Yesterday when at Bear Pond Books, I was talking to Jane Knight about some of my summer reads, I just finished reading Shadow on the Mountain a DCF nominee written by Margi Preus. Shadow on the Mountain takes place in Norway during World War II and is a fictionalized account of a real teenage spy. While I have read many books about or set during WW II (including Bomb: The Race to Build and Steal the World's Most Dangerous Weapon -- another of this year's DCF nominees), I have not read much about the experience of the Norwegians under Nazi rule. I felt the book was a little slow to start, but I am glad I stuck with it. The combination of the risks taken by the characters, the importance of friendships, the consequences of the choices different people make under the occupation, and the excitement of the work being done by the characters made it a pleasure to read. The strength of the main character who is based on a real person is inspiring. The book also includes some additional material, like how to make invisible ink and information action about codes and ciphers. When talking to Jane about this book, she told me of another story of a spy during WW II that she really enjoyed. Thanks to Jane, I am about to crack open Code Name Verity.
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