*** 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.

I got about 25% into this and realised I wasn't paying attention anymore. It felt incredibly long and slow paced, a lot of atmospheric descriptions that were great at first but I grew bored of.
The characterisation felt a little off and I couldn't really put my finger on what else was going wrong with this book for me. I just lost interest so quickly.

I would still recommend people read this because it could just be me, I liked the concept a lot and feel it has huge potential. It seems very popular, but it wasn't for me. I didn't click with this book.

I do think maybe the way the ARC is layed out hasn't helped with the rating either, some words were separated mid-way, chapters were meshed together and I found the huge blocks hard to read sometimes.

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 love the plot to this book, two teenagers climbing Mount Everest sounds so interesting. I've seen many Everest documentaries, my old dog was named after the first Sherpa to climb Everest (Tenzing). The accuracy of this book with the mountaineering details is amazing, you can seriously tell the author did their research.

I will say it started out very slow and was somewhat hard to get into to. It took awhile before I could connect with any of the characters, but the plot kept me going. Tate and Rosie at times felt very stiff to me and it wasn't till the end that I could connect with them.

The last 35% of the book is honestly so good and I'd really recommend this book just for that last 35%. There's so much depth to it, the author makes you feel like you're right there on Everest with Rosie and the crew. The author dives into the emotional toll that comes with finally being able to stop being who everyone else wants you to be. She also explores the true emotional trauma of doing something as huge as climbing Everest.

Overall I really enjoyed this book it made me miss climbing, but I'm not going up Everest anytime soon. It did help me decide to start planning a trip to Mount Rainier soon. Honestly isn't that all you could ask for in a book? For it to effect your life outside of the reading world and make you a different person. All in all this was a very interesting YA book that wasn't like all the others in the genre.

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.

A huge thank you to Netgalley for the arc!

ABOVE ALL ELSE is one of those rare books that tackle a very difficult subject, especially in YA. Two teens who have been best friends for life, who dream of adding Mount Everest to their checklist of mountains to summit, and fight against past trauma and their growing attraction to each other.

This is the first book besides INTO THIN AIR or ALIVE (can you count that one as mountain climbing? I don't know. I feel weird adding it to this list, but I'll do it anyhow) where I'm experiencing what it's like to scale a big arse mountain. The author did her research and I felt as though I were there in Nepal with Rose and Tate. Although I do not know what about the process of adventuring at Mount Everest, I can tell that Levy did her homework with the detail she added to the story.

I believe what really sucked me into the story was how badly these two kids wanted it. I mean, they've trained and it's taken a grueling cost to their bodies and mind, and even though family issues and relationship confusion sometimes tried to get in the way, they (Rose especially) knew that they had to focus with all of their might to reach that summit and accomplish their dreams. Levi did a fantastic job in conveying that, boys, self-doubt, and other people's achievements should not overshadow what you want to accomplish. It's a great message and I love it.

Some people will say that the romance got in the way of the plot BUT I thought it was great to throw in there how addicting new love and sex can be, but when set a scale of your dreams, it does not weigh even an ounce. COuld it have a bit more developed? Sure. Did he affect my rating? Not at all.

I have to say that even though this book has a good ending, it will tear your heart out and stomp on it a few times before flushing it down the toilet. My heart. MY HEART!!!

What I loved most: The setting.

What I disliked most: if I had to choose, it would probably be Tate's decisions, which I did understand but still made me angry

Warning for semi-graphic sex scenes, language, death

Gorgeous cover and gorgeous writing! I have no experience or real knowledge of mountain climbing, so I can't speak to the accuracy of that information presented in the novel. However, I will say that the writer made this experience feel accessible to those who don't have that knowledge or experience. The characters were fun and the overall plot was enjoyable, if a little predictable. A solid YA read.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸!

DNF at 40%. For some reason this book didn't grasp my attention and I didn't connect with the characters the way I usually do. I am glad there are so many others who enjoyed it but this book just wasn't for me sadly.

Above All Else by Dana Alison Levy is a full length, stand-alone story that gave me all the feels.
Meet Rose and Tate. Both are 18 year olds, just graduated from highschool and are passionate climber. They're about to living their dream, conquering Mount Everest. What they don't expect is a life altering experience, blood, sweat and tears that about to change them for forever.
Above All Else is a highly emotional read, excellent written and beautifully thought out and wonderfully told, a gripping story full of drama, suspense and unexpected twists and turns.
I loved reading this book, connect with the characers, observe their growing up. 5 Stars.

Wow. That’s the only word that seems to fit this book right now. I went into this book with expectations of a romance in the snow of Everest. But it was so much more. It was about finding your passion. Of heartbreak and of courage. It is one of those books whose story tugs at your heart and one that you will never forget. I highly suggest reading this book because it will change your perspective on courage and conquering challenges.

I enjoyed many aspects of this book, specifically related to climbing culture and in particular Mt. Everest climbing culture. I've read a couple of books about climbing and while I have zero urge to do it myself, I have to admit that I find myself fascinated by the people who have that sort of determined mentality.

I feel like this book does a good job discussing Everest and the socioeconomic and environmental effect the climbing craze has on the surrounding area.

It was obvious that the subject was very well researched by the author, which I really appreciated.

My issues with the book, and the reason it doesn't rate higher with me, is that it felt like it wasn't sure what it wanted to be, especially for the first half of the book. There are stylistic writing choices made that just made the text feel very juvenile to me. So many moments where words are strung-together-using-copious-hyphens-when-it-isn't-actually-necessary. There are other moments where phrasesaresmashedtogetherlikethis for a variety of reasons. There are also cases where both methods are present. Now, there are a few cases where this works, but mostly it just makes the text difficult to read for little reason.

