Dewey Kerrigan and Suze Gordon are misfits on The Hill. Suze tries too hard to fit in, and Dewey goes her own way, mostly ignoring everyone else, as she creates her mechanical projects. When Dewey