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Patrice
Six-year-old Paula is Patrice’s twin and Peak’s little sister. The three children share a birthday, and as Paula and Patrice idolize Peak, they beg him to make it home for their birthday party. Once Peak is within 10 feet of Everest’s summit, he realizes that he cares more about his family—particularly the twins—than summiting, which influences his choice not to summit and to return home to New York.
Paula Quotes in Peak
The Peak quotes below are all either spoken by Paula or refer to Paula. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 5 Quotes
Paula and Patrice were probably the best birthday presents I could have ever gotten.
And for the first time since I’d gotten busted, I really regretted climbing that stupid skyscraper. What was I going to do without the two Peas?
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Chapter 26 Quotes
“As you can see I am in no condition to climb. Camp Four is as far as I will be going.”
“Then we’ll wait until you get better,” Sun-jo insisted.
“That’s right,” I said. “I don’t care if I get up to the summit by my birthday. It’s not important—to me, anyway. We’ll set up a camp somewhere, or stay right here until you get better.”
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Chapter 27 Quotes
“I have to make it,” he said. “For my sisters and my mother.”
Those were great reasons to risk your life, I thought. But why was I doing it? For Josh’s business? For my ego?
Now that my brain had oxygen I found myself really missing the two Peas, my mom, and even Rolf. This got me to thinking about the corpses we saw on the way up here. Who had they left behind? These were very uncomfortable questions to fall asleep on.
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Chapter 29 Quotes
I was going to be okay, but not for the reason he thought. And I was not going to join him on another Everest climb. I’d had enough of 8,000-meter peaks littered with corpses.
“I’m going home,” I said.
“What do you mean?”
“Back to New York.”
“We’ll talk about that when I get back down.”
“I won’t be there when you get down,” I said.
“What’s the hurry?”
“You wouldn’t understand.”
“Try me.”
“Okay. I want to be home for the twins’ birthday.”
By the look on his face I was right. He didn’t understand.
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Chapter 30 Quotes
I look at the twins, smiling, and write my last sentence...
The only thing you’ll find on the summit of Mount Everest is a divine view. The things that really matter lie far below.
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"My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." -Graham S.
Paula Character Timeline in Peak
The timeline below shows where the character Paula appears in Peak. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 3
Mom visits later and says Peak’s twin half-sisters, Patrice and Paula, are distraught. And Rolf, a lawyer, isn’t going to be able to get Peak out...
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Chapter 4
Peak enters the courtroom the next day and is shocked: sitting next to Rolf, Patrice, Paula, and Mom is Joshua Wood, the father Peak hasn’t seen in seven years. The judge...
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Chapter 5
...didn’t put restrictions on how long Peak has to stay away. Next, Peak talks to Paula and Patrice. The twins are six and were born on Peak’s eighth birthday. He resented...
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...family all get out of the car at the airport. Peak hugs Mom, Patrice, and Paula, who are all crying. He then apologizes to Rolf for the trouble, and with tears...
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Chapter 6
...that the only rocks to climb were the 15-foot wall at the YMCA. But soon Paula and Patrice were born, and Mom let Peak sign up for summer climbing camps. To...
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Chapter 17
...Krieger checks his throat, he picks up a packet of letters from Mom, Rolf, and Paula and Patrice. The letters make Peak feel guilty—he hasn’t thought about his family in weeks...
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...so Peak spends the next few days working in the Moleskine and writing letters to Paula and Patrice. In Rolf’s card to Peak, he wrote that he misses Peak and wants...
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Chapter 22
Changing the subject, Peak asks about Patrice and Paula. Mom puts them on the phone. They chatter excitedly, but they mostly want to know...
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Chapter 29
...gets down. The reason, he says, is that he must get home for Patrice and Paula’s birthday, and it’s clear to him that Josh doesn’t see this as a good reason....
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...one for Peak. Instead of being upset, he begins opening his own letters. Patrice and Paula have sent their entire savings and an invitation to their birthday party. He’ll have to...
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Chapter 30
...and Rolf’s loft. The party is in full swing when Peak enters, and Patrice and Paula throw their arms around him. Mom and Rolf hug Peak next, and then Mom takes...
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...morning. Now, it’s the following morning and Peak is finishing the Moleskine while Patrice and Paula chatter in the kitchen. The girls find Peak in his bedroom and ask questions about...
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