So we have this hyper-juvenile text, and then at the 40ish% mark we jump into an intimate relationship with our two main characters that was barely hinted at for the first chunk of the novel. They go from 0-100 in the course of about 5 pages, and it feels just out of nowhere for me. There's like one scene where they share an overly-long glance, but other than that, there isn't much build up to them being obsessed with one another. I think a romantic subplot could work here, but I wish it'd been a little more evenly paced throughout the book.

Where the storytelling really works, in my opinion, is while they are on their climb and actually moving up the mountain. Unfortunately, they don't even get to Base Camp until about halfway through the book, and most of the actual climbing/descending happens in the last 15-20%. There are many moments in this last section that affected me, to the point that I actually cried a couple times at the end of the book. I enjoyed the coming-of-age aspect of this as well, and wish we could've had a bit more of the father/son relationship between Jordan and Tate.

This book explores PTSD and trauma in a way that felt very authentic and sensitive to me and my experiences, but I would be aware going into this book if you are at all sensitive to those things.

All in all, while I enjoyed the story, I wish it had dug a little deeper into the characters and really settled on what kind of tone it wanted to set and what audience it is catering to. I would absolutely recommend this to young people interested in Mt. Everest and everything that goes into climbing.

This was intense! I'm not a hiker or climber and the things Tate and Rose go through are crazy and not something I could ever do. The best part of this book is the authenticity. The author clearly did their research and I felt like this was nonfiction at times because it was so real. I had no idea what went into prepping to climb Mount Everest, the years of smaller climbs to work up to Everest, the weeks of acclimating to the higher elevation, the toll on your body. This was paced in such a way that we slowly saw the changes in the characters as they got closer to going for the summit and felt realistic.

The romance was a cute part and I liked that it was more of a backseat to the main climbing story. It gave an extra piece to the plot while not overtaking it. Seeing into both Tate and Rose's heads was great and I thought the PTSD was well written.
Overall, this was informative while staying interesting and fun. The ending had me holding my breath to see who was going to make it.

Above All Else takes you on an adventure while learning about two teenagers trying to learn about themselves and the world around them.
Tate and Rose are two young people who push themselves to the limit by climbing mountains. Their biggest adventure awaits them in Nepal as they plan to trek up the magnificent Mt. Everest.
Levy writes beautiful and descriptive scenes. While Rose and Tate climb mountains, the cold, the ice, the hard falls, the sound of Nepal when they arrive and the intense driving in the streets. I was lured in page by page of this book.
She makes us feel the weight of the climb- the intense need for oxygen and the strength it takes to keep going up.
The character build is very good, too. Tate is relatable. He tries his best even if it doesn’t look like it, he has attention deficit disorder, his main focus is climbing and that’s it. He doesn’t need or want more. He’s comfortable with who he is and he is annoyed by his parents for expecting more out of him. I feel many teens can relate to his character.
Rose is just as relatable for teens. She is ambitious and brave and completes all her goals. She wants to be great and get into a great school the exact opposite of Tate.
However, they are still close friends and their love for climbing makes their bond strong until the day Tate has a terrible accident that makes him question himself every step towards Mt. Everest. This makes you want to turn the page every step of the way to see how it all turns out.
This is a story of friendship, mental endurance, family, and the courage to face your fear straight on, even if that fear is 29,000 plus feet high.

Wow. I picked up this book expecting your typical teen love story, as expected with most YA novels, with the backdrop of the trials of climbing Mount Everest. I was pleasantly surprised to find a novel with much more depth, that focused on the excitement and horror of scaling Mount Everest, with the young love tied into the climbing saga.

Rose and Tate have been training to scale Mount Everest for what seems like all of their lives. But a series of events happens that causes them to question their desires for wanting to reach the summit, and if those reasons are worth the dangers. I don't have much knowledge of climbing at all, but I really enjoyed the detail that the author included of the process to scale Mount Everest - I could tell that she had done her research and wanted that information to be a guide to so many of the characters' decisions and actions. I was also incredibly surprised by the ending, and in an attempt to avoid spoilers, I will just say that I expected a triumphant and happy ending, and instead found myself pondering a somber and heartbreaking ending that still left me feeling satisfied, because it felt very raw and real.

The main reason that I rated this book as 4 stars instead of 5 is because this book is marketed as YA for ages 12 and up, but there are a couple of fairly graphic sex scenes (and then many memories of those moments from the characters throughout the rest of the book), and I just don't think that that level of description was necessary for the book, especially with the intended audience. The salacious level of detail could have easily been left out, and should be left out with the intended audience for this book. When I pick up a YA novel, it is because I do *not* want to stumble upon all the sordid details of intimate moments between characters - these moments can be written without the salaciousness. For this reason, I have to knock it down a star, and strongly urge that these scenes be edited out before print later this year.

However, I do strongly recommend this book, with the above caveat. I would not recommend this to the "12 and up" age group due to its mature subject matter (both in the bedroom, and the emotions that are dealt with on the mountain), but I would recommend to adults and older teens. I believe the author captured the complexities and confusion of ambition and fear and excitement and all the other emotions encountered when you are facing a dream you've been working towards your whole life, albeit an extremely dangerous dream. This book left me with a lot to ponder at 2am when I finished the book. I know that I will never desire to climb Mount Everest, but in many moments of this book, I felt like I was alongside Rose and Tate and the rest, and that was a thrilling adventure on its own.

I truly just couldn't get into this book. It was relatively fast paced but I guess because I didn't find the characters or plot relatable in any way, I just couldn't find the will to power through at a fast pace. The ending of this book is it's saving grace and I live by that.