(copied from Goodreads) I've been suffering from insomnia during this quarantine, and this book was a fabulous way to keep busy while I was awake. I am really surprised by the lower ratings, because I thought it was fascinating, well-researched, and really romantic. I'm a bit of a sucker for best friends to more stories (Romione shipper for life), but what I loved about Rose and Tate is that they both had flaws and recognized them in each other and didn't try to minimize them. I love climbing books, nonfiction or fiction -- from Into Thin Air to Peak -- and this one was just as great. Yes, it's about climbing Mt. Everest, but it's really about honesty, relationships, finding your person, and parent-child closeness. I highly recommend it, and I plan to add it to the high school library this Fall.

I read this book in just two days, because I just could not put it down. I love a book that showcases different points of view throughout the story, and this book does just that. Both main characters had such different challenges and voices during the story, so it was refreshing and really nice to hear both sides. This book showcased such a journey about climbing Everest and even just getting through traumas and different life experiences. This book encompassed many different emotions, and I would definitely recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

I read this book in basically a day because I could not put it down.

A quick blurb: Rose Keller and Tate Russo are best friends who have been climbing for years, training in extreme weather and traveling worldwide to prepare for their ultimate goal: summiting Mount Everest, the highest point on earth. They head to Everest at the end of their senior year, accompanied by Tate's dad and a family friend, Paul. Climbing Everest is one of the most challenging tasks on earth, but both Rose and Tate have internal obstacles they're fighting hard to overcome as well. Plus, their lifelong platonic friendship seems to be changing.

I really enjoyed the dual POV. Especially with a story centered around such an intense challenge, getting to hear the perspective of two characters was really compelling. The author did a great job giving both Rose and Tate their own distinct voices.

I've always really enjoyed stories about wild tests of endurance, and I'm definitely the type to go down a Wikipedia rabbit hole of stories about Everest adventures. So I knew just from the description this was something I wanted to read. This book really brought together in the best way two genres I love: physical endurance and YA coming-of-age/growing into yourself stories. Best friends to lovers always gets me, and putting it in a setting that so many of us will never experience made it so unique.

Also, this book made me cry. I could tell for the last third or so it was just a matter of time until the tears arrived, and arrive they did. Whew.

I would definitely recommend reading this book when it comes out, especially if you're looking to shake up your typical YA story, or you're looking for a new spin on an Everest tale.

I'm so happy I read this book.

I had never read a story about climbing in my life, and I don't even know why this one caught my attention, but I'm glad it did.
Rose and Tate are going to climb Everest after a life of preparing, and it isn't going to happen exactly how they dreamed about it for such a long time. Rose's mom can't come anymore, even though she was a big part of the plan, and Tate's dad is coming but is not feeling as well as he should. At the beginning it was kind of difficult to get into de story because it kept going back and forth, which made hard to get interested on the characters. The second half of the book was my favorite, I was completely invested on the climbing and couldn't stop reading until I finished. I loved all the details, they made me curious about Everest and I ended up doing what I love the most: opening ten tabs on my browser so I could read EVERYTHING about it.

I was kind of disappointed on the romance: it was unnecessary. Still, I understood why it was there so I made the effort to read those parts, too (thank God they were only a few).
In the end, this book is not just about climbing the Everest, it's about a journey. It's about people that want to do something big (all of them for different reasons) and how their past affects the experience. I loved getting to know these characters.

4.5 stars. A really excellent read that's sensitive and thrilling at the same time.

Tate is an absolute sweetheart and he's my favorite character. His mental health is one of the best parts of the book I think because of how PTSD and ADHD are handled. Absolutely incredible.

Rose is frustrating to read about sometimes because she's so stubborn and can be insensitive to the people around her. Tate is a good balance to her. The parents are present in this book and are nuanced, realistic characters. Rose's relationship with her mom is so sweet and well developed.

I appreciate the attention to culture that the author gives. It's a weird dynamic when wealthy tourists come to Mount Everest and pay the Sherpa people to risk their lives so the tourists can have an adventure. And this book did a good job addressing that and the problematic aspects. It's respectful of the people who have died climbing the mountain, too. The author has a good author's note in the back about her research.

All in all, a great book about adventure, friendship, and love. Definitely recommend.

*I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

I feel like I gotta start with saying that I am not one to read books about climbing. I think this is the first book that I ever really read that was about climbing specifically and I wasn't completely sure what to expect, but this was such a nice surprise. The plot was fast moving, the characters were delights, relatable and lovable at the same time, and the end of the book and the end of the climax both felt realistic and terrible and shocking and great at the same time.

