October 22, 2012
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 10â14. Agent: Stephen Fraser, Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency.
May 1, 2013
Gr 6-9-Espen should be focusing on winning the soccer championships and talking to the beautiful Solveig, but instead the Nazi occupation of Norway fills his waking hours. The Nazis attacked Norway and quickly took over the country, but that can't break the spirits of the Norwegian people. Espen and other teenage members of his soccer team join the resistance movement, where they risk their lives to try to pass secret messages to other spies or do spying of their own. His younger sister, Ingrid, also joins the resistance and writes about the horrors of Nazi occupation in her diary. Not all Norwegians fight the Germans. Espen's best friend, Kjell, becomes a spy for the Germans and Aksel, who dislikes the other boys, becomes part of Norway's version of the Gestapo. For five years, Espen performs jobs for the resistance, while his friends die, are arrested, and are forced to flee the country. Espen knows it could be just a matter of time before he's caught, but he will fight to the end for his country. Told in the voices of Espen, Ingrid, and Aksel, Preus's novel (Amulet, 2012) accurately captures the mood and history of the occupation. At the end of the novel, Preus reveals the true story behind Espen. Jeff Woodman portrays Aksel's descent into brutality, Ingrid's innocence and bravery, and Espen's fear and strength, while giving perfect voice to all the secondary characters. An excellent story about a lesser-known part of World War II history.-Sarah Flood, Breckinridge County Public Library, Hardinsburg, KY
Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
July 1, 2013
Veteran narrator Woodman gives a solid, assured reading of Preus's World War II novel, based on the real-life experiences of a young member of Norway's Resistance. In the course of the five years during which Nazi Germany occupies his country, Espen progresses from delivering illegal newspapers to becoming a full-fledged spy, complete, in the end, with a dramatic escape during a blizzard, over the mountains to Sweden. Woodman handles both the introspective moments (can Espen choose what kind of person he will become? If he betrays his former friend, does he really betray himself?) and the exciting action (evading Nazi searches, being shot at while skiing to freedom) with aplomb. A one-size-fits-all sneer sneaks into the voicing of the pro-Nazi characters, but on the whole this is a polished, involving production of an excellent book, a worthy addition to WWII literature for children. martha v. parravano
(Copyright 2013 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)