Awards
2007 Scott O'Dell Award Winner
Synopses & Reviews
It is 1943, and 11-year-old Dewey Kerrigan is traveling west on a train to live with her scientist father—but no one, not her father nor the military guardians who accompany her, will tell her exactly where he is. When she reaches Los Alamos, New Mexico, she learns why: he's working on a top secret government program. Over the next few years, Dewey gets to know eminent scientists, starts tinkering with her own mechanical projects, becomes friends with a budding artist who is as much of a misfit as she is—and, all the while, has no idea how the Manhattan Project is about to change the world. This book's fresh prose and fascinating subject are like nothing you've read before.
Review
"Many readers will know as little about the true nature of the project as the girls do, so the gradual revelation of facts is especially effective, while those who already know about Los Alamos's historical significance will experience the story in a different, but equally powerful, way." School Library Journal
Review
"The novel occasionally gets mired down in detail, but the characters are exceptionally well drawn, and the compelling, unusual setting makes a great tie-in for history classes." Booklist
Review
"Readers won't understand what the title refers to until the last chapter of the book, but will enjoy the journey while getting there." Children's Literature
Review
"The book is well written, with intelligent characters....Its well-researched information...will appeal to readers of historical fiction." VOYA
Synopsis
Dewey Kerrigan, while living with her scientist father who is working on a top secret government program, has no idea how the Manhattan Project will change the world as she befriends an aspiring artist who is a misfit just like her.
Synopsis
In this remarkable debut novel, 11-year-old Dewey Kerrigan is traveling west on a train to live with her scientist father, but no one will tell her exactly where he is. It is 1943 and her destination is Alamos, New Mexico, where scientists are working on the Manhattan Project.
Synopsis
It is 1943, and 11-year-old Dewey Kerrigan is traveling west on a train to live with her scientist father but no one, not her father nor the military guardians who accompany her, will tell her exactly where he is. When she reaches Los Alamos, New Mexico, she learns why: he's working on a top secret government program. Over the next few years, Dewey gets to know eminent scientists, starts tinkering with her own mechanical projects, becomes friends with a budding artist who is as much of a misfit as she is and, all the while, has no idea how the Manhattan Project is about to change the world. This book's fresh prose and fascinating subject are like nothing you've read before.
Synopsis
A backlist gem gets a brand-new look!
It's 1943, and eleven-year-old Dewey Kerrigan is en route to New Mexico to live with her mathematician father. Soon she arrives at a town that, officially, doesn't exist. It is called Los Alamos, and it is abuzz with activity, as scientists and mathematicians from all over America and Europe work on the biggest secret of all--"the gadget." None of them--not J. Robert Oppenheimer, the director of the Manhattan Project; not the mathematicians and scientists; and least of all, Dewey--know how much "the gadget" is about to change their lives.
About the Author
Nebula Award-winning author Ellen Klages lives in San Francisco, California.
Kids Q&A
Read the Kids' Q&A with Ellen Klages