At the beginning of the book there was a past/present structure of the storyline and not going to lie, I thought it would go like that through the book and I was wondering what could have possibly happened in the past that would take up half the book, but the author handled it really well and after a few chapters we saw what happened, we got just enough information to know and understand the present and the characters and their motivations and then we just get the main plot for the rest of the story. Which was pretty good, not going to lie, I enjoyed it, but for me, the heart and soul of the story was the two main characters and their relationships. They were best friends for as long as they could remember, they always climbed together, and wanted to climb Everest together, while they relationship naturally develops and turns into a romance during the book. It was so palpable how much they loved each other and cared for each other, I honestly loved every bit of their relationships and the ups and downs of it.

I also really enjoyed Tate's storyline the most. His trauma and PTSD from the climbing accident during the flashback chapters was so real, his struggle of needing to do everything everyone around him expected of him, wanting to be there for Rose and his father and everyone else, while also struggling with his mind changing about climbing and his wants and needs changing, and dealing with the trauma and the nightmares and the fear was so captivating, I loved reading about every single second of it, and I was so proud of him when he decided that he didn't want to climb and not just because of the fear but because he didn't want it. And I was even more proud when he went up at the end to help out his friends.

Rose's storyline for me was a little bit less interesting, but maybe part of that was that just in general, to me climbing Everest feels like an insane thing that I could never imagine anyone wanting. So I couldn't really understand her drive, but at the same time, it was inspiring, and I love how during the story it turned from wanting to do it for her mom into something that she wanted to do for herself and nobody else. I was really proud of her.

And mostly I really enjoyed how the story didn't glorify or try to romanticize climbing Everest. I do believe that for those who do this as a passion, it's an incredible thing, but it's also extremely dangerous and full of horrors, and the book showed both sides and I really enjoyed every bit of it!

Super interesting read. Drama on the side but a lot of cool climbing info, really gives you a feel for what it may be like to climb Mount Everest. I don't always love having two perspectives but both characters were equally good.

Who doesn’t have a goal that they set from childhood? Above All Else focuses on Rose and Tate’s big goal that they came up with when they were young- to climb Mount Everest! This gripping tale of childhood climbing friends will definitely make you feel like you’re right there with them!

Levy wrote this book with two points-of-views, one from Rose, and the other from Tate. Whilst Rose’s storyline generally progresses in the right then and there, Tate’s story flicks back and forth between the past and the present- giving some background for some very important points towards the back-end of the book. Personally, I loved how everything was intertwined and I wasn’t missing anything, which is always a great sign!

Rose is portrayed as the smart, headstrong girl who keeps on going when everything else is falling apart around her, especially as her mum suddenly falls ill and is unable to climb. Tate on the other hand feels very much in the shadows of his family and of Rose, often comparing himself with Rose schoolwise. The contrast between our two characters definitely helped with reading their storylines a lot, as they weren’t the same.

In the story, I loved how the focus was on friends (old and new), health (both physical and mental), as well as touching sensitively on death throughout the book. I also love how all the characters strive in their different ways in order to make climbing Mount Everest happen in the first place- and when they finally arrive at Everest Base Camp, I truly smiled.

As Rose and Tate developed whilst climbing, I did love how there was a little bit of romance, but that wasn’t the biggest part of the story at all, as if the most important thing to both was their friendship and climbing. I also did love the angst that happened at points, especially when Rose and Tate had different views on certain issues, and I thought it was excellent to see that in this read rather than just having nothing but sunshine-and-rainbows.

The description of how gruelling climbing is (whether it be Everest or just the local mountain range) was super intense, and at times made me feel like I was climbing- even though I’m certainly no climber myself! Levy described Everest in such a way that made me even so scared to climb the stairs in my house, just in case I fell because I let go of the railings! I love how Rose and Tate both overcome the challenges they face within themselves and with their new-found friends from the trek.

I did like how there was diversity, with mental health problems, family issues, and physical ailments, and how these were described in enough detail that made me feel like I was right there, dealing with everything alongside everyone in the book. Heck, I even cried at some points because the feels hit me so much towards the end of the book!

Overall, this was a gripping tale with triumphs and losses, and a lot of feels! I was always rooting for Rose and Tate, and this book is definitely something for those who are adventurous or want a different type of contemporary read!

Rating: 4/5
(This review will go live on my blog on September 29th!)

