It's 1943, and Dewey Kerrigan will turn eleven in a month. Since she was seven, she's lived with her grandmother because her mathematician father has been doing top secret work for the war effort. But now, her grandmother has had a stroke and is unable to care for her -- so Dewey is sent across the country, to live with her father in Los Alamos, New Mexico.
What I love about it: Everything. I love that it is readable on multiple levels -- that there is clearly tension among the grown-ups that the kids pick up on but don't completely understand (and, to some extent, the kids aren't all that interested -- they've got their own stuff going on), that it is, on one level, a pretty simple story about the beginnings of a friendship but that it is, on another level, an excellent piece of historical fiction with cameos by folks like Richard Feynman and Dorothy McKibbin. And I loved the slang: "When it came to comic books, Suze knew her onions**."
It's a quiet-ish, thoughtful book, one that I will read and re-read, one that I will most definitely buy a copy of, and soon. Seriously, I can't recommend this book highly enough*. It's outstanding in every possible way. I realize that I'm late to the bandwagon on this, but for real -- if there are people out there (other than me) who have missed it, do yourselves a HUGE favor and pick it up. The paperback was released last month, so if you read it ASAP, you'll be ready for the sequel, which is due out in October.
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*CC, if you haven't already read it, you must.
**I'm going to try and work that one into my regular rotation. It's excellent. Also, "Color me so yellow" is SO much better than "Oh, I'm so scared".
I'm so glad you loved this book too. Last year I got to attend the Newbery etc. awards announcement (total thrill), and right after that I read The Green Glass Sea. I was so grateful I hadn't read it in advance, because then I would have been horribly disappointed when the awards were announced. (I would have assumed it was a sure thing, little do I know.)
Posted by: Laurie | 23 June 2008 at 10:53 AM
I read The Green Glass Sea to prepare for a vacation to New Mexico. When I stopped in a bookstore (of course!) in Los Alamos, I was so disappointed to learn that I would be missing an author signing with Ellen Klages by ONE day. The book really is an undiscovered gem.
Posted by: Sharon Terry | 24 June 2008 at 06:05 AM
I loved it, too. When I heard someone mention a trip to Los Alamos the other day, all I could think about was Green Glass Sea and I was jealous!
Posted by: jess | 24 June 2008 at 11:57 AM
Glad to see this book has another fan! (And let's not talk about how jealous I am that you're reading the sequel - I think I'm going to have to drop a note to my Penguin rep soon...)
Posted by: Sarah Rettger | 25 June 2008 at 01:17 PM
Oh I loved this book!!! and still do! i completely cried in parts of it too. (though thats not really so amazing i cry over a lot of things in books...)
I can't believe you've gotten your hands on the sequel!!!! I simply cannot wait!!!!! is it good so far??? I need details!!!
Posted by: Dulce Barahona | 25 June 2008 at 02:37 PM
I just read this in one sitting. SO GOOD. I grew up in New Mexico, and all the descriptions were perfect. And now I really want to go see Trinity.
Posted by: Gwen | 28 June 2008 at 02:34 PM
A friend is, as it were, a second self.
Posted by: new jordans | 06 November 2010 at 05:34 AM