The Green Glass Sea

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Klages, Ellen. 2006. THE GREEN GLASS SEA. New York, NY: Viking published by Penguin Group. ISBN 9780670061341.

PLOT SUMMARY
Eleven year old Dewey Kerrigan lives in Los Alamos, NM with her father, a mathematician who works with scientists on a secret project called "the gadget". Her 1943 daily life of school and home is like many others her age, except for the armed guards and isolation in the camp she lives. With her mechanical mind she doesn't fit in with the girls who tease her by calling her "Screwy Dewey". As the story unfolds, the reader learns about the testing of the first atomic bomb seen through the eyes of a young girl and why the book is so named.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
The author makes Dewey Kerrigan a sympathetic character as the story begins by painting a tragic home life; no mother, a grandmother who has had a stroke and a father off at war. Because she has nowhere to go, Dewey boards a train and travels alone from St. Louis MO to Los Alamos NM to live with her father, whom she learns is not really away in a war. In 1943 Dewey traveling by herself would have been acceptable - not today! Klages puts the reader at ease on the train by introducing the character of Dick Feynman, who happens to know her father. Dewey has a million questions when she sees her father, as most children would, and not all are answered immediately. During the course of the story, she learns the real reason her father lives in this camp.

Children want to be accepted at any age. Dewey has a physical handicap which makes her different. She is also intelligent, excelling at math and mechanics. Her tinkering with machines sets her apart from other girls of that era. This leads to teasing and name calling. For the most part, Dewey ignores it but her thoughts are revealed to the reader. Even though this story is set in 1943, these events could happen today and the reader can relate. Dewey has a lot of time on her hands. Her father is caring but has little time to be a father as he is part of a group of mathematicians and scientists racing to build the first atomic bomb.

When her father goes away to continue his work, Dewey is left in the care of a neighbor whose daughter dislikes her. The girls learn to coexist with each other, and eventually become friends. This is a good lesson to the reader, to learn to get along with others. Dewey sends letters to her father which are censored. This is a concept that would be foreign to today's reader. Readers would be intrigued with the secrecy of the place she lives.

Klages inserts historical events which validate the story. A neighbor has an ashtray with "Jam your butts on the skunk" and a picture of Adolph Hitler. 1932 was during WWII, when Hitler was in power and widely disliked. When President Roosevelt dies after twelve years in office, Dewey witnesses the guards and people in the camp crying. Klages says that Roosevelt was the only president Dewey ever knew - a concept we can't imagine today because presidential term limits have been imposed.

Some passages in the book read like poetry. When her drunken father is hit by a car, Klages writes, "Dewey begins to cry, a slow steady trickle, as if she is leaking" and "Now Dewey cried with her whole body, letting the music sweep her away." When the atomic bomb is tested, Klages writes it looked like "A fireball gold and purple and blue and red climbing into the sky. Nothing like it ever before. Not on this earth."

This book is not for the younger reader. Not only is the subject matter of Los Alamos for an older reader, but issues such as smoking and drinking are a part of this story. In 1943 everyone smoked and social drinking was popular. Older students can understand this in the context of the story.

PERSONAL OPINION
I loved this book. Ellen Klages writes a engaging story through the eyes of a believable character. I learned more about Los Alamos than I knew, particularly the part of the green glass sea. Her descriptions make the reader imagine they are sitting alongside Dewey as she lives in Los Alamos.

REVIEWS
From 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. 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. Occasional shifts into first person highlight the protagonist's most emotional moments, including her journey to the site and her reaction to her father's unexpected death. After the atomic bomb test succeeds, ethical concerns of both youngsters and adults intensify as the characters learn how it is ultimately used. Many readers will know as little about the true nature of the project as the girls do, so the gradual revelation of facts is especially effective, while those who already know about Los Alamos's historical significance will experience the story in a different, but equally powerful, way."

From Booklist
"In November 1943, 10-year-old budding inventor Dewey Kerrigan sets off on a cross-country train ride to be with her father, who is engaged in "war work." She is busy designing a radio when a fellow passenger named Dick Feynman offers to help her. Feynman's presence in this finely wrought first novel is the first clue that Dewey is headed for Los Alamos. The mystery and tension surrounding "war work" and what Dewey knows only as "the gadget" trickles down to the kids living in the Los Alamos compound, who often do without adult supervision. 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."

AWARDS
Scott O'Dell Award
Finalist Northern California Book Award - 2007

CONNECTIONS
Students would be interested in seeing what trinitite looks like - the green glass described in the book.

As a class, students could learn more about Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the Atomic Bomb.

After viewing photographs of an atomic bomb being tested, students could draw their depiction of what it looked like, using the colors Ellen Klages describes in the book.

Locate St. Louis MO and Los Alamos NM on a map. Which location is closer to your school? Ellen Klages lives in San Francisco CA. Where is that located?

Students who liked this book might like:

Holm, Jennifer. PENNY FROM HEAVEN. ISBN 9780375836893

Patron, Susan. THE HIGHER POWER OF LUCKY. ISBN 9781416901945

Pfeffer, Susan Beth. LIFE AS WE KNEW IT. ISBN0152058265