I really wanted to have enjoyed this book, but I did not connect with the writting style nor with the characters, not really.
The premise of the book is beautiful though. I might read it again in the future int he hopes my opinion changes

I think I love the idea of this story more than the story itself. I am absolutely fascinated by all things Mt. Everest and, although I would never ever attempt to climb it, I always try to get my hands on any story that talks about people who do.

I also love that this is a YA story. I honestly don't know many teens who are driven and prepared enough to undergo such a dangerous and intense expedition, so it's really interesting to read about their motivation and desire to climb the mountain.

And although I love the topic of the story with my entire heart, there's just something about this that's missing and I can't quite put my finger on it. I'm not sure if it's the pacing (slow with a slightly rushed ending) or if it's the writing (feels a bit basic), but there's just something stopping me from obsessing over this.

Overall, I think it's a great concept - definitely unique and one that I haven’t read before!

Thank you Netgalley for an advanced read of this book.

There were parts of this book that I found to be exciting and thrilling but for most of the book I was frustrated. I felt like there was a lot of repetition and circling around topics with no real resolution. I guess that is the angst in a book but it was not done well in this book. In fact, it was really frustrating. I felt like a lot of things were pushed that were not necessary to the story. The premise that two teens have been friends all of their lives and have been in training for climbing Mt Everest, awesome! Sounds like an exciting read for sure. However, there was no tension in the relationship that led up to them suddenly "hooking" up one night. I just never really felt that the relationship went beyond friendship, the romantic part did not feel realistic to me. I felt like other kinds of relationships were just thrown in as a politically correct filler but really had no substance and I really hate that in books. Also, it is hard for me to believe that the tension between Tate and his Dad was over something so small. It built up in the book and in the end when they finally resolved it, it didn't feel like there was a reason for that much tension to begin with. I guess it all comes down to communication but it just didn't play out well. Overall, I appreciate the book and the research that went into writing a book about Mt. Everest. That was fun. It was repetitive and drawn out in some ways but a great topic. I just felt the character development and the relationships were not done very well.

Tate and Rose, two teens that have been friends since childhood embark on the opportunity of a lifetime - summiting Mount Everest. As they confront their untold feelings for each other and the difficult situations they left at home, they are faced with life-and-death challenges to overcome on the mountain.

From the writing itself, to the very odd and inconsistency in the characters and the narration, this one just didn't hit for me. Maybe Jon Krakauer ruined all adventure narrative for me.

The beginning dragged and I didn't connect with either Rose or Tate. Their relationship was predictable and not very nuanced and ultimately this story just didn't quite make the emotional cues it tried to. Perhaps this is a novel for a reader seeking to read a hard-hitting contemporary that doesn't care too much for the plot.

*** 4.5 Stars ***
Talk about a novel that discusses resilience and strength!!!
I’ve always been so interested in Mt. Everest and how the weather and even the height of the mountain is so dangerous and yet, even knowing about the risks, people still attempt the climb!!!
This novel was a page turner because I knew that such a novel could not have a happy ending, you have to make it realistic.
But the ending was more than I expected and I am so glad...it was definitely sad, but it was so good at the same time.
If you can handle an intense, happy and distressing book, I would recommend this!!! But it’s a novel involving a deadly mountain...you’ve been warned!!!

*Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review*

Above All Else was a really cool story that made me want to do more research about Mount Everest and the expeditions to the summit. The book was really well researched and thought out. I was really able to understand the pressure the characters were going through and the ambition that they experienced in different aspects and areas of their lives.

The plot was steady, like a climb, which is really appropriate considering the plot and subject of the novel.

This book really captured my interest. Above All Else is a cool take from a mountain climbers’ perspectives. It made it even more down to earth for these climbers to be young and struggle through other things.

The characters were very understandable, and the book had a really good and realistic plot and ending. I also got to learn more about what Everest expeditions are really like! The characters were really well developed, and it was portrayed as a good and okay thing for them to follow certain paths for certain reasons, which I thought was a really cool approach (no pun intended).

I would recommend this for those who like a quick read with an adventure and realistic happenings and circumstances. I enjoyed it quite a bit. In all, I like how this book was written, and I would recommend it to young adults who are in for a taste of adventure and peril, and who are also up for family, friend, and romantic relationships growing amongst that.

With the ultimate goal in sight, summiting Mount Everest, Rose and Tate are not at the top of their game, Navigating the challenges of a burgeoning romance, a parent's illness and disappointing expectations as well as their high-throttle lives have Rose and Tate making some bad calls leading to some worse situations.
The setting was brilliant and riveting but I was never truly engaged with the main characters to care about how the story ended.

