THE GREEN GLASS SEA

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Klages, Ellen. 2006. THE GREEN GLASS SEA. New York: Viking, Published by Penguin Group. ISBN 976670061341

2. PLOT SUMMARY

Dewey Kerrigan is an 11 year-child with no mother and a father who is working on very secret project in Los Alamos, New Mexico ("the Hill"), during WWII. In fact, the project is such a secret; the base is unknown to the outside world. Intellectual, mechanical, mathematically inclined Dewey, our protagonist inventor, finds herself in Los Alamos in the middle of the creation of “the gadget” (the first nuclear bomb). She is lonely and misunderstood by the other school children. When her father is called away to Washington D.C., she finds herself staying with the Gordons, Los Alamos scientists, who have a young daughter named Suze. Initially Suze and Dewey do not get along, but eventually find they have more in common than not.

The citizens of Los Alamos quietly get up on July 16, 1945 in the middle of the night and drive out to watch “the gadget” to see if their hard work and long hours have produced the desired effect. After a long wait the words, “This is it!” could be heard over the radio. “And suddenly there was a bright light, as bright as the sun. It lit up the faces of the people and the leaves of the trees.” A few weeks later Suze’s parents take Dewey and Suze to the site of the detonation to see the “Green Glass Sea,” glass formed from sand from the intense heat of the bomb.

3. CRITICAL REVIEW

I fell in love with Dewey the moment I met her. I could relate to her somehow. Don’t all eleven-year old children feel alone, lonely and awkward at times? I remembered that little girl in me. Because this novel is centered slightly before my time, I know little about this era. I learned what it must have felt like to live this “secret” that would strike such devastation on the world.
When I read this novel, I felt myself taking on the emotions of the characters. I was rooting for Dewey and her unique little misfit character, and finally felt the same way toward Suze. Klages surprised me. I did not expect Suze to be an oddity herself. The two girls slowly grow to understand each other and the author does this in a very authentic way.

This is a story about relationships and history. Life in this time was much different than it is today. To think that technology was available to create a bomb that could kill thousands in seconds in the 1940’s is mind-boggling. Klages did her research which can be heard in the expressions of her characters and their day to day life. The fact that they sit and eat meals together seems almost dated. The history of the atomic bomb is interwoven in the story. It lurks in the background, but rears its ugly head every time Suze’s parents work late, Dewey’s father is called “away,” and whispers are heard in the kitchen. Robert Oppenheimer and Richard Feynman make “appearances” in the book, adding authenticity.

The story ending was a bit anticlimactic. I guess I love the happily ever after, but now that I think about it, it was a war story. I wanted to know what happens to Dewey, although I think that’s obvious, I wanted to read the words. I wonder if there was shock on Terry Gordon’s face when she heard about the attack on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. I wanted more closure, but that is my Pollyanna personality showing.

Klages includes Author’s Notes which explain her work was a real historical event known as the “Manhattan Project,” the development of the atomic bomb. She also includes sources to find out more about “the history of nuclear physics, the development of the bomb, or life on “the Hill.”

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Publishers Weekly – Starred Review - Klages makes an impressive debut with an ambitious, meticulously researched novel set during WWII. Writing from the points of view of two displaced children, she successfully recreates life at Los Alamos Camp, where scientists and mathematicians converge with their families to construct and test the first nuclear bomb.....the author provides much insight into the controversies surrounding the making of the bomb and brings to life the tensions of war experienced by adults and children alike.

The Horn Book – Starred Review - The story, an intense but accessible page-turner, firmly belongs to the girls and their families; history and story are drawn together with confidence.

The Library School 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' historical significance will experience the story in a different, but equally powerful, way.

Superbly written and rich in detail, Kluges’ novel once again nails the uncertainty that many Americans experienced after the truths of Hiroshima began to surface. History is intricately woven into the story of these memorable characters, and issues such as self-identity, family, and racism are explored. The desert heat is palpable, the immense expanses are easily visualized, and the roles that women and minorities played in the late 1940s are painfully evident.

Booklist - The characters are exceptionally well drawn, and the compelling, unusual setting makes a great tie-in for history classes.

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

5. CONNECTIONS

Dewey traveled to Los Alamos by train. What were the methods of transportation in the 1940’s compared to 2010? Have the students research and report.

The children in the novel played games that were common to many children at that time, Red Rover, gin rummy and jacks. Have the students look up these games and see what they’re about.

When Dewey received mail from her father it was censored. Have the students research what this means. Have them discover any mail that is still censored today. Have the students work with partners to create a code like Dewey and her father did.

Encourage students to read the sequel to THE GREEN GLASS SEA, WHITE SANDS, RED MENACE, by Ellen Klages.
Suggest the students begin research from the books the author suggests at the end of her book.

Create a Venn-diagram and list similarities and differences between life examined by Klages in her novel and modern times.

When I was young we used to have “duck and cover” drills in case of air raids during the Cuban Missile Crises. If you know a person(s) from previous decades, have them visit the classroom to explain the dangers that existed in the world in the past and how children were helped to prepare for them.

Find out what decades old phrases mean that were used in the book, for example: “loose lips sink ships,” “mind your own beeswax,” ain’t over till the fat man sings.” See if the students can find other slang phrases used in the novel that were common at the time. What slang phrases are used today, i.e. sup, (What’s up?) baby boomers, busted, bling-bling, diss, my bad, nuf said…”