Shadow on the Mountain

by Margi Preus

Overview

“Newbery Honor winner Preus . . . delivers a riveting story about teenage freedom fighters in WWII Norway” (Publishers Weekly).

After Nazi Germany invades and occupies Norway, fourteen-year-old 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, Espen, his sister, and their parents live in fear of nighttime raids and arrests, and they begin to question the loyalties of the people around them. Espen 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 . . .

Award-winning author Margi Preus crafts a thrilling adventure based on the real-life experiences of Erling Storrusten, a Norwegian spy during World War II.

Praise for Shadow on the Mountain

“Engrossing. . . . 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 morally satisfying page turner.” —Kirkus Reviews

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781613123782
Publisher:	ABRAMS, Inc.
Publication date:	09/01/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	316
Sales rank:	929,828
Lexile:	730L (what's this?)
File size:	6 MB
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

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