Shadow on the Mountain

by Margi Preus

Overview

Shadow on the Mountain recounts the adventures of a 14-year-old Norwegian boy named Espen during World War II. After Nazi Germany invades and occupies Norway, Espen and his friends are swept up in the Norwegian resistance movement. Espen gets his start by delivering illegal newspapers, then graduates to the role of courier and finally becomes a spy, dodging the Gestapo along the way. During five years under the Nazi regime, he gains—and loses—friends, falls in love, and makes one small mistake that threatens to catch up with him as he sets out to escape on skis over the mountains to Sweden.

Preus incorporates archival photographs, maps, and other images to tell this story based on the real-life adventures of Norwegian Erling Storrusten, whom Preus interviewed in Norway.

Praise for Shadow on the Mountain

STARRED REVIEWS

"Newbery Honor winner Preus infuses the story with the good-natured humor of a largely unified, peace-loving people trying to keep their sanity in a world gone awry. Based on a true story, the narrative is woven with lively enough daily historical detail to inspire older middle-grade readers to want to learn more about the Resistance movement and imitate Espen’s adventures."

—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"This engrossing offering sheds light on the Norwegians’ courage during World War II. Preus masterfully weds a story of friendship with the complications faced by 14-year-old Espen and his friends as Nazi restrictions and atrocities become part of their everyday lives...This is at once a spy thriller, a coming-of-age story, and a chronicle of escalating bravery. Multidimensional characters fill this gripping tale that keeps readers riveted to the end."

—School Library Journal, starred review

"A closely researched historical novel... relates this wartime tale with intelligence and humor...Ms. Preus deftly uses together historical fact (Espen is based on a real-life spy) and elements of Norwegian culture to conjure a time and place not so terribly long ago."

—The Wall Street Journal

"Margi Preus, who won a Newbery honor for Heart of a Samurai, returns with another riveting work of historical fiction... This fine novel, which includes an author’s note, a timeline, a bibliography and even a recipe for invisible ink, is based on extensive research... The result is an authentic coming-of-age story, perfect for readers fascinated by the diary of Anne Frank or Lois Lowry’s classic, Number the Stars."

—BookPage

"The final chapters, which chronicle Espen’s dramatic escape to Sweden—days and nights of mountain skiing, Nazis in hot pursuit—take the book into adventure-thriller territory without losing the humanity that characterizes Preus’s account."

—The Horn Book Magazine

"Preus makes crystal clear the life imperiling risks that Espen undertakes and the danger to his family."

—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"As readers understand the risks that Espen took, they will want to learn more about this period. That Espen escaped to Sweden by traveling at night on skis with five different guides should intrigue them.”

—Library Media Connection

Awards

VOYA Top Shelf for Middle School Readers 2012 list

2013 Notable Books for a Global Society

Dorothy Canfield Fisher Book Award

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781419704246
Publisher:	Amulet Books
Publication date:	09/01/2012
Edition description:	8-page insert of color photos
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	5.92(w) x 8.34(h) x 1.05(d)
Lexile:	730L (what's this?)
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

Margi Preus is an acclaimed children’s book author and playwright whose first novel, Heart of a Samurai, earned a 2011 Newbery Honor award. She lives in Duluth, Minnesota. Visit her online at www.margipreus.com.

Editorial Reviews

Newbery Honor winner Preus (Heart of a Samurai) delivers a riveting story about teenage freedom fighters in WWII Norway. Espen and the other members of his soccer team hope to continue to enjoy the game they love following the Nazi invasion, but both Espen's teammates and rivals are soon pulled into the resistance movement as rations are cut and their families assaulted. Espen is drafted to be a courier for the resistance, while his younger sister, Ingrid, starts sneaking ration cards to starving Norwegians. Preus ably develops a large cast of characters, rendering them with persuasive vulnerabilities and showing how each is transformed by the war. Espen's skiing missions for the resistance combine the thrilling aspects of an outdoor adventure story with political peril and the threat of violence. An author's note with photographs of the real-life inspiration for Espen, Erling Storrusten (as well as appendices on code breaking and invisible ink), bring the truth behind the powerful story into startling focus. Ages 10–14. Agent: Stephen Fraser, Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

