Shadow on the Mountain (review)

Nazi occupation of Norway forces a reconfiguration of friendships among fourteen-year- old Espen and his soccer buddies. Kjell, once his best friend, comes to believe in propaganda that explains a clash between Aryans and Jews as the coming of Ragnarok; Aksel, the eldest of the set, uses affiliation with the Nazis as a vehicle for personal vendettas; Espen and, later, some of his teammates, carry out acts of resistance. Espen begins as a courier, and by the time the war draws toward an end, he has amassed enough knowledge of the covert networks and communications system to be a threat both to the Nazis and to fellow Resistance workers, should he be captured. Preus bases her novel on the true experiences of Erling Storrusten, who after several years of spy activity was forced to flee on skis to Sweden. Preus makes crystal clear the life imperiling risks that Espen undertakes and the danger to his family, but she keeps most of the real-life wartime atrocities offstage. The episode of Espen’s dangerous escape into Sweden, which comprises approximately the final quarter of the book, will keep adventure fans on the edge of their seats, and middle-schoolers with a defined interest in World War II will appreciate the supplementary materials that include a Norwegian glossary, photographs of the real-life participants, a timeline, and, most appealingly, notes on code encryption.