Customer Reviews

Green Glass Sea

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

THE GREEN GLASS SEA is a beautifully written novel. I am recommending it to friends that like good writing. In bookstores, this will likely be shelved in the Young Adult section, and may also be associated with the Science Fiction section. I think people who read in those genres will both enjoy this book.

Beyond that, I think that anyone who enjoys good writing will find this story of two girls during World War II simply bewitching. One is a budding scientist, the other a budding artist, and neither "fits in" with the popular kids at school. The story of their struggles with these issues is folded in to the place and time where they live, and the impact that World War II is having on them and on everyone they know.

I liked this book so, so much. Every single character had a voice that I believed. THE GREEN GLASS SEA made me smile, and it brought tears to my eyes. It was the kind of read I always hope for but do not always find. I liked it so much I read it again after a bit, to see if it was as good as I hoped. It is.

Ellen Klages is a treasure, and I hope to read more of her books. I highly, highly recommend THE GREEN GLASS SEA.

A middle grade novel that adults will also love, The Green Glass Sea is an endearing tale set on the Los Alamos base during World War II. When ten-year-old Dewey Kerrigan is sent to New Mexico to join her father, a scientist working on the Manhattan Project, she doesn't realize that she is also joining a small community of families whose lives revolve around the development of the top secret "gadget". But Dewey adjusts quickly to her new world. She's thrilled to be near her father again and to be in an environment that provides her with unlimited resources for building her own mechanical projects, her favorite hobby. Brainy and small for her age, Dewey soon finds that she's a misfit even in the world in which she feels she so belongs. Yet she doesn't let this bother her. That is, until her father is sent away on an important mission and Dewey is forced to share a room - and some of her deepest secrets - with her biggest enemy.

Readers will fall in love with Dewey's sweet, unassuming nature and with Klages' splendid writing, which captures the innocence, vulnerability, and resilience of childhood. Klages creates a world that is extremely unique yet somehow very familiar, and she perfectly portrays this world through the perspective of a child. Her carefully chosen details are described in a simple, understated manner that expertly blends historical fiction and coming-of-age tale. Though quiet, Klages' story brings to life a setting and cast of characters that will stay with you long after you've finished her book.

The Green Glass Sea is a novel for young readers that is actually for a young audience yet will also be loved by adults. I highly recommend it to all readers over the age of nine.

The Green Glass Sea is a coming of age story that focuses on two girls and their experiences growing up at the super secret Los Alamos military camp during WWII. The girls reluctantly become friends as they experience the fears, uncertainties, and losses that come with war. Some fascinating aspects of the story are the relationship between the girls and the camp authorities, the brilliant scientists, and even their parents. It touches on the larger issues associated with nuclear weapons. Karen Woodworth Roman, Reference Librarian

Ellen Klages's "The Green Glass Sea" is one part historical novel, one part coming-of-age tale, and one part fish-out-of-water story. As a whole, "The Green Glass Sea" is an intelligent, thought-provoking novel for kids ages 10 to 15.

Ten-year-old Dewey Kerrigan's grandmother has had a stroke, and Dewey is sent by train to her father. Her father is a scientist, employed in top-secret work during World War II. Dewey thinks she'll be headed to Chicago, her father's last location as far as she knew, and is surprised when she discovers her train is headed to New Mexico. And, soon, Dewey finds herself living in crummy army housing on the top-secret Los Alamos base.

Dewey is instantly happy in Los Alamos. She's the type of girl who likes to build mechanical objects and is thrilled to find a dump with discarded metal pieces of all shapes and sorts. Her school is also good: she's allowed to take high school math, even though she's just 11 years old. She's finally living with her father and enjoys taking care of him after his long days at the lab.

In a parallel story, 11-year-old Suze is having a hard time adjusting to the base. Her father also works on the top-secret project and so does her mother, peripherally, as a "stinker" (chemist). She tries to make friends with the other girls on the base, but it's to no avail. They find Suze not girly enough and too large, calling her "Truck" behind her back.

Suze and Dewey's lives collide when Dewey's father is summoned near the end of the war to Washington D.C. Dewey's father arranges for Dewey to stay with Suze and her parents (the Gordons) while he'll be away. At first the girls dislike each other actively, but Dewey's at least relieved because she likes Mrs. Gordon, as a female scientist, immediately.

I won't give away any more of the plot, but suffice it to say the girls become friends and allies at a time during which all of Los Alamos is worried about a "gadget" and the gadget's success. "The Green Glass Sea" is a fascinating novel about about World War II, scientists and their families in the years leading up to the bomb, and the universal struggle to find your place in a new, highly unique community.

Dewey and Suze are great characters, both outsiders in their own way. Give "The Green Glass Sea" to a smart girl-reader today. I'm handing my copy over as soon as the school bus arrives.

I'm surprised that no reviewer has yet mentioned the understated and downplayed ending of this book (which I won't give away). Suffice it to say that the author concludes the book with subtle irony, leaving the reader to think through profound implications that form the backdrop of this story. I appreciate her restraint, as the novel eschews the more obvious heavy-handed approach, and leaves you pondering unanswerable questions.

At times, I felt the novel was a bit formulaic - misfits face down the school bully, the requisite family tragedy - but the author also skillfully sidesteps some routine bathetic outcomes we have "seen coming" in books of lesser caliber.

In historical fiction, integrating the story to the setting is essential, and I believe the author got it about 80% right. Unfortunately, there were occasions when I got the feeling that this story could have taken place in a number of generic settings. The historical references are sometimes sprinkled through the text a bit self-consciously (reminding me somewhat of the "artificial nostalgia" prevalent in the film, My Dog Skip), but overall, she conveys a genuine sense of time and place.

I would recommend this book for middle-schoolers as a good fictional introduction to the dawn of the atomic age.

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.

i've always loved stories about girls that were different, that didn't follow the crowd. dewey doesn't fit in anywhere, different in the way she looks, but more so in the way she thinks and the things she thinks about. suze tries to fit in with the girls but doesn't know why she bothers trying. two girls that seem so different are thrown together in an uncomfortable situation, while trying to adapt to life during WWII. a war is going on , their parents are working on a "gadget", and everything keeps changing. not all the questions are answered but the way the girls' characters grow and change is extremely satisfying.

the story is set in the 1940's but timeless. some of the phrases are dated and the kids might giggle at how strange it sounds but they'll quickly get lost in the events that are taking place. each section is marked by year. each chapter by the date. the story is fictional but the big names like Roosevelt and Fermi are real, giving a sense that maybe, just maybe, there were really girls like Dewey and Suze. highly recommended for historical fiction lovers.

I know this is a young adult book, but I'm (a little bit) older than that, and I loved every line. It was just over too quickly. I could have gone on and on reading about these characters, and tasting the flavor of the times at Los Alamos. Don't miss it!

Nobody, nobody writes from a child's perspective like Ellen Klages. And nobody writes about girls and their relationship to technology like she does. The Green Glass Sea has the spit and sass of eleven year-old girls, which makes the tale all the more poignant to those of us who know how this particular episode of history played out. It's a wonderful book. Read it, then go hunt down Klages' short stories.

Ellen, and whoever reads this review, this book is one of the best reads ever. It was part of the highly regarded MCBA (Massachusetts children's book award. Instead of this amazing book winning like it should have, another book won. Even though it didn't win an award, it won my heart as one of my favorite books.