The Green Glass Sea | Ellen Klages | A Gem for Middle Schoolers

The Green Glass Sea | Ellen Klages | loved it

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The Green Glass Sea

	The Green Glass Sea Ellen Klages Viking Juvenile, 2006 - 336 pages average customer review:based on 15 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

It is 1943, and 11-year-old Dewey Kerrigan is traveling west on a train to live with her scientist father?but no one, not her father nor the military guardians who accompany her, will tell her exactly where he is. When she reaches Los Alamos, New Mexico, she learns why: he?s working on a top secret government program. Over the next few years, 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. This book?s fresh prose and fascinating subject are like nothing you?ve read before.

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A Gem for Middle Schoolers

I teach children's literature, and I found this book delightful, well-written, and compelling in its story. Readers get to know 2 girls of Los Alamos scientists who are both different from others but initially loathe each other. One mark of skilled writing is subtle changes in character, and Klages makes the transition from these girl's tensions with each other to a promise of a sisterhood gradual and believable. Set in the backdrop of scary times and scary events (World War II), I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and have already recommended it to teacher friends in middle schools for literature circles.

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loved it

I thought this was an amazing book - I couldn't put it down, even though it was written for the 'tween set. This was just the sort of book that I loved when I was 11. It was refreshing to see that a geeky young lady can be just as interesting as her lipstick loving counterparts in school. Young Dewey is multidimensional and moving, while the adults she interacts treat her with more respect (I've noticed that smart young girls in lit are usually treated as though smartness is a phase).

All around a great book for youngsters, exceptional for young ladies, and a fun, quick read for adults.

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Courtesy of Mother Daughter Book Club.com

The Green Glass Sea is about two girls who live in Los Alamos in the closing days of World War II where their parents are working on a "gadget" that will help to win the war. It's very top secret, and their community doesn't even appear on a map. Dewey is a whiz at building gadgets of her own from scrounged parts that she finds in the dump and Suze is a budding artist. Neither fits into the inevitable hierarchy of kids in their community, and they don't like each other either. But when they're forced to spend time together, their relationship grows in ways that neither of them expect.

While the relationship story may be familiar, the way the girls interact and the way the story progresses is anything but formula. And the historical background of the story provides a fascinating glimpse into the world of Los Alamos and life in that desert complex. This book doesn't shy away from tough issues dealing with family, friendship and the moral dilemma of the bomb. I read it because it came highly recommended from friends, and I agree with their recommendations.

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Overall good reading

I read this first to see if it was appropriate for my 9-year-old son. For the most part, I loved the storyline and pacing, but it is overly sad. The author could have gotten to the same ending without some of the tragedy, I think.

I agree that it is for middle-school kids, not 9-year-olds, so I'm leaving it on the shelf for a couple of years. Although I think my son will enjoy the technical aspects of the story, the emotional aspects are abit ahead for him.

Good read for most thinking persons

Tonight started as expected. A nice salad for dinner followed by some light research for my podcast. I found myself growing tired around 20:00, and thought about going to bed early. However, that's a bit early even for an early-to-bed, so the question became "What to read?".

I looked at my tidy little row of books that I had pre-selected as "next". Of course, I couldn't see them, so I moved the pile of other "next" books out of the way first. There I saw The Green Glass Sea by Ellen Klages. I had no idea what it was about when I bought it. See, at last Minicon, I asked Charles de Lint what he'd recommend that would be like what Nina Kirki Hoffman writes, given I have everything she's written and she's not releasing anything anytime soon. And after all, it's all his fault since he introduced me to her work. The man's got to make amends, right?

Anyway, I open this book hoping to read an oddly magical tale that drifts along like a tendril of smoke. Instead, I get a story about two children living at Los Alamos during 1944-5. No magic at all, just a story about some quirky kids growing up on a military base surrounded by famous scientists working together as had never been seen before or since.

Oh darn.

By the way, I'm not a WWII buff, as I tend to dislike military history. I am, however, utterly fascinated by nuclear physics, the Manhattan project and what subsequently occurred in New Mexico and Japan. I'm also a sucker for stories about personal growth within unusual circumstances, so even though it was nothing like Nina Kirki Hoffman's work, it was exactly what I've been looking for.

I won't go so far as to say that Ellen Klages writes children well, but she certainly writes quirky children better than most authors (who seem to like to turn children into mini adults). The characters were believable, though not fully developed. The storyline was engaging, and didn't feel pulled off course by the actual historical events. It was a very easy read, but that's likely because it's one of those new "not really a children's book, but aimed at the upper young adult market" novels. You know, a typical Sharyn November / Viking imprint. Honestly, I think that most kids today would be lost in the historical references (What's a LIFE magazine? What's a PX?) but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Generally speaking, it's a good read for most thinking persons... But it's an excellent read if you're interested by the project and time period.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3

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