Ellen Klages: White Sands, Red Menace

[bibliogramma]

I was very much impressed by Ellen Klages' Green Glass Sea, and therefore had to immediately acquire and read the sequel, White Sands, Red Menace.

As the title suggests, the novel is set just after WWII, and places protagonists Dewey and Suze, now young teens, in the midst of the space race and the growth of the Communist scare in the US. Dewey, now part of the Gordon family, has moved with them to Alamagordo, where Suze's father is part of the rocket development program, working with American and German scientists who bring with them the tainted research gained from slave labour at facilities like Peenemunde.

There is no work at White Sands for Suze's mother, however, and she is devoting much of her time to the nascent anti-war, anti-bomb movement that arose following the horrors of the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The girls have embarked on a joint project in the attic that they call the Wall - a combination of engineering and art that brings them both together. At the same time, exploring their skills individually brings them both new friends and experiences.

The novel bristles with tensions - within the Gordon family, in their day to day relationships, and in the world at large - but at the same time, the narrative focuses on making bonds and working through difficulties.

Again, Klages places the personal stories of two teens in the process of self-discovery and identity formation in a complex web of social issues. The difference is that the girls are now older - no longer just observers, they must make their own decisions on how they will respond to perceived injustices.

The book captures the feel of the times - from the excitement of progress and the allure of the 'amazing atomic age' to craving for a kind of stability where 'everyone knows their place' in response to the turmoil of war, to the growth of the subtle paranoia that would characterise the Cold War era of the 50s.

A most enjoyable book, with two very engaging characters. I wish Klages had written more books showing Dewey and Suze growing into young women - I find myself wondering what they would have become.