Peak Marcello

Peak Marcello is the main character and first person narrator of the novel. At the novel’s start, he is 14 years old and living in Manhattan, New York with his mother Teri, stepfather Rolf, and younger twin sisters Patrice and Paula. Peak has not seen his biological father Joshua Wood in seven years. While he has “written him at least a dozen letters over the years,” Josh has not sent a single letter or postcard in return (45). Josh and Teri had Peak when they were living in a log cabin in Wyoming and pursuing their climbing careers. Josh grew distant and abandoned the family, during which time Teri got together with her high school friend Rolf. They soon sold “the cabin in Wyoming and mov[ed] to the loft in New York” (35). Peak has grown accustomed to this new urban lifestyle, but is often eager for an...