In this young readers' edition of The Winter Fortress, Bascomb (The Nazi Hunters, rev. 9/13) turns his attention to a single, crucial Allied operation of WWII: the disruption of the Nazis' atomic program by eliminating their supply of heavy water. Bascomb opens with a suspenseful prologue in which nine commandos ski through Nazi-occupied Norway in the dead of winter, getting their first sight of their target, the remote, seemingly impregnable factory at Vemork. "High on the icy crag, its dark silhouette looked like a winter fortress." Bascomb then backtracks, describing the Nazi invasion of Norway and the Resistance movement that opposed it; the basics of the German atomic program and the properties of heavy water that were necessary to its development. He introduces and then follows each member of the coordinated missions intent on destroying the heavy water: Grouse, which set up the initial camp near Vemork; Gunnerside, trained to attack the factory; and later, the team that sank a passenger ferry transporting heavy water to Germany. There are many names to keep straight and much information to process, but Bascomb admirably balances dramatic tension and context throughout. We hold our breath to see if the ferry bombing is successful, but we are also confronted with the ethics of sacrificing civilian passengers' lives. Sabotage will find its place in a growing body of narrative nonfiction centering on military and political history, including Sheinkin's Bomb: The Race to Buildand Stealthe World's Most Dangerous Weapon (rev. 11/12), of which this operation forms one strand. Appended with archival photographs and a wealth of back matter: an author's note, an extensive bibliography, an index (unseen), and, most notably, twenty-one pages of source notes. martha v. parravano (c) Copyright 2016. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Voice actor Culp renders a serviceable reading of Bascomb's enthralling WWII story. The story revolves around the collaboration of a group of ragtag Norwegian resistance fighters and British soldiers who set out, against all odds, to destroy a hydroelectric plant located in a remote section of Norway and thereby to stop Hitler's nuclear research in its infancy. Culp does a fine job relaying this edge-of-your-seat story. He has a clear, articulate, no-frills reading style that moves the story along at a steady pace. It is a perfectly competent reading, but misses an opportunity to add thrill and excitement to the narration. Ages 12-up. A Scholastic/Levine hardcover. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Gr 8 Up-This richly detailed nonfiction account of Norwegians who spied for the British and organized resistance against the Nazis unfolds like a spy thriller. Bascomb includes a good deal of science regarding the heavy water and uranium needed to create the atom bomb. Though the narrative is a bit difficult to follow in the beginning, dedicated listeners will be rewarded with astonishing feats of heroism. These commandos faced not only merciless Nazis but also bitter winter, hazardous terrain, and starvation. The harrowing sacrifices necessitated by war are laid bare both in the personal stories and detailed depictions of the sabotage committed at Vemork's hydroelectric plant and the sinking of a ferry. Narrator Jason Culp smoothly navigates the Norwegian pronunciations and speaks at a steady pace well suited for the information-dense text. VERDICT A strong choice for students of history or science. This title is easy to recommend to those who enjoy nonfiction and to thriller fans interested in true tales of heroism. ["This excellent treatise on a little-known episode of World War II is a first choice": SLJ 5/16 starred review of the Scholastic book.]-C.A. Fehmel, St. Louis County Library © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

An isolated factory in Nazi-occupied Norway is an important link in a plan to deliver a nuclear weapon for Hitler until Norwegian resistance fighters embark on a dangerous mission to stop it.The reach of Nazi Germany into Norway did not mean just another country for Hitler's domination; it also provided access to the "heavy water" that would allow the Third Reich to develop an atomic bomb. The stories of the Norwegian men who joined forces with the British to cripple the efforts at Vemork, an isolated but essential industrial fortress, are at the center of this story. Their dramatic first failure and the subsequent successful mission make for a harrowing tale. The impact of weather, near starvation, and communication difficulties contribute to page-turning tension. The fact that the first success slowed but did not stop Nazi efforts, requiring yet another mission, delivers even more for the unfolding narrative. In this young-readers adaptation of The Winter Fortress (2016), Bascomb successfully describes the story's technical details: the process of making heavy water and its importance in creating a nuclear weapon, the strategies to disrupt the process, and the weather and topography, which played such crucial roles in the mission's execution and the saboteurs' escapes. The book is enhanced by impressive supplemental material, including a helpful list of participants, photographs, maps, and an intriguing author's note. A rich, well-paced narrative. (bibliography, source note, photo credits, index) (Nonfiction. 12-18) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

The author of Nazi Hunters (2013) tackles another part of WWII in this crackerjack young reader's adaptation of his latest nonfiction work for adults, The Winter Fortress (2016). In 1940 in the midst of Germany's race to invent an atomic reactor, German physicists discovered the importance of heavy water, an isotope produced only at Vemork, a hydroelectric plant in newly Nazi-occupied Norway. As the Allies sought to halt Nazi atomic research, they turned their attention to Vemork, sending small teams of resistance fighters to sabotage the plant's operations. Relating the story in suspenseful prose with only occasional departures into stats and figures, Bascomb tells of the heroic teams of Norwegian and British resistance fighters who braved a harsh Scandinavian winter and harrowing bouts of hunger while lying in wait to carry out their plans. While the descriptions of the science behind heavy water might befuddle some readers, Bascomb's clear-eyed account of the thrilling mission and its many challenges, cast against the backdrop of WWII and helped along by photos, maps, and diagrams will handily engage teens.--Hunter, Sarah Copyright 2016 Booklist