The Green Glass Sea by Ellen Klages

I really need to stop being judgemental about books, I'm always wrong! The plot description of this book just didn't really interest me, but after seeing positive reviews on several blogs I decided to give it a try. What a surprise it was when I was sucked in from the first page and absolutely fell in love with this book. I cannot wait for the sequel! Not only was the book awesome, but it took place only 10 minutes from my house, which was also very cool.

The Green Glass Sea, written by Ellen Klages, is a book of intrigue and companionship. Dewey is used to being left alone. Her mother has been gone since before she can remember and since the war started her father has been all over the country working on "secret Army stuff." Dewey has stayed with her grandmother during that time, however when her grandmother has a stroke, she must go and live on the Army base in New Mexico with her father. When she arrives, she learns that the Army is working on a secret gadget that is supposed to help them win the war, a gadget which older kids and adults will realize is the atomic bomb. Dewey is left alone a lot of the time while her father is working and though she tries to make friends, most of the girls on the base find her and her obsession with mechanics strange.

When Dewey's father gets called away to Washington, Dewey must move in with the Gordon's. Unfortunately, one of the Gordon's is a girl Dewey's age, Suze, one of Dewey's most notorious tormentors. As the war rages on and their parents are busy trying to fight it, Dewey and Suze work on their friendship and learn that despite their differences, they may just be meant to be friends and their common strengths can help them get through.

Though many tragedies are spoken of in the chapters of this book, all of them are incredibly realistic and many are true. Though the story is fiction, the history is all fact and these events really took place. I live only 10 minutes from the Trinity site in Alamogordo, where the atomic bomb testing was done. I loved reading a book that described my home and surroundings so well and it was very interesting to read it from a child's perspective. This book was amazing and because of the cliff-hanger at the end, I can't wait for Klages to put out the companion novel.

This book is recommended for ages 12 and up.

Review by Amanda Snow, our newest regular contributor!

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