The Impossible Climb (Young Readers Adaptation): Alex Honnold, El Capitan, and a Climber’s Life by Mark Synnott, adapted by Hampton Synnott [in School Library Journal]
The Synnott couple compress husband Mark’s 2019 bestseller to share with younger readers Alex Honnold’s thought-to-be-impossible feat of solo free climbing – as in no ropes, no harness! – Freerider, El Capitan’s notorious 3,000-feet vertical route in Yosemite National Park.
Perhaps aware that adults might argue against glorifying such dangers for impressionable younger audiences, Mark Synnott, also a notable climber, interweaves plenty of his own challenging experiences – which tend to be considerably tamer, as if offering somewhat less risky examples of how to enjoy the not-always-death-defying sport.
Here, narrator Roger Wayne sounds slightly more gravelly than Mark Deakins who voiced the original; Wayne is also more animated, clearly aware he’s vying for the attention of youngers ears. Honnold provides quite the unique character to embody: his live-off-the-grid-in-a-van lifestyle, his aloneness, his challenging neuroscience.
Verdict: Wayne provides a thrilling aural ride.
From the introduction: All the titles here are nonfiction; most feature difficult subjects including history, climate change, systemic racism. Some might ask, why expose younger readers to challenging, unpleasant, haunting truths? One of the featured writers, Hilary Beard, provides the consummate answer back in her introduction to The Burning:
“…the fact that something is upsetting to us doesn’t mean that we should not engage it. Facing the truth empowers us to understand our self, our neighbors, and our world more accurately; to make appropriate choices and decisions; to heal the past and present and build a more promising future. Together.”
Readers: Middle Grade, Young Adult
Published: 2021
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