Set in Los Alamos, New Mexico, during World War II, THE GREEN GLASS SEA tells the story of two young girls--Dewey and Suze--whose parents work for the government on a top-secret project called Project Manhattan. Told that they are working on the gadget that will end the war, the children are confused by their new surroundings but soon become accustomed to its strangeness. Suze and Dewey are both outsiders. But it takes three-fourths of the novel for the two to become friends. In fact, Suze is one of the girls that torments Dewey and makes fun of her for wearing a leg brace. 
But Suze slowly becomes compassionate during the course of this novel. Dewey is a unique character. A tomboy. A wanna-be mechanic/inventor. She loves to build. She loves to take things apart. She loves math and science. The Green Glass Sea is an interesting novel. It has strengths, but it also has weaknesses. For example, Ellen Klages shifts between a wonderful style where the reader can see and feel and know what the characters are doing and a horrible style that is very didactic, very out-of-body, very removed, very distant, very awkward. What’s worse is that the first thirty-seven pages of the book are written in that style. But if you’re patient, it does get better.The Green Glass Sea by Ellen Klages (Viking) is the winner of the 2007 Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction. The award is presented to a children's or young adult book published in English by a U.S. publisher and set in the Americas.
http://www.ellenklages.com/
Preview of Green Glass Sea, and the place the illustration comes from
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