Bibliographic Data: Klages, Ellen. 2006. The Green Glass Sea. New York, NY: Viking. ISBN 0670061344
Plot Summary
It is 1943 and Dewey Kerrigan is leaving her grandmother’s home to reunite with her scientist father (‘Papa’) after her grandmother (‘Nana’) can no longer care for her. She is heading to Los Alamos, Mexico, a small village where the ‘gadget’, a potentially World War II ending tool is being developed. Tragedy strikes, yet again, and Dewey is left orphaned. Luckily she has Suze, whom is more sister than friend. The story ends with the successful creation of the atom bomb.
Critical Analysis
It is rare that a historical novel about one of the worst periods of history in the world can leave one feeling but intrigued, but also motherly and empathetic to the main character. Yet, that is exactly what Klages was able to accomplish with The Green Glass Sea.
She is able to layer the story of Dewey, a peculiar, young, mother-less girl, once afflicted by polio and very interested in science with the creation of the atomic bomb. From meeting a quiet and worried Dewey, sitting alone, after Nana’s stroke, to her journey to the army base in Los Alamos, the reader cannot help but fall for and subsequently worry for Dewey.
The dire need for the creation of what Klages cleverly calls “the gadget”, the heightened sense of pressure and urgency, and the death of Dewey’s father leave the reader reeling and hungry to know more. As a sea ebbs and flows, so to does the pace of the story.
Important figures from history are introduced, and it is clear that the author has done her research. Children reading this book will be entertained by the material, but also educationally enriched by the impressive, and often times very heavy subject matter.
Luckily Dewey meets Suze and the Gordon’s, and a sisterhood bond is formed as the atom bomb is completed. The patriotic nature, nod to the trials and tribulations in the 1940s, and the likeableness of Dewey and Suze, all while writing a truly interesting novel makes The Green Glass Sea a force. It is clear Klages did her research. The addition of her bibliography at the end of the books further leads to Klages’ credibility.
Reviews:
Publishers Weekly starred review :“Klages makes an impressive debut with an ambitious, meticulously researched novel set during WWII.”
The Horn Book Starred Review “[…]but the story, an intense but accessible page-turner, firmly belongs to the girls and their families; history and story are drawn together with confidence.”
School Library Journal -"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."
Booklist-“The characters are exceptionally well drawn, and the compelling, unusual setting makes a great tie-in for history classes.”
Awards and Recognitions:
Plot Summary
It is 1943 and Dewey Kerrigan is leaving her grandmother’s home to reunite with her scientist father (‘Papa’) after her grandmother (‘Nana’) can no longer care for her. She is heading to Los Alamos, Mexico, a small village where the ‘gadget’, a potentially World War II ending tool is being developed. Tragedy strikes, yet again, and Dewey is left orphaned. Luckily she has Suze, whom is more sister than friend. The story ends with the successful creation of the atom bomb.
Critical Analysis
It is rare that a historical novel about one of the worst periods of history in the world can leave one feeling but intrigued, but also motherly and empathetic to the main character. Yet, that is exactly what Klages was able to accomplish with The Green Glass Sea.
She is able to layer the story of Dewey, a peculiar, young, mother-less girl, once afflicted by polio and very interested in science with the creation of the atomic bomb. From meeting a quiet and worried Dewey, sitting alone, after Nana’s stroke, to her journey to the army base in Los Alamos, the reader cannot help but fall for and subsequently worry for Dewey.
The dire need for the creation of what Klages cleverly calls “the gadget”, the heightened sense of pressure and urgency, and the death of Dewey’s father leave the reader reeling and hungry to know more. As a sea ebbs and flows, so to does the pace of the story.
Important figures from history are introduced, and it is clear that the author has done her research. Children reading this book will be entertained by the material, but also educationally enriched by the impressive, and often times very heavy subject matter.
Luckily Dewey meets Suze and the Gordon’s, and a sisterhood bond is formed as the atom bomb is completed. The patriotic nature, nod to the trials and tribulations in the 1940s, and the likeableness of Dewey and Suze, all while writing a truly interesting novel makes The Green Glass Sea a force. It is clear Klages did her research. The addition of her bibliography at the end of the books further leads to Klages’ credibility.
Reviews:
Publishers Weekly starred review :“Klages makes an impressive debut with an ambitious, meticulously researched novel set during WWII.”
The Horn Book Starred Review “[…]but the story, an intense but accessible page-turner, firmly belongs to the girls and their families; history and story are drawn together with confidence.”
School Library Journal -"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."
Booklist-“The characters are exceptionally well drawn, and the compelling, unusual setting makes a great tie-in for history classes.”
Awards and Recognitions:
- Winner, 2007 Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction
- Winner, 2007 Judy Lopez Memorial Award for Children's Literature
- Winner, 2007 New Mexico State Book Award (YA)
- Finalist, 2007 Quill Awards (Young Adult)
- Finalist, Northern California Book Awards, 2007 (Children's)
- Finalist, Locus Awards, 2007 (Best First Novel)
- Book Sense #1 Children's Pick - Winter 2006/2007
- One Book, One Nebraska for Kids - 2009
- 2009 Rebecca Caudill Young Readers Award Master List, (Illinois)
- 2008 NeNe Award List (Hawaii)
- 2008 Bluegrass Award Master List (Kentucky)
- 2007-08 Maine Student Book Award List
- 2007-08 Isinglass Teen Read List (New Hampshire)
- 2009 Rhode Island Teen Book Award List
- 2008-09 South Carolina Junior Book Award List
- Using the political figures mentioned in the novel, a class could imagine what these figures were thinking at the time this novel was written, as Vardell suggests to do with Cleopatra in her book.
- Other novels about World War II:
Heller, Joseph. Catch-22. ISBN 0684865130
Zindel, Paul.The Gadget. ISBN 0060278129