Above All Else by Dana Alison Levy

Rose Keller and Tate Russo have been climbing for years, training in harsh weather and traveling all over the world. The goal that kept them going: summiting Mount Everest, the highest point on earth.

Everyone on their expedition has something to prove, it seems. And not everyone is making the best decisions while short on oxygen and physically and mentally exhausted. The farther up the mountain they go, the more their climbing plans unravel and the more isolated each team member becomes. Rose and Tate will have to dig deep within themselves to determine what—or who—they value above all else.

Above All Else by Dana Alison Levy absolutely blew me away. The story was incredible and unique, and it was such a breath of fresh air as more and more novels in the YA genre are becoming clones of each other. The story was intense, heart breaking, heart warming and so inspiring. I would never climb Everest, I could barely handle a 3-day overnight hike! But after reading this book, I feel like I have experienced climbing Mt. Everest myself, and have gone through all of the emotions the characters did! The characters were all very loveable. They displayed bravery, courage and such wonderful values and I was equally invested in each of them. This book blew me away and I would definitely recommend it to any teenager, or adult wanting to go on the adventure of a lifetime while sitting on the couch!

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Comments

How to Grow a Family Tree by Eliza Henry-Jones

Stella may only be seventeen, but having read every self-help book she can find means she knows a thing or two about helping people. She sure wasn't expecting to be the one in need of help, though. Thanks to her father's gambling addiction, Stella and her family now find themselves living at Fairyland Caravan Park. And hiding this truth from her friends is hard enough without dealing with another secret. Stella's birth mother has sent her a letter. As Stella deals with the chaos of her family, she must also confront the secrets and past of her 'other' family. But Stella is stronger than she realises. This book was absolutely brilliant. It is possibly one of my favourite YA novels ever!! I absolutely adored the characters, and I LOVED the story. The book has so many beautiful messages, and everyone would benefit from reading this book. The book shows that sometimes things that are covered in gold, are crumbling on the inside, and that sometimes you can find be...

The Schoolmaster's Daughter by Jackie French

January 1901 Sharks circle the stranded ship as Hannah and her family head to a new home in the newly formed nation of Australia. Hannah's father has a new post as the schoolmaster in a larger school in northern NSW, where the school's wealthy patron, a sugar planter called Mr Harris, will give the family a life of comfort and the best society. But secrets lurk in this subtropical paradise. From the moment Hannah's mother rebels against her husband's refusal to let Jamie, the Pacific Islander boy who rescues them from their shipwreck, into his school, the facade crumbles. Mr Harris's fortune is built on slavery and the whip. And the new Federal government's first law demands that all Pacific islanders - even those born in Australia - be deported. If Mr Harris learns of the secret school that Hannah's mother is running, it will mean ruin, violence, and possibly even death. Hannah and Jamie must fight for Jamie's right to stay in the land he loves, and fo...

The Silk House by Kayte Nunn

Australian history teacher Thea Rust arrives at an exclusive boarding school in the British countryside only to find that she is to look after the first intake of girls in its 150-year history. She is to stay with them in Silk House, a building with a long and troubled past, where the shadows hide more mysteries than she could ever imagine. In the late 1700s, Rowan Caswell leaves her village to work in the home of an English silk merchant. She is thrust into a new and dangerous world where her talent for herbs and healing soon attracts attention. In London, Mary-Louise Stephenson lives amid the clatter of the weaving trade and dreams of becoming a silk designer, a job that is the domain of men. Arriving in the market town of Oxleigh, she brings with her a length of fabric woven with a pattern of deadly plants that will have far-reaching consequences for all who dwell in the silk house. The Silk House was such a gorgeous story, and ...

The Book Mermaids

Search This Blog