THE IMPOSSIBLE CLIMB (YOUNG READERS ADAPTATION)

A scramble into the wild world of rock climbing.

In 2017 free solo climber Alex “The Hon” Honnold climbed Freerider, a route with a ridiculously high hazard rating, without a safety line past fantastically tricky sections with deceptively mild names like the Boulder Problem, 3,000 feet up Yosemite’s slick El Capitan in just under four hours. Readers who stay the course will not only come away with a command of climbing jargon and glimpses of the community of free-range souls who speak it, but will experience a penetrating character study of a full-time rock climber who spends his days going from one challenge to another in locales ranging from Borneo to Chad. Slimming down her author husband’s more detailed account—adding a personal introduction, toning down the language—the adapter tries to position Honnold and his colleagues less as thrill-seekers than athletes pushing human limits. What remains is a patchwork, composed as much of the author’s autobiographical reminiscences about his own early attachment to dangerous feats as anecdotes about Honnold. Young readers may find speculations about whether Honnold has Asperger’s and/or an atypical amygdala more eye-glazing than illuminating. Considering his risky lifestyle, the Hon makes chancy role model material, but his seemingly paradoxical mix of impulsivity and obsessive attention to physical and mental preparation adds nuance and drama to his exploits.

A slippery jumble but not without plenty of thrills.