The Green Glass Sea, by Ellen Klages is one of the best historical fiction books I have read. It takes place at a secret government research site during World War II and combines the story of friendship with the tension of one of the world's greatest secrets, the Manhattan Project.
I was so caught up in this story that I couldn't put the book down, even to feed my dogs -- boy, did they make me pay for that! I found myself continually relating to one of the primary characters, Suze, because she goes through a lot of angst trying to be liked by other kids, and I was like that when I was the age that she is in the story. My older, wiser self kept giving her advice such as, "just roll with it," or "don't let them bother you," or the classic, "just ignore them." Yeah, right.
The final chapter of the book, which began as a stand-alone short story, explains the title of the book. It really made me think about how something can be amazingly beautiful and terrible at the same time. If you love science, math, mystery, or a good story, I highly recommend this book. It's an absolute 10.
To learn more about the author, who lives in San Francisco, go to http://www.ellenklages.com.