When Nazi Germany invades Norway in 1940, the Norwegian people do not give in easily, nor do they give up hope. Espen, in many ways an average teenager, becomes part of the resistance, willing to risk his freedom and his life to combat the Nazis. Based on the true story of a young Norwegian resistance fighter and his peers, Preus has crafted an engaging spy story with likeable characters and an intriguing setting. Because the author borrows a number of historically true events, the narrative both expands and compresses depending on the timeline and action, sometimes losing a bit of the flow that otherwise works well. Espen is clearly an ordinary boy moved to take extraordinary action, and is thoughtful as he watches his best friend and an adversary do the same for the Nazi regime. Preus does not vilify the characters or their choices; her compassionate approach prevents any of the characters from becoming stock caricatures and provides opportunity for consideration and discussion. Where the novel works best is as an examination of the many ways a nation of people engaged in small acts of resistance, waiting out the occupation with courage and resiliency. This is a strong choice for historical fiction and spy story fans, as well as for genre reading assignments. Reviewer: Vikki Terrile

VOYA - Vikki Terrile

Gr 6–9—This engrossing offering sheds light on the Norwegians' courage during World War II. Preus masterfully weds a story of friendship with the complications faced by 14-year-old Espen and his friends as Nazi restrictions and atrocities become part of their everyday lives. Espen not only has to deal with the political turmoil, but also with discovering that his best friend has joined the German cause, which Espen is committed to work against. Even his young sister, Ingrid, joins the resistance when she gets a bit older. Norway's hazardous topography adds to the adventure as Espen must ski across dangerous mountain passes in order to carry out his secret missions. This is at once a spy thriller, a coming-of-age story, and a chronicle of escalating bravery. Multidimensional characters fill this gripping tale that keeps readers riveted to the end. An informative author's note explains that Espen was inspired by Erling Storrusten, who, as a teenager, helped in the resistance movement. A "Bonus for Code Breakers" and instructions for making invisible ink are appealing additions. Preus aptly celebrates the determination of ordinary citizens in this book. Similar truths are told in Mal Peet's Tamar: A Novel of Espionage, Passions and Betrayal (Candlewick, 2008) and Kathy Kacer's Night Spies (Tandem, 2003).—Renee Steinberg, formerly at Fieldstone Middle School, Montvale, NJ

School Library Journal

A teenage boy becomes a spy in Nazi-occupied Norway. After the Germans invade his country in 1940, Espen goes from a life of school, Scouts and soccer games to delivering underground newspapers. Gradually, he advances to transporting secret documents via bicycle or skis and spying on Gestapo locations for the intelligence branch of the Resistance. Along the way, he navigates relationships with a beloved best friend who has joined the Nazis, his younger sister and peers who share his passion for opposition, as well as a budding romance with Solveig, who wears a red stocking hat signaling displeasure with the new regime. Newbery Honor winner Preus (Heart of a Samurai, 2010) infuses the story with the good-natured humor of a largely unified, peace-loving people trying to keep their sanity in a world gone awry. Based on a true story, the narrative is woven with lively enough daily historical detail to inspire older middle-grade readers to want to learn more about the Resistance movement and imitate Espen's adventures. A selectively omniscient narrator moves from sister Ingrid's diaries to the inner thoughts of Espen's nemesis, Aksel. Preus also incorporates a Norse myth about Odin to shed light on what it means to be wise, the possibility of knowing too much and how to resist shadowing the mountain of hope. A morally satisfying page turner. (author's note, archival photographs, maps, timeline, selected bibliography) (Historical fiction. 10-14)

Kirkus Reviews