Wow! That was not the story I was prepared to read! [b:Above All Else|44232443|Above All Else|Dana Alison Levy|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1577196985l/44232443._SY75_.jpg|68763638]'s description made me think I was going in for a cute YA romance while trekking up a crazy mountain, but it is SO MUCH MORE THAN THAT. Don't get me wrong, it is a YA novel (in that the main characters are 18 and you have the whole waiting-on-college-letters-ahhhh! trope) and there IS indeed romance involved, but definitely not in the way I thought there would be and I actually love that. Look at these super vague descriptions as to not give away the plot twists! Let's just say they exist and they are what make this book so so so special.

Anyway.

I loved Tate. I loved Rosie. I got annoyed by Tate. I got annoyed by Rosie. I fell back in love with Tate. I fell back in love with Rosie. Stop messing with my heart, kids! But to get serious here, Dana Alison Levy wrote well-rounded characters that are complex and, well, realistic. None of the story-lines were over dramatized. What these characters were out doing on that mountain was intense and dangerous and life changing and Levy made sure not to make that fact the secondary part of the novel. I think that's what I love the most about this book - the challenge of climbing Everest and everything that comes with that was the MAIN plot of this book. And let me tell you, it sucks you IN. I was at the figurative edge of my seat NEEDING to know what happens next as if I was reading a thriller novel! So much fun (in the 'I'm crying because so many heartbreaking intense things are happening right now and I can't handle it way').

One thing I'd say is that the description for Above All Else probably needs some beefing up because I think this is a way bigger book that it leads on.

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