One Wrong Step
One Wrong Step by Jennifer A. Nielsen seemed to be a fortuitous addition to my reading list this summer. I was already captivated by the story Blind Descent by Brian Dickinson and read Hidden Mountains by Micheal Wejchert as well as Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer. Continuing the theme of my recent reading, Nielsen’s newest novel is set in 1939 as a team sets off to follow in George Mallory’s steps by trying to be the first to summit Mount Everest. However, if the goal of the expedition wasn’t enough, concerns over Nazis and the looming World War II are present, as well as fourteen-year-old Atlas’s struggle to reconcile hurt and pain of the past.
The story opens with Atlas and his father climbing Kings Peak in Utah in July 1936. Atlas and his family are in Utah visiting his grandparents and hoping that the air will help his mother recover from an illness. However, upon returning from his climb with his father, Atlas is met with the tragic news that his mother has died. From there the story takes the reader to Tibet as the expedition to climb Everest is underway. Throughout the narration, Nielsen weaves in flashbacks about earlier times or details leading up to now and Atlas’s thoughts on given situations.
One of those flashbacks reveals that the Nazis are also desiring to make an attempt on Everest to help further their goal of world domination. That tension is present for much of the story as the characters fear that a Nazi or two might be on the mountain with them. However, towards the later end of the story that tension is broken as they realize a local has been there guiding them in a way.
Atlas’s father is a map maker and avid mountaineer which speaks to his inclusion the expedition, then there is a wealthy man, Mr. Blake, the leader, Mr. Thomley, a Mr. Levinsky, and they come upon a Texas doctor and his daughter - Mr. Pierson and his daughter Maddie. There are also several Sherpas, but the most notable is Chodak.
Atlas and Maddie are not to travel further than Advanced Base Camp. However, after an avalanche on the mountain and hearing an SOS on their radio set, they are determined to climb. Chodak is injured and cannot climb to the needed heights with them. Maddie and Atlas on their own. In addition to the tough terrain, they have to face their fears in many ways. Maddie is a good friend as she is pushing Atlas to reckon with his emotions and anger while climbing. This leads to Atlas’s breakthrough regarding the death of his mother and anger towards his father. This comes to a head in chapter 37 and specifically on page 263.
In the end, everyone is saved but some toes are lost due to frostbite. Nielsen also ends it with Atlas a bit older and helping in World War II as he is unloading the wounded arriving in England.
Noteworthy quotes and mentions:
On their way to base camp, the characters pass a monastery where they participate in a ceremony and are blessed by the monks. There is also a chanting “prayer to the Mountain Gods” (16).
“Here, we climb only with permission of the Mountain Gods. We do not take from the mountain. We are only grateful for what it will give” (16).
There are several references to Maddie’s mom and her premonitions. The reason Maddie is in Tibet and climbing the mountain is based on a premonition her mother had that she was going to be harmed on boulders. Thinking that was somewhere near the house, her mom thought she would be safer in the Himalayas. The first mention of premonitions is on page 114 and then it appears periodically throughout the story when the characters are referencing it.
In a flashback in an office with a German Mr. Schäfer seeking permission to pass through India to Tibet, Atlas’s father says, “Herr Himmler is a dangerous man” [...] “He believes his race, the Aryans, is superior to all others, and that the Aryans were the first race. He believes they once lived in the island city of Atlantis, which sank one day after being struck by a bolt of lightning” (153). As Mr. Schäfer turns to leave, Atlas’s father says to him, “There is no superior or inferior race, sir. But there are superior and inferior ideas. The ideas you have accepted by joining the Nazi Party will one day be viewed as some of the most evil in history. Leave the party while you still have a soul left” (155).
Many times throughout the story Atlas is contemplating the lessons he is supposed to be learning from the many mountains he has climbed and situations he has found himself in. His father is very patient and trusting that one day Atlas will learn these lessons. There is even a monk at the start who makes a statement about something Atlas is looking for. Confused, Atlas has no idea what he is referring to. However, as the tension of the story mounts Maddie pushes Atlas to face his anger and to truly understand the lesson he is to be learning. This comes to a climax on page 263 when he confesses the deep wounded hurt that has been burdening him all along. The pain he cannot express to his father truthfully. Once this is expressed and Maddie helps him process it in a way, the story starts to quickly resolve as Atlas realizes the lesson he is supposed to be learning is to look ahead - keep his eyes on the future, not the past.
“The longer we walked, the worse I felt about walking on ahead. If there really was a lesson I needed to learn, then I should return to my father’s side and learn from him” (214). I love how Nielsen is pushing young readers to their parents and not away from them like some of the other middle grade stories.
Remembering the pain of the day he lost his mother, Atlas recalls a conversation with his grandfather. His grandfather tells him, “We all fell today, losing your mum like that. But at some point, we have to get up. It’s all right for you to feel sad, Atlas. We all do. But the time will come when you need to get back on your feet and return to the climb” (240).
At the end of chapter 34 and the start of chapter 35 there is a mention of an earlier climb Mr. Thomley was in which he had to cut the rope of a fellow climber in order to save himself. This detail could be too much for young or sensitive readers, so just a word of caution. Atlas is in a similar situation and realizes that Maddie may have to cut the rope in order to save herself.
“I stared down at the scarf, hovering on a small ledge high on a cliff that rose thousands of feet in the air. Mum didn’t want me looking back at the ground. My future wasn’t there. It was ahead” (290).
I really enjoyed this story. Nielsen did a great job weaving in some of the realities of climbing Mount Everest and the effects it has on the body as well as historical information about Mallory and his attempt. To be completely honest, Nielsen did a great job developing Atlas and his struggle and maybe because I am a parent it really touched my heart, and I totally cried when I read page 263 and the very end of the novel. There are so many great themes about bravery and courage to rise again, to look to the future, and to not live with your eyes on the past. Whether it is the death of a loved one or a deep disappointment, like Atlas, we are all called to keep our eyes on the LORD who is our strength, to rise and to keep climbing.
