76 pages • 2 hours read
A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Introduction
Before Reading
Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key plot points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.
Reading Check
1. What serious error does Peak make while he is climbing the skyscraper?
2. What happens to Peak because he climbs the skyscraper?
3. Why is it problematic when an unknown boy imitates Peak’s actions and is killed after attempting to climb a building?
4. What is Josh Wood’s occupation?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. What agreement is reached in court to prevent Peak from going to jail?
2. What is Peak’s relationship with Vincent, and how do they feel about each other?
Paired Resource
Reading Check
1. What surprise does Peak’s father reveal to him after Peak has a physical exam?
2. Why does Peak need to wait two weeks before going to the base camp?
3. What reason does Zopa give for replacing Peak’s new gear with older gear?
4. What secret is being kept from Peak’s mother?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. What is Peak’s relationship with his father like?
2. What are some of the issues climbers encounter while attempting to scale Mount Everest?
Paired Resource
“Why Mount Everest’s Death Toll Keeps Climbing”
Reading Check
1. Why is Peak concerned when he learns that Josh has invited Holly Angelo to “cover” him?
2. What secret does Josh want Peak to keep?
3. Why does Josh agree to take Holly on the climb?
4. Who is rumored to be hiding in the camp?
5. What is a puja ceremony?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. Describe Holly Angelo’s character. How do the people in the camp, along with Peak, feel about her?
2. Josh asks Peak if he is ready to climb 21,000 feet after he has spent time assisting victims of an avalanche and people with altitude sickness. What does this reveal about Josh?
Paired Resource
Reading Check
1. What is the significance of the letters Peak receives from his family?
2. Why is it risky for Sun-jo to be on the mountain?
3. What is Peak’s concern about Sun-jo climbing the mountain with him?
4. What does Zopa reveal to Peak, and how does it make Peak feel?
5. What happens to Sun-jo after the German climbers die?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. Why is trust important on Mount Everest, and which characters have broken trust with Peak?
2. Compare the motives of Zopa and Josh. How are their goals aligned? What makes Zopa’s motives different from Josh’s?
Paired Resource
“Jordan Romero of U.S., 13, Youngest to Scale Everest”
Reading Check
1. Peak originally believed his mother stopped climbing because of an injury. What does his mother reveal is the actual reason?
2. Why has Josh permitted Sun-jo to climb Mount Everest with Peak?
3. Why is Josh forced to leave camp with Zopa?
4. What is Josh’s plan after Peak leaves camp?
5. What happens to Sun-jo on the ice wall, and how does Peak react?
6. What is camp six known as?
7. What happens when Sun-jo and Peak are within 20 feet of the summit?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. Josh tells Peak at the novel’s beginning that he wants Peak to climb Mount Everest for Josh’s own monetary gain, but also to help Peak improve himself. What does Peak learn as he reaches the summit of Mount Everest?
2. What does Peak ask Sun-jo to do at the summit, and why is it significant? How does the event connect to the novel’s theme of Friendship?
Recommended Next Reads
Banner in the Sky by James Ramsey Ullman
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
Plus, gain access to 8,800+ more expert-written Study Guides.
Including features:
By Roland Smith