Where the Ground Meets the Sky (Audible Audio Edition) Jacqueline Davies Emily Durante Brilliance Audio Books
Download As PDF : Where the Ground Meets the Sky (Audible Audio Edition) Jacqueline Davies Emily Durante Brilliance Audio Books
One morning, twelve-year-old Hazel wakes to discover that her father, a brilliant physicist, has moved away in the middle of the night.
It's 1944, and Hazel's father has agreed to help the U.S. government develop a secret weapon that will win World War II. His decision turns Hazel's world upside-down - soon, she and her mother move out west to be with him, to a strange town with no name that everyone calls "the Hill." The Hill is surrounded by a chain-link fence and barbed wire. Armed guards patrol its perimeter night and day.
With her new friend, Eleanor, Hazel goes on secret missions to try and solve the many mysteries that the Hill hides. Who is sending secret radio messages from the base? What happened to Eleanor's cat? And most importantly, what is the mysterious "gadget" that the scientists are building day and night?
Where the Ground Meets the Sky (Audible Audio Edition) Jacqueline Davies Emily Durante Brilliance Audio Books
Hazel Moore's world has been turned upside down. Her family has moved suddenly and secretly to a location called The Hill in New Mexico where everything is top secret and where nothing is what it seems to be. The Second World War is raging in Europe and in the Pacific and Hazel's father is one of the scientists brought to The Hill to work on something very secret.The author has really done her work in researching and writing this excellent young adult novel. Life on The Hill, (an entire little town built for the scientists and their families), the isolation and the strain are well depicted through young Hazel's eyes. Hazel has some suspicions about what her father is working on but she has no idea about the magnitude of what the scientists on The Hill will create. She is an observer of the toll taken on her mother and her father as the work progresses. At the same time she makes a good friend, struggles with being just one of the kids and constantly wonders what her father is working on.
The author does an excellent job portraying both sides of the argument regarding the creation of the Atomic Bomb. Hazel's mother believes strongly in the value of each human life and she is unable to reconcile herself with what the bomb will do. Hazel's father believes that the only way to save American lives in the Pacific is to build the Bomb. Through overheard conversations we learn abut the ethical dilemma that the scientists faced once they realized the sheer power of what they were building. The author is careful to not be heavy handed in her treatment of the subject. The reader is left to make up his or her own mind about the Bomb just as Hazel does.
Hazel watches her mother's downward spiral even as she struggles with her own interactions with other young people on the Hill. Friends are made and lost and finally, the Bomb is tested and her family leaves The Hill.
This is an excellent book for teens and young adults. The information is accurate and it leads well into research about the Manhattan project. This book would be excellent for a school or home library. It will prompt discussion but is probably unsuitable for a younger child. There are descriptions of the bombing of Dresden and one vivid depiction of an animal exposed to radiation poisoning that may be disturbing for the younger or more sensitive reader.
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Where the Ground Meets the Sky (Audible Audio Edition) Jacqueline Davies Emily Durante Brilliance Audio Books Reviews
A good YA book for age 11 and over, "Where The Ground Meets the Sky" introduces the younger readers to the birth of the atomic age. Sixth-grader Hazel moves with her scientist father and her mother to New Mexico in 1944 when her father is selected to work on the highly secret project covered before but in books and movies for adults (my favorite movie on the subject being "Fat Man and Little Boy"). Hazel as usual feels like the goon and outsider because of her high IQ and academic achievements, but finds unexpected support from her mother and a new best friend, Eleanor. Unfortunately during this year her mother starts on a downward spiral into depression, but Hazel and Eleanor decide that they will make it their mission to discover some of the many secrets surrounding the military base where they live --- surrounded by barbed wire, they know it is no ordinary military base.
There is one incident which may disturb younger children, or older ones who are very much animal lovers. Also the level of depression experienced by Hazel's mother can also be unsettling for many, especially if they have no experience dealing with these issues. Just as a small spoiler, Hazel's mother's outlook for a recovery is dealt with in a positive way at the end of the book. Because of the incidents involving the bomb, and the author's afterword, I would urge parents to be prepared to discuss this book with their young readers. It would be a good jumping off point to discuss the issues of war and peace, and how there are divided opinions to this day about whether the US should have dropped the bomb on Japan. Yep, a big task here, but certainly worthwhile in our uncertain world.
If you are an adult who enjoys juvenile fiction as a mental break, this book may not be for you despite its intriguing subject matter. Despite the author's insertion of pop culture tidbits from the era, such as war pictures and the Andrews Sisters, the book never developed an atmosphere that felt like the 1940s. It always seemed like maybe I was reading a play and a period detail was mentioned from time to time to set the scene instead of the scene transporting me to another time and place effortlessly. A reader at the target age of 10 and up might not notice these things, and instead, be intrigued by the mention of the stars and films, but the forced mentions are noticeable if you are already schooled on World War II trends.
The book also had a major flaw in that it featured a more pacifistic character with ideas that were never really developed or explored well enough. Instead, this character literally fades away throughout the course of the story. Given earlier descriptions of the person, the silent protest didn't quite fit and was a somewhat disappointing end. The story also does that with a few other plotlines which are introduced, covered, and dropped like a series of vignettes instead of part of a larger narrative. In a way I enjoyed that as it reminded me of some of the great science fiction and cautionary tales I read growing up in the mid-90s (most of which were published in the mid-60s to mid-80s), but I'm not sure how well it will appeal to modern readers of children's literature.
However, despite its minor issues, I think this a book worthy of a child's time as it will bring up lots of interesting questions and some very worthwhile discussions about war and peace -- always relevant topics. A side lesson in not hiding your own light under the proverbial bushel also rings true since the main character, Hazel, must accept the fact that sometimes people have gifts - smarts, athletic ability, beauty - and must honor them instead of trying to blend in. While this point could have been hammered home more, its lesson rings loud enough.
Given the opportunity, I'd rank this book a 3.5.
Hazel Moore's world has been turned upside down. Her family has moved suddenly and secretly to a location called The Hill in New Mexico where everything is top secret and where nothing is what it seems to be. The Second World War is raging in Europe and in the Pacific and Hazel's father is one of the scientists brought to The Hill to work on something very secret.
The author has really done her work in researching and writing this excellent young adult novel. Life on The Hill, (an entire little town built for the scientists and their families), the isolation and the strain are well depicted through young Hazel's eyes. Hazel has some suspicions about what her father is working on but she has no idea about the magnitude of what the scientists on The Hill will create. She is an observer of the toll taken on her mother and her father as the work progresses. At the same time she makes a good friend, struggles with being just one of the kids and constantly wonders what her father is working on.
The author does an excellent job portraying both sides of the argument regarding the creation of the Atomic Bomb. Hazel's mother believes strongly in the value of each human life and she is unable to reconcile herself with what the bomb will do. Hazel's father believes that the only way to save American lives in the Pacific is to build the Bomb. Through overheard conversations we learn abut the ethical dilemma that the scientists faced once they realized the sheer power of what they were building. The author is careful to not be heavy handed in her treatment of the subject. The reader is left to make up his or her own mind about the Bomb just as Hazel does.
Hazel watches her mother's downward spiral even as she struggles with her own interactions with other young people on the Hill. Friends are made and lost and finally, the Bomb is tested and her family leaves The Hill.
This is an excellent book for teens and young adults. The information is accurate and it leads well into research about the Manhattan project. This book would be excellent for a school or home library. It will prompt discussion but is probably unsuitable for a younger child. There are descriptions of the bombing of Dresden and one vivid depiction of an animal exposed to radiation poisoning that may be disturbing for the younger or more sensitive reader.
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