It stands unconquered, the last great summit of the Alps. Only one man has ever dared to approach the top, and that man died in his pursuit. He was Josef Matt, Rudi Matt's father.

At sixteen, Rudi is determined to pay tribute to the man he never knew, and complete the quest that claimed his father's life. And so, taking his father's red shirt as a flag, he heads off to face the earth's most challenging peak. But before Rudi can reach the top, he must pass through the forbidden Fortress, the gaping chasm in the high reaches of the Citadel where his father met his end. Rudi has followed Josef's footsteps as far as they will take him. Now he must search deep within himself to find the strength for the final ascent to the summit - to plant his banner in the sky.

I thought that this Newbery honor book was going to be just another boy's historical adventure, and that I'd get fed up with it and choose to DNF. I was wrong.

It is an adventure. It is about a world which was not relevant to women. But it's about a 16 yo boy who, through the course of the book, becomes a man. And it's cleanly, crisply written, easy enough to read that I stayed up way past my bedtime and finished it.

What's most interesting about it is all the lying and other moral quandaries and ambiguities. Not only does the boy have trouble *doing* the right thing, but *all* the people have trouble *knowing* the right thing. There are questions not only of courage, but of honor, loyalty, identity, brotherhood. Small-scale politics and economics even play a role.

And yet it's still a very readable adventure.

Highly recommended to reluctant readers. Teen males, of course. but also girls and adults who want more insight into the minds of those who feel the compulsion to prove themselves against a potentially deadly challenge. ( )

I liked that in the end the boy does not go to the top of the mountain but instead stays with the guide that was injured. I think that was very kind of him, and it was almost kind of difficult to support his decision even though it was so thoughtful of the other person. ( )

Good mountain climbing story. ( )

This is my all-time FAVORITE novel ever, even though it's more MG than YA and I mainly read YA. It has every element a winner could want, between tension characters you really care about, and inspiration and satisfying ending. I've read it more times than I can count and it holds a place of honor on my bookshelf. ( )