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jgurniak's review against another edition
5.0
I read this quite a while ago but I remember reading it very quickly and absolutely loving it.
deemazztan's review against another edition
4.0
can't wait to share this w/ some 4th grade boys. Wish I had the other two books in the series so I would know what happens!
vikingwolf's review against another edition
2.0
I always like to read the true stories of mountain expeditions and I'm a bit annoyed that there aren't more novels about climbing mountains. When I saw this series, I was a bit unsure about reading it because of the plot. A group of young kids competing for a Willy Wonka style magic ticket chance to go to a climbing boot camp and maybe get chosen to climb Everest was a bit crazy and would never happen in reality. Being fiction though, I figured I'd give it a chance but I wasn't impressed.
The storytelling style of the author was good enough for the YA audience it is aimed at. The characters were quite well developed and written. I can't comment on how good the author was at describing the equipment and climbing itself as I have never taken part in the sport but it sounded pretty accurate.
It had the usual YA cliche of the bully in the group being obnoxious and having no redeeming qualities. It also had seriously farfetched plot elements that left me shaking my head. Firstly, the two girls are competing for a spot on the team and one finds out that the other sleepwalks. If you put aside her 'not wanting to win that way' she MUST report that! For safety reasons you can't have a team member possibly walking off the side of a mountain to her death and maybe taking one of you with her! Duh! A 13 year old leaps off a mountain yet manages to grab onto the helicopter as he falls? Get real! Even stuntmen could die doing that!
There is no suspense about who the traitor in the team is. It is so obvious from the start who it is going to be so there is no tension for the reader, trying to guess who it is. And then we get one of my pet hates-a prologue that gives away the fact that one of them dies on the trek. Oh great, spoil it for everyone why don't you. I really do hate it when an author does that.
I did quickly flick through to see who died and it wasn't a great surprise to be proved right. Not for me I'm afraid.
The storytelling style of the author was good enough for the YA audience it is aimed at. The characters were quite well developed and written. I can't comment on how good the author was at describing the equipment and climbing itself as I have never taken part in the sport but it sounded pretty accurate.
It had the usual YA cliche of the bully in the group being obnoxious and having no redeeming qualities. It also had seriously farfetched plot elements that left me shaking my head. Firstly, the two girls are competing for a spot on the team and one finds out that the other sleepwalks. If you put aside her 'not wanting to win that way' she MUST report that! For safety reasons you can't have a team member possibly walking off the side of a mountain to her death and maybe taking one of you with her! Duh! A 13 year old leaps off a mountain yet manages to grab onto the helicopter as he falls? Get real! Even stuntmen could die doing that!
There is no suspense about who the traitor in the team is. It is so obvious from the start who it is going to be so there is no tension for the reader, trying to guess who it is. And then we get one of my pet hates-a prologue that gives away the fact that one of them dies on the trek. Oh great, spoil it for everyone why don't you. I really do hate it when an author does that.
I did quickly flick through to see who died and it wasn't a great surprise to be proved right. Not for me I'm afraid.
chorvereads's review against another edition
3.0
An exciting adventure with extremely athletic and adventurous teens together with their climbing leader Cap Cicero. Four kids prepare themselves to climb the top of the world, the ever mighty Mt. Everest but first they have to train themselves. In "The Contest" Cap Cicero decided to test the team by climbing Lucifer's Claw, an extraordinary vertical ascend. The thing is sometimes it is not just the destination that counts but the journey as well.
sidneyellwood's review against another edition
4.0
The Everest series really has a special place in my heart. I read it when I was seven. It was the first series I ever really loved and was obsessed with, and I remember reading it over and over and over again, to the point where I still remember the plot.
Even more importantly, I think, this series one of the things that made me love the mountains in winter, despite the cold and the blowing snow and the effort it takes to climb them, or in my chosen sport, to get down safely. I think about these books, sometimes, when I'm skiing and on the top of a mountain looking down at the valleys below me, awestruck at how the top of the world might look. It made me want to at least reach Everest Base Camp; to stand on top of two of the Seven Summits. Even though I can barely get through a hike without fainting, it's something I want to do.
Does it hold up, fifteen years later? Honestly, yeah, it does. Looking back on this I think, "How could anyone take a thirteen-year-old kid up Everest?" (It's been done, though!) But Gordon Korman doesn't sacrifice the dangers of climbing, or complex things like corporate greed, or financial hardship, or how the fear of disappointment can be the scariest thing of all, just because it's a book for kids. Some parts are, now, a bit out of the reach of my suspension of disbelief--but then again, in 1996, Beck Weathers survived being left for dead in the Death Zone, so anything's possible, I guess.
I'm really looking forwards to rereading the rest of the series.
Even more importantly, I think, this series one of the things that made me love the mountains in winter, despite the cold and the blowing snow and the effort it takes to climb them, or in my chosen sport, to get down safely. I think about these books, sometimes, when I'm skiing and on the top of a mountain looking down at the valleys below me, awestruck at how the top of the world might look. It made me want to at least reach Everest Base Camp; to stand on top of two of the Seven Summits. Even though I can barely get through a hike without fainting, it's something I want to do.
Does it hold up, fifteen years later? Honestly, yeah, it does. Looking back on this I think, "How could anyone take a thirteen-year-old kid up Everest?" (It's been done, though!) But Gordon Korman doesn't sacrifice the dangers of climbing, or complex things like corporate greed, or financial hardship, or how the fear of disappointment can be the scariest thing of all, just because it's a book for kids. Some parts are, now, a bit out of the reach of my suspension of disbelief--but then again, in 1996, Beck Weathers survived being left for dead in the Death Zone, so anything's possible, I guess.
I'm really looking forwards to rereading the rest of the series.
tstreet's review against another edition
5.0
I like how they all willing take part in the competition. It's cool seeing young adults/teens willing to take part in something big. I like how all of them are determined to make the climb. I like how they all push on even though it's very hard. I feel bad for everyone and how they are all faring. I didn't like Ethan, but they got rid of him, so it's good. I like how they all push on. I like how even though only two of them actually make it up to the top, the others stay strong throughout the entire book. This was definitely an enjoyable read.
zoe_weems's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
jerrica's review against another edition
5.0
Dang man this was an exciting book about kids going on Everest like all of the events of Into Thin Air just never happened and it's totally cool to put kids on a dangerous mountain and all of the kids are Hardcore, kind of want to read the rest of the trilogy...