The Green Glass Sea Review

Bibliographic Information: Klages, Ellen. The Green Glass Sea. New York: Puffin, 2012. ISBN: 9780142411490.

Plot Summary:

Dewey Kerrigan’s dad works on a secret mission with the army.  Dewey was living with her Grandma until she had a stroke and had to temporarily move in with a neighbor.  Soon a stranger from the army picks up Dewey and sends her on a train to the west.  Dewey thinks she is meeting her dad in Chicago but comes to find out that she is going all the way to New Mexico.  Dewey’s life is turned upside down.  She tinkers on the train with her radio to help bring some normalcy to her routine.

Eventually, Dewey is reunited with her father in a small town in New Mexico.  She is whisked away to a secret location that requires an identification card even for her to get in.  Her dad and others are working on a secret device behind the gates of Los Alamos.  Dewey tries to make herself at home with her tinkering.  Finally, when she begins to feel comfortable at home behind the walls with the scientists her dad is sent away on a trip. Dewey is sent to live with some of her father’s friends and finds herself in another home that feels temporary.  Dewey and Suze are thrown together in an unexpected friendship when Dewey’s life is turned upside down. She finds a good friend when she least expects it.  Together they rejoice that the scientists successfully created their machine which was the atomic bomb.

Critical Analysis:

Dewey Kerrigan is a realistic character that at any point in history would be a believable character.  She is a young girl trying to fit in, make friends, and connect with family.  Young readers are probably not familiar with Los Alamos and the secret of the “Hill”.  Klages does a great job of creating the setting of the story with description of shopping at Woolworths to going to the commissary for a coke.

The plot is expertly shown through the eyes of the children Suze and Dewey as the scientists create the gadget that is meant to change the world.  Readers will be just as amazed when the scientists discovered it worked and was a success.  Young readers will be engaged as the secret is revealed for all to see.

The setting from the train to the “Hill” was perfectly described for someone who was not familiar with Los Alamos.  The author explains how the military housing looked from “bathtub row” to the smaller apartments.  She emphasized the secrecy of the location from the need to have an id to come in and no visitors allowed.  These details really put the location into perspective for someone who is not familiar with it.

The style of the story was a great coming of age story that included finding friendship and discovering what is important in life when it seems like not a lot is left.  Klages does a fantastic job of weaving historical details into Dewey’s story.

The author’s note explains in plain language to the reader about the Manhattan project at Los Alamos and how these locations did not show up on a map.  The author gives a list of sources should a reader want to look more into the history of the project and life on the “Hill.”  Her acknowledgements explain how she came up with the authentic pieces of 1940’s history to make everything from the past come to life.  

Awards and Reviews

Scott O'Dell Award (2007)

Rebecca Caudill Young Reader's Book Award Nominee (2009)

Judy Lopez Memorial Award for Children's Literature (2007)

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL:

“Grade 5-8–Two girls spend a year in Los Alamos as their parents work on the secret gadget that will end World War II. Dewey is a mechanically minded 10-year-old who gets along fine with the scientists at the site, but is teased by girls her own age. When her mathematician father is called away, she moves in with Suze, who initially detests her new roommate. The two draw closer, though, and their growing friendship is neatly set against the tenseness of the Los Alamos compound as the project nears completion. Clear prose brings readers right into the unusual atmosphere of the secretive scientific community, seen through the eyes of the kids and their families. Dewey is an especially engaging character, plunging on with her mechanical projects and ignoring any questions about gender roles” Steven Engelfried, Beaverton City Library, OR 

BOOKLIST:

“There are lots of people to talk with about radios (including "Oppie"), and she has the wonderful opportunity to dig through the nearby dump for discarded science stuff. However, when Dewey's father leaves for Washington, she is left to fend off the biggest bully in Los Alamos. The novel occasionally gets mired down in detail, but the characters are exceptionally well drawn, and the compelling, unusual setting makes a great tie-in for history classes”. John Green

Connections:

Pull the companion book in the series:

White Sands, Red Menace ISBN  0670062359

Have students create a diorama about Los Alamos, the atomic bomb, or the 1940’s.

Pull other Scott O’Dell Winner books set in WWII:

Dash ISBN  0545416353

The Art of Keeping Cool ISBN 0689837887

The Bomb ISBN 0380727234

Under the Blood Red Sun ISBN 0553494872

Mail from the “Hill” was censored.  Try writing a letter to a friend or a relative that doesn’t reveal anything about your location or anything important that could be censored.  Reflect on how hard this would be with today’s technology such as text messaging,

If possible, have an example or at least an electronic example of original comics and have students compare them to the comics of today.

Show the students on a virtual map where Los Alamos, Trinity and where the atomic bombs were dropped.

References:

“The Green Glass Sea” Amazon Editorial Reviews.  Accessed April 4, 2017.  https://www.amazon.com/Green-Glass-Sea-Ellen-Klages/dp/0142411493/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1491348797&sr=8-1&keywords=green+glass+sea