To the Summit

Deborah Zink Roffino

This is a compelling story of a young girl's quest to climb to the top of Mount McKinley with ehr emotinally distant father.
— Mailbox Magazine

School Library Journal

Gr 7 Up-- On a guided climb of Denali (Mount McKinley), 17-year-old distance runner Sarah Janson struggles to become the youngest female ever to reach the summit. Besides the necessary survival gear, she carries a wide array of emotional baggage. She dislikes living in the small Alaskan village to which her mother and stepfather have moved, and she feels estranged from her athletic father. Plagued by self-doubt, Sarah--along with her father--faces the difficulties inherent to the sport, such as brushes with hypothermia, altitude sickness, failing resolve, and exhaustion. While there are many minor errors in the book, they do not negate the book's value as an adventure of self-discovery. Among the niggling flaws: Sarah's long dark ponytail becomes cropped blond hair on the cover; the mountain base camp, known in the climbing world as the ``Kahiltna Hilton,'' is referred to as the ``Talkeetna Hilton''; the words ``altitude'' and ``sea level'' are used interchangably, etc. Nevertheless, the descriptions of the summit experience and its joyful afterglow are good, accurately depicting how weather and psychological aspects of the climb often play as large a part in success or failure as physical ability. The most basic tenet of any challenge--the necessity of taking one step at a time--is clearly delineated. --Joel Shoemaker, Southeast Jr. High School, Iowa City, IA