White Sands, Red Menace

Klages, Ellen. White Sands, Red Menace. New York: Viking, 2008.

I first read Klages's Green Glass Sea when I was teaching, and I absolutely loved that book.  I told my students about it and attempted to keep it on my classroom shelf, but it was often checked out.   This second installment in the story is just as good, if not better.  Dewey has been living with her best friend's family.  They have just moved to a new town, and while Suze is getting to know the neighbors from the other side of the tracks, Dewey is trying to find her way in a world that doesn't understand girls who want to take shop and study science.  Things have just settled down for the family when Dewey's birthmother appears and wants to take Dewey away.

I enjoyed this book.  I like the characters; I appreciated their courage and desire to do the right thing, even if it meant crossing racial or social boundaries.  I applauded Dewey's decision at the end of the story.  This one is well worth the read, folks.