Where the Ground Meets the Sky

by Jacqueline Davies

It's 1944, and war is raging in Europe and the Pacific. Meanwhile, twelve-year-old Hazel is fighting her own battles somewhere in the New Mexico desert. Life has gotten increasingly complicated and lonely since Dad brought Mom and her to live on the Hill, an ugly place surrounded by a chain-link fence and barbed wire. A brilliant physicist, he is working hard on the Big Mystery, while poor Mom, who has always believed that secrets are bad for the soul, has retreated into a world of her own. A powerful, fictional account of the development of the atomic bomb, this novel offers young readers no simple answers. It does, however, give them plenty to think about as well as an intriguing story populated by a background cast of some of the most important characters of the twentieth century.

Genres: Historical Fiction, World War II, Childrens, Fiction, Young Adult

224 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2002

About the author

Jacqueline Davies is the author of both novels and picture books. She lives in Needham, Massachusetts with her three children.

Reviews

[CLM · Rating 4 out of 5]

For fans of The Green Glass Sea

[Candace · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a life long New Mexico resident I almost always pick up books set in our state. And the one thing most non-New Mexicans associate with our state is probably the atomic bomb. This story relates what living on The Hill was like and the secrecy that surrounded life there from the eyes of a 12 year old girl. I’d recommend for 7th grade readers or older personally. And I’d recommend for adults too. Such a short easy read packed with great insight. Now to plan a road trip to Los Alamos.

[Jocelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this to see if it would work for my 6th and 8th graders' history program and was very impressed. This book did a great job putting us in Los Alamos and even tackled some of the philosophical implications. A great addition to middle schoolers studying World War 2.

[Danielle Wood · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting bit of historical fiction. I’m always intrigued when I find books about the atomic bomb. I couldn’t quite connect to the story, though.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's war-time, and rations have kicked in. Your dad is a scientist, and suddenly you find yourself uprooted from everything you know and moved to a place simply known as "The Hill". It's a town, like most others, only one that most others don't even know exists. There are other kids, a school, a theatre...and military police, security, and many more scientists. As time goes on, your father is home less and less, your mother becomes a shadow of herself, and you find yourself torn between what you thought you knew and what you realize you don't know at all. Welcome to "Where the Ground Meets the Sky".

I originally got this book more for my 12-year-old son, as his class is currently studying WWII. I wasn't sure if he would like it, simply because boys can be funny when the main character is a *girl*. However, he read it fairly quickly and commented several times on how much he liked it. It was intriguing to him that so much of what is written in the book is actually based on real history. I also read the book (it was a quick read) and actually enjoyed it more than I anticipated. The main character, Hazel, is a strong and intelligent girl who is learning more about the world and about people than she ever bargained for. The story itself is well-written, and the addition of the Author's Notes at the end (about WWII and Nuclear Fission) are excellent pieces to the overall book.

This would be a terrific book to have in any school or classroom library, and even a great book for reading aloud in class or as a book club when studying WWII. Definitely a keeper.
Comment

[J.S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everything in twelve-year old Hazel's life just got shaken up. Not only is there a war going on (it's 1944) but she and her mom have moved to New Mexico where her dad is working on a secret project for the government. They don't even have a real address; they just live behind barbed wire and chain-link fence in a remote place called "the Hill". Hazel doesn't know what her dad and the others are working on but she's smart enough to know it's important, and things like security passes and secrets soon become a part of her life.

I had a rare Saturday afternoon while the whole family was away and planned to get so much done... until I started this book and couldn't put it down! Ms. Davies has written a fascinating historical fiction account of a kid's life at Los Alamos during the Manhattan Project, and as far as I know from other reading it is historically accurate. Hazel is an exceptionally bright girl, perfectly likable to the reader, and acts like a normal twelve-year old, but she also has to deal with a very abnormal situation. But the book is also very beguiling because - although I know how the war ended - it's so well-written that I felt like I didn't see it coming, and parents will want to be aware that what is otherwise a charming and compelling read packs a strong emotional punch at the end.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this story of 12 year old Hazel and her parents, several moral issues are presented – the morality of creating weapons, the question of war itself and the damage that keeping secrets can cause. The issues never seem to be fully resolved, but throughout the course of the novel, set over about a year, Hazel’s own reactions change and mature. Hazel’s mother’s progressing withdrawal from life / mental illness conveniently leaves Hazel alone to grope with these issues (disturbingly like a princess in many fairytales) as her father works ever increasing hours in the laboratory with other scientists working on “the gadget.” The story itself is an engaging story of adventure, friendship and coming-of-age set in a time period that young students are very familiar with and can draw parallels to current events. Davies’ characters are authentic, believable and dynamic. This book would make an excellent addition to a middle school history curriculum.

[Miss Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

gr 5-8 218 pgs

1944 WWII Manhattan Project New Mexico. When her father is asked to join the Manhattan Project, he brings his family along with him. 12 year old Hazel meets Eleanor who teaches her about life on "The Hill", a town so secret that it doesn't have a name and is surrounded by armed guards. The story shows how the different characters react to the stress of what they are working on: her father is sometimes gone for days caught up in his research, her mother grows distant and depressed as she realizes the terrible impact the discoveries made there can mean...

Great story. Because of some of the topics I would recommend this book to middle school readers instead of elementary school students.

[Carolyn Lockwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good book to acquaint young adult readers to the power of the atom bomb as well as the ethical issues surrounding its development and use. It is not a book I could assign my 12 year old cat lover to read, as a favorite cat is exposed to radiation and then is monitored as research. Also, near the beginning of the book the main character mentions explaining evolution to a six year old who promptly realizes the Bible "is just a story." As a 46 year old who knows the Bible is the truth, I did not appreciate that portion of the book. It was completely unnecessary and detracted from the quality of the book.

[Austin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Where the Ground Meets the Sky by Jacqueline Davies is a book about a girl from WWII era whos father brings his whole family, includuing her, to a secret camp in order to work on the atomic bomb. I would reccomebnd this book to anyone who wants a fast paced, realistic fiction book.

[MrsMitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

An exciting time in history, told in an easy-to-understand way! I learned so much from this book because I never knew much about how the atomic bomb was made. I was amazed to find out that the scientists' families lived with them in a secret town at Los Alamos!

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty complex characters covering the same ground as The Green Glass Sea but with more fallout.

[Leo · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's about a family who worked on building the nuclear bomb. It's cool in the beginning, but then it gets really freaky. So I liked the beginning, but hated the ending.

[annabanana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was about world war 2

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very good, but was a bit boring at parts

[Sequoia Poths · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book was really good i literally read in an hour lol