Plot Summary
In 1943, eleven-year-old Dewey Kerrigan lives with her scientist father in Los Alamos, New Mexico, as he works on a top secret government program, and befriends an aspiring artist who is a misfit just like her
Critical Analysis
Dewey Kerrigans mother is dead, her grandmother who she has been living with is no longer healthy enough to take care of her, and her father, a mathematician, is to busy working on a top secret project for the government and cant spare the time to collect Dewey from the neighbor who is temporarily taking care of her. its 1943 and Dewey at 10 years old is put on a train to travel across the country to New Mexico by herself. During the trip we learn that Dewey is mechanically oriented and is designing a radio. Because of this she is disliked by the other girls in Los Alamos. She eventually becomes friends with Suze when she is sent to live with the Gordons when her father has to go to Washington.
This story of friendship, loss and belonging is set against the backdrop of the making of the atomic bomb. Klages adds authenticity to the stories setting with carefully chosen dialog such as calling the refrigerator and ice box and food choices like Ovaltine warmed on the stove. Authentic, historically significant characters, McKibbin, Feynman and Oppenheimer, also make appearances throughout the novel. The book would be a good companion story to those studying WWll and the atomic bomb.
In 1943, eleven-year-old Dewey Kerrigan lives with her scientist father in Los Alamos, New Mexico, as he works on a top secret government program, and befriends an aspiring artist who is a misfit just like her
Critical Analysis
Dewey Kerrigans mother is dead, her grandmother who she has been living with is no longer healthy enough to take care of her, and her father, a mathematician, is to busy working on a top secret project for the government and cant spare the time to collect Dewey from the neighbor who is temporarily taking care of her. its 1943 and Dewey at 10 years old is put on a train to travel across the country to New Mexico by herself. During the trip we learn that Dewey is mechanically oriented and is designing a radio. Because of this she is disliked by the other girls in Los Alamos. She eventually becomes friends with Suze when she is sent to live with the Gordons when her father has to go to Washington.
This story of friendship, loss and belonging is set against the backdrop of the making of the atomic bomb. Klages adds authenticity to the stories setting with carefully chosen dialog such as calling the refrigerator and ice box and food choices like Ovaltine warmed on the stove. Authentic, historically significant characters, McKibbin, Feynman and Oppenheimer, also make appearances throughout the novel. The book would be a good companion story to those studying WWll and the atomic bomb.
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