Phantoms in the Snow

January 1, 2011

In 1944, when his parents die of smallpox, 15-year-old Noah Garrett is sent to live with his uncle, James Shelley, at Camp Hale, Colo. Lying about his age, he enters the life of the soldiers, a winter warfare unit called the Phantoms, and learns to ski, rappel and handle himself in war games. Despite his pacifist past and his nagging conscience, Noah comes to like the camaraderie of the men and feels proud of his new skills, and at the same time the initially off-putting Shelley comes to appreciate Noah as the only family he has. Though a purposively inspirational scene stretches credulity when Noah, now a 16-year-old pacifist soldier, is put in charge of a mission in the mountains of Italy, Duble has created a likable character in Noah, whose struggles to find out who he is and where he belongs in a world at war are convincingly portrayed and realistically resolved. Details ranging from the development of nylon and penicillin to the Holocaust, Normandy and Italian resistance add depth to this fine historical novel. (author's note, references, acknowledgments) (Historical fiction. 11-15)

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April 1, 2011

Gr 7-10-During World War II, the Tenth Mountain Division, also known as the Phantoms, specialized in skiing and winter warfare and were instrumental in fighting the German army in the Alps. After the passing of his pacifist parents, 15-year-old Noah Garrett is sent to live with his only remaining relative-an uncle who is a member of the Tenth Mountain Division training for war at Camp Hale, CO. Because he has nowhere else to go, Noah lies about his age so he can stay on the base and train as a soldier despite his upbringing. The description of military training is brief but interesting and the camaraderie among the soldiers is deftly captured. As his division prepares for war, Noah is divided between the principles with which he was raised and the knowledge of the atrocities being committed in Europe. It is not until the Phantoms are deployed to Italy and he fires his first shot that he can decide where he stands. Noah's ambivalence is understandable but his lack of determination and decisive action keeps him from being a compelling character. However, collections in need of historical fiction about the war with only mild violence and killing will find their needs met here.-Caroline Tesauro, Radford Public Library, VA

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