Shadow on the Mountain

One of my favorite books as a child was Snow Treasure, about children in Norway who smuggled millions of dollars worth of gold out of the country under the nose of the Nazi invaders.

Shadow on the Mountain by Margi Preus is also about Norway after the Nazi invasion, but it’s not as innocent as Snow Treasure.

Espen is about junior-high age when the Nazi’s invade. He quickly gets connected with the Norwegian resistance and starts delivering messages and newspapers. His sister also starts to work for the resistance, much to his chagrin.

Meanwhile some of the boys he knows, including his best friend, have decided to join the Germans. Shadow on the Mountain follows Espen, his family and his friends for the five years of the war – from 1940 to 1945, when Espen was forced to flee for his life to Sweden.

Espen’s friend is shot by another classmate, one working for the Germans. The same classmate chases him over the mountains, and tries to kill him. Working for the resistance is not for the faint-of-heart, and neither is reading this book.

Recommended for ages 12 and up.