A Review of The Green Glass Sea (Audiobook)

By Ellen Klages

* Note: This blog fulfills a course requirement at TWU.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Klages, Ellen. The Green Glass Sea. Read by Julie Dretzin. Prince Frederick, MD: Recorded Books (Audio). 2008. ISBN: 1428146396

PLOT SUMMARY

Dewey Kerrigan is an 11 year-old girl in 1943 on a train to New Mexico to live with her father. Her father is working on a top secret project and the corporal who picks Dewey up does not know where in New Mexico she is headed. World War II is going on and many things are secret. She arrives in Los Alamos, New Mexico, a town that does not officially exist. Top scientists and mathematicians, including Dewey’s father, from all over America and Europe are there working on a top-secret project that everyone refers to only as “the gadget.”  Dewey is very mechanically inclined and quite intelligent. During her time there, Dewey befriends many of the scientists at Los Alamos and even begins working on her gadgets. She initially butts heads with a young artist named Suze Gordon, but they eventually become close friends. When her father is called to Washington DC, Dewey moves in with the Suze and her family. Finally, “the gadget” is complete and it is revealed to be a powerful bomb that would end World War II, even though the bomb would cause devastation never before witnessed. At the end, the Gordon’s visit the blast site of the test bomb and the “The Green Glass Sea” is revealed to the reader.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The book is written with the Manhattan Project, or the creation of the atom bomb, as a backdrop to the story. This was a top secret project and Klages adds much authenticity to the story since this was such an important part of American history. Klages is a brilliant writer who paints wonderful pictures with words of the scenery in New Mexico, including yucca plants, cactuses, the desert sand, colorful sky, mountains, and adobe homes. She describes Los Alamos perfectly as the place chosen to work on this project. The narration is expertly done by Julie Dretzin who changes her voice to match the character she is portraying. Klages creates characters the reader can feel close to, particularly Dewey. Highly recommended!

REVIEW EXCERPTS

2007 Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction

2007 Judy Lopez Memorial Award for Children's Literature

2007 New Mexico State Book Award (YA)

Publisher’s Weekly – “An impressive debut … 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.”

Horn Book Magazine – “An intense but accessible page-turner … history and story are drawn together with confidence.”

CONNECTIONS

Read other books by Ellen Klages including the sequel to The Green Glass Sea:

Klages, Ellen. White Sands, Red Menace. 2010. ISBN: 0142415189

And others such as:

Klages, Ellen. Portable Childhoods. 2007. ISBN: 1892391457

Klages, Ellen. In the House of the Seven Librarians. 2012. ISBN: 1933500980