Ever since I was little I have loved reading stories about climbing Mount Everest. I look for stories of expeditions in newspapers, watch TV programmes about the topic whenever I can. Many years ago I really enjoyed reading a book for adults "The Death Zone" about Matt Dickinson's experiences when he climbed Mount Everest for himself so I was thrilled to find he has written several novels for children. I'm just not quite sure how I missed them for so long!!
The Everest Files is the first of a trilogy about Ryan Hart, a gap year student travelling in the Himalyas. Ryan finds himself looking deep into the mountain range for a sherpa boy named Kami. Most of the book is actually written about Kami, telling his story about an expedition up Mount Everest. It is a story of treachery, lies, greed and bravery and gives a fascinating insight into an Everest expedition and how Sherpas are treated. The author's descriptions of Mount Everest are fantastic, only someone who has climbed the mountain could give such detail!
An adventure story set high on the face of Mount Everest... just about the perfect ingredients for a book as far as I am concerned and I can't wait to read the other books in the series. North Face has already been published with the third book, Killer Storm, coming soon. Make sure you give this a go too, especially if you have enjoyed reading the Elizabeth Laird stories on mentioned on this website.
