The Green Glass Sea

1. Bibliography

Klages, Ellen. 2006. The Green Glass Sea. New York, NY: Viking. ISBN 9780142411490

2. Plot Summary

This story takes place in Los Alamos, New Mexico, or "The Hill." Everything happening on The Hill is a secret; even its location is not on any map. 11-year-old Dewey Kerrigan has been forced to move across the country because of her grandmother's sudden stroke with her few belongings, her radio being the most precious. In Los Alamos, she is reunited with her father, whom she does not see for months at a time. When her father must leave for a secret location, she must live with Suze Gordon, a bully who wants to be liked by the popular girls. Neither are happy about the living arrangement, but grow close after they discover more about the other. When Dewey's father is suddenly killed, Dewey is left to wonder where she is meant to go, and if the Gordon family will continue to let her be a part of their family. 

3. Critical Analysis

Klages explores the theme of found family in her novel. Dewey has been displaced and has nowhere to go. She finds the Gordon family, who accepts her with open arms for who she is. She is a shy and quiet girl who enjoys tinkering with her radio and learning more about the world of mechanics. Suze Gordon is an artist who initially bullies Dewey in order to garner favor with the other girls in their class. Once Dewey begins to live with the Gordon family and share a room with Suze, the two girls grow closer, as close as real sisters. 

Klages references Chesterfields and old comics about heroes beating up Nazis to ground the reader in the year of 1943 in the midst of World War II. Dewey and Suze are young girls that other young girls can relate to, despite the different time periods in which they lived. The secrecy and isolation of The Hill, the language of the two 11-year-olds, and the devastating events that occur because of the global war make The Green Glass Sea feel authentic and touching. 

4. Review Excerpt(s)

From Publishers Weekly: "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." 
Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction

5. Connections

After reading The Green Glass Sea, read the following two books in The Gordon Family Saga: 

• White Sands, Red Menace. ISBN 9780142415184
• Out of Left Field. ISBN 9780425288609

Students can perform a skit and pretend that they are scientists working on the Manhattan Project. 

This book could spark a debate about the morals and ethics surrounding the Manhattan Project.