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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
Such a good book in spite of some really sad parts. I loved the characters and the relationship between one of the main characters and her papa. I also liked the small glimpse of what was happening in New Mexico to develop the atomic bomb.
I agree with the reviews that this book is somewhat ill fitted for both children & adults. It took a while to gain its footing, & though it’s an interesting topic/setting, I just wasn’t enthralled by the POV.
Also, I imagine that it would be difficult to reconcile the fact that your parents helped create the “gadget” that caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people in Hiroshima & Nagasaki (even as a crucial part of ending the war, it would still be a real shocker to learn)…but unfortunately that reality was not discussed!
Also, I imagine that it would be difficult to reconcile the fact that your parents helped create the “gadget” that caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people in Hiroshima & Nagasaki (even as a crucial part of ending the war, it would still be a real shocker to learn)…but unfortunately that reality was not discussed!
Dewey is traveling west on a train to live with her scientist father, but no one will tell her exactly where he is. When she reaches Los Alamos, New Mexico, she learns he's working on a top secret government program!
Dewey gets to know eminent scientists, starts tinkering with her own mechanical projects, becomes friends with a budding artist who is as much of a misfit as she is—and, all the while, has no idea how the Manhattan Project is about to change the world.
I can’t wait to read this again with my kids!
Dewey gets to know eminent scientists, starts tinkering with her own mechanical projects, becomes friends with a budding artist who is as much of a misfit as she is—and, all the while, has no idea how the Manhattan Project is about to change the world.
I can’t wait to read this again with my kids!
I found this "juvenile fiction" book completely engaging as an adult. What a great idea to explore the history and morality of the atom bomb through the eyes of the children of the scientists working on it! This book and the sequel refreshed my history. I loved the details of family life in the 1940s, which brought back lots of memories. I also thought the light touches of exploration of various forms of discrimination and bias in both this book and the sequel were well done.
The Green Glass Sea was an unknown - one of the reasons we still love bookshops. You wander, you browse, you pick up things that look interesting and you take home something you might never have discovered otherwise. Thus I found this book in Chicago and thought - a historical novel set around Los Alamos and the development of the nuclear bomb - from a child's point of view. Great!
Dewey Kerrigan is eleven and her sole parent dad is helping other scientists to build a "gadget". She moves to Los Alamos and lives on The Hill, which is the compound where all the families live while the parents work on the bomb. The second narrator is Suze, who just wants to be friends with the "it" girls and resents having to share with Dewey, who is weird and gets stuff from the dump and builds things. Part of the tension of the story comes from us as readers who know the bomb not only worked but was used on Japan.
But we also know that the testing took place with far-reaching ramifications - the long-term effects of radiation on the environment and the families who picnicked while they watched the bright light and mushroom cloud. We also worry for the kids - what will this mean to their families, their parents, their lives? In any enclosed, isolated community, strange things can happen. The author, Ellen Klages, seems to mostly write science fiction, but this is not SF - it's a terrific historical novel that will bring all the realities of the atomic bomb and its use alive for kids (and adults, I think).
Dewey Kerrigan is eleven and her sole parent dad is helping other scientists to build a "gadget". She moves to Los Alamos and lives on The Hill, which is the compound where all the families live while the parents work on the bomb. The second narrator is Suze, who just wants to be friends with the "it" girls and resents having to share with Dewey, who is weird and gets stuff from the dump and builds things. Part of the tension of the story comes from us as readers who know the bomb not only worked but was used on Japan.
But we also know that the testing took place with far-reaching ramifications - the long-term effects of radiation on the environment and the families who picnicked while they watched the bright light and mushroom cloud. We also worry for the kids - what will this mean to their families, their parents, their lives? In any enclosed, isolated community, strange things can happen. The author, Ellen Klages, seems to mostly write science fiction, but this is not SF - it's a terrific historical novel that will bring all the realities of the atomic bomb and its use alive for kids (and adults, I think).
As a history teacher, I read a lot of young adult books set in World War II. Many of them are tales of courage and adventure that are set in Europe or the Pacific, and there are many that are well-written. I like those stories. But after a while, unless they're really extraordinary, they all kind of blur together.
The Green Glass Sea is different. The 2006 novel by Ellen Klages is set entirely on the home front, with a focus on the girls and women of the 1940s, and what the war was like for them. The main character is Dewey Kerrigan, an 11 year old girl who's being sent alone from Chicago to join her father, a scientist in New Mexico. Dewey, who has spent most of her life away from her dad, is excited to be joining him, but worried about fitting in. She's got a knack for gadgetry, and likes building radios and mechanical devices. This was unusual for 1943, and is sadly unfortunate for many girls today. She settles in to her new home in Los Alamos, a place which the government says doesn't exist. She doesn't make many new friends until circumstances force her together with another misfit--a girl named Suze Gordon. Suze is a budding artist, enjoys math, and her parents are both scientists working on the base.