I received this free ARC for my honest review from Netgalley. The first half of the book was a bit slow for me. Though I learned so much about hiking and Nepal. I think that’s what bore me a bit. It was too descriptive of the hiking trails and the side effects of hiking Mt Everest. I liked the characters of Tate and Rose. I thought they were too young to climb Mt. Everest but then again I’m not knowledgeable about hiking it. I wanted more about them in the end. And I was definitely rooting for them in the book. I would recommend this book.

How far are you willing to go for your dreams?

That’s the question Rose Keller and Tate Russo face in Above All Else, a story built on the premise about climbing Mount Everest but really serves as an exploration of love, adventure and what you’re willing to risk to achieve your goals.

Rose and Tate are seniors in high school – best friends, climbing partners and polar opposites – having prepared for the climb up Everest for what seems like their entire lives. Their friendship is easily one of the best things to root for in this story, even if the initial perspective switch and exposition in the beginning took some getting used to.

They each have full lives and strong parental figures – a feature that’s to be commended in YA fiction, their relationship with each of their parents being a key focus of their growth and development throughout the story (with Tate’s dad being an active part of the climb itself). However for as fun and believable as their friendship was, there’s a sharp turn towards romance that while isn’t completely unexpected – especially for the genre – it feels incredibly rushed, moving from zero to one hundred in a way that I would have liked to have seen more buildup.

The true focus of this story is the climb itself, a fact that’s so evident from the amount of care and research that the author poured into exploring the nuances of climbing Mount Everest and what it means for the people and the communities there. yet for as much detail that’s given for the climb, there’s very little touched on severe psychological issues that I would also have appreciated to have more time for the characters to explore.

Nevertheless, once the climb has begun – I felt just like our characters, unable and unwilling to stop. The last third of the book was gripping and intense, enough that once I started reading I couldn’t stop. Pushing through the towards the end was absolutely worth it, making me feel just like our characters did towards the end.

Despite a slow start and clunky exposition, Above All Else serves as a great reminder that sometimes the greatest challenges to our dreams can be overcoming the mountains we set up for ourselves.

Young love, hard work, perseverance, and heartbreak all in one. I found myself rooting for these two in more ways than one. Climbing Mount Everest seems like a fairytale, a joke, not even possible - and they did it! And broke my heart along the way!

I was lucky enough to get a free copy of this book from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

*This review will contain mild spoilers.*

Above All Else tells the story of two teenage climbing prodigies Rose and Tate as then begin the incredibly dangerous summit of Mount Everest. They've spent years preparing for this moment, training all over the world to fulfil the dream of conquering the world's tallest mountain. However things aren't going as smoothly as they prepared for, with Rose's mother's illness, Tate's struggles to live up to his father's expectations and the evergrowing relationship between the two, and in an environment where any wrong move could be your last they have one hell of a journey.

When I first heard about this one I knew I'd enjoy it, I love the whole idea of a romance forming during a (potential) survival situation. When I first read the description on NetGalley I thought they would be left alone to survive after something goes horribly wrong. So I was so pleased when I was accepted for the ARC, I rarely get accepted on NetGalley and this was my second once within about 2 days, so I was pretty happy.

The format was a little confusing at first, the breaks between paragraphs were big at times making feel like a time jump was coming, and then others there was nothing. But I did get used to it as I carried on.

Reading about rock climbing made me want to try the hobby, I have tried it in the past without ropes but after a friend took a nasty fall I was put off for a while. But reading about it made me long to accomplish something, I know I'll never be good enough to even think about Everest, but potentially a small mountain in England I could consider... eventually.

I liked the friendship between Tate and Rose, but I felt like there wasn't a lot of it, so when it did move to a romance it seemed sudden and didn't flow as well as it could have. Although we know they have been friends for years from the writing alone I think it would have been difficult to see the depth of friendship they did have. So when the "I love yous" came out, again it was almost forced just to add to the romance element.

I felt as though Tate's portrayal of PTSD and the responses of those around him was very good. I know at first his father came across as pushy, especially since Tate had been seeing a counsellor, you would have imagined that his father would have been more understanding, as there were some signs at least that his son wasn't doing as well as he was showing. But I did feel they developed as characters when the conversation was had in regards to Tate's true feelings.

I liked how his feelings were accepted and although others were disappointed in his unwillingness to climb, they accepted and didn't try to push him to continue.

I really enjoyed the story overall, I felt it was detailed and showed us both the true horrors and wonders of engaging in such a dangerous activity.

I really enjoyed this book!!

I thought the characters were very well versed, and fit into the story well. The writing was done well, and pulled me right into the story from the start.