is also very independent for fourteen. An inference that I made about this is that he became more self-reliant because he choose to be alone a lot. Peak is a very unique person. My inferences include the one about Peak's independence. Another inference that I made was that Peak can be himself more with his dad than his mom or step-dad. I almost want to say that Peak is a real person. Roland Smith makes you believe that he is more than real, but someone who you can relate to. It's not like his feelings are all the same or different. Instead, his emotions go in a cycle, with some feelings to choose from. Also, this is a realistic fiction novel so it has more lifelike characters. Overall, I like Peak. I think that his emotions, family, hobbies, and the basics of a character are well chosen. I also despise his lack of humor and the way he doesn't care about other characters that much, except himself. If I were the author, I would first change the things that I despise about Peak. In the whole book Peak is never really exhilarated. I would make him more enthusiastic about things in certain parts because this is Mount Everest. You've got to be thrilled at some point! Here are some reasons of why Peak is needed and important in the story. Peak is the main character and that is one of the most important roles in a story. Peak is also writing this as a documentary for his English teacher and without him, the writer, there would be no story!    I think that this is a fabulous novel and that you should all try this book. Come and get it off the shelf right away or all the copies will be gone! (P.S. It's really overdue, so I'm aiming to finish it by Friday and find out what happens.)