The mission of the army and scientists at Los Alamos is of course building the first atomic bombs, but that mission is kept secret from Dewey and Suze. They know their parents are involved in something that can end the war, but not much more than that. The story follows the girls and their families through the final two years of the war, giving us insight into what it would be like to be a kid in that situation, with all of the fears and boredom and excitement that life would bring.
The book is well-written, with strong characterization for both Dewey and Suze. Both girls are rejected by other peers, and while Dewey doesn't try to fit in like Suze does, she still feels the pain of being different. Their friendship never feels forced, and their unlikely pairing is a struggle for both for some time. I enjoyed the use of pop culture, including music and movies, books and comic books to make their lives seem more real, and it was interesting to pick out the things that Klages cites as touchstones for their lives that I recognized, and that kids today might understand as well.
Beyond the lives of the girls who take center stage, you get insight into the world of World War II, and the mindset of the scientists who were developing the atomic bomb. The book goes up to the end of the war, just weeks after the Trinity test. It's never a central theme of the story, but there's an undercurrent of conflict and fear in the scientists that has them disagreeing about the need for the bomb, and the eventual use of it.
The book won the Scott O' Dell Award in 2007, and I enjoyed it. This was a fast read, and even though it's just over 300 pages, it didn't drag. Parts of the plot are a foregone conclusion for readers who know their history, but the more personal stories become just as compelling as the race to build the superweapon. If you're interested in science or history, or just want a good read set in a different time period, The Green Glass Sea may be what you're looking for.
The Green Glass Sea is different. The 2006 novel by Ellen Klages is set entirely on the home front, with a focus on the girls and women of the 1940s, and what the war was like for them. The main character is Dewey Kerrigan, an 11 year old girl who's being sent alone from Chicago to join her father, a scientist in New Mexico. Dewey, who has spent most of her life away from her dad, is excited to be joining him, but worried about fitting in. She's got a knack for gadgetry, and likes building radios and mechanical devices. This was unusual for 1943, and is sadly unfortunate for many girls today. She settles in to her new home in Los Alamos, a place which the government says doesn't exist. She doesn't make many new friends until circumstances force her together with another misfit--a girl named Suze Gordon. Suze is a budding artist, enjoys math, and her parents are both scientists working on the base.
The mission of the army and scientists at Los Alamos is of course building the first atomic bombs, but that mission is kept secret from Dewey and Suze. They know their parents are involved in something that can end the war, but not much more than that. The story follows the girls and their families through the final two years of the war, giving us insight into what it would be like to be a kid in that situation, with all of the fears and boredom and excitement that life would bring.
The book is well-written, with strong characterization for both Dewey and Suze. Both girls are rejected by other peers, and while Dewey doesn't try to fit in like Suze does, she still feels the pain of being different. Their friendship never feels forced, and their unlikely pairing is a struggle for both for some time. I enjoyed the use of pop culture, including music and movies, books and comic books to make their lives seem more real, and it was interesting to pick out the things that Klages cites as touchstones for their lives that I recognized, and that kids today might understand as well.
Beyond the lives of the girls who take center stage, you get insight into the world of World War II, and the mindset of the scientists who were developing the atomic bomb. The book goes up to the end of the war, just weeks after the Trinity test. It's never a central theme of the story, but there's an undercurrent of conflict and fear in the scientists that has them disagreeing about the need for the bomb, and the eventual use of it.
The book won the Scott O' Dell Award in 2007, and I enjoyed it. This was a fast read, and even though it's just over 300 pages, it didn't drag. Parts of the plot are a foregone conclusion for readers who know their history, but the more personal stories become just as compelling as the race to build the superweapon. If you're interested in science or history, or just want a good read set in a different time period, The Green Glass Sea may be what you're looking for.
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Not usually a fan of historical fiction, but this book was amazingly written (for all ages)! Even better because of all the visual imagery of Los Alamos and NM.
Klages weaves in the history of secrets in Los Alamos, New Mexico near the end of WWII with the troubles of several characters dealing with family and being in middle school. Multiple references to smoking (I didn't re-start) Coke (I did have one for lunch) and other everyday activities that make the story more real - great on audio
Best historical fiction for MG that I've read in a long time.