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ONE WRONG STEP by Jennifer A. Nielsen

ONE WRONG STEP

by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Pub Date: March 4th, 2025
ISBN: 9781338275865
Publisher: Scholastic

A 14-year-old British boy risks everything on Mount Everest when his father’s expedition is in mortal peril.

It’s August 1939, and Atlas Wade and his father are climbing the tallest mountain in the world. Nobody has ever reached the summit of Mount Everest, but Atlas hopes to be among the first. Unfortunately, his father insists he remain at Advanced Base Camp while the adults forge on. The discovery of a German military boot print and a foreign rope adds intrigue, suggesting that the Nazis are attempting to be the first to summit. Then, following Germany’s invasion of Poland, on the same day the British declare war on Germany, an avalanche endangers the climbers. Receiving only static on the radio, Atlas and Maddie, another expedition member’s daughter, attempt to rescue their fathers with help from Chodak Sherpa. When Chodak is injured, Atlas must take the lead to get Chodak, Maddie (who has a terrible fear of heights), and the expedition climbers to safety, even if a Nazi spy may be watching them. Atlas initially feels more like a conduit for conveying nature facts and historical details to readers than an active participant in the events. But as the story progresses and the stakes are raised, both the narrative and Atlas find their interesting, if measured, strides. Western characters present white.

A slightly uneven story of daring in the face of daunting odds.

(map, author’s note) (Historical fiction. 10-14)