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A review by jedikermit
The Green Glass Sea by Ellen Klages
4.0
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.