Shadow on the Mountain, by Margi Preus

Shadow on the Mountain, by Margi Preus, is just as good as her first novel, Heart of a Samurai.  The two books are not companions to each other, but they are written in the same style and are both well-research historical fiction novels for the reader 10 years old and up.  Note that Shadow on the Mountain is not to be released until September 2012.  I highly recommend it for those of you who enjoy reading historical fiction and/or read Margi Preus’ first book.  Shadow on the Mountain is about the boy Espen who, at age 14, is running “errands” for the Norwegian Resistance during World War II.  As he grows older and his work for the movement becomes more dangerous, he learns and understands more about how the world he was born into changed so drastically and seemingly overnight.  Through the eyes of various characters in the story, we see how different their motivations are and why they choose to act the way they do.  If anything, Margi Preus shows how history is never black and white, and emphasizes the importance of critical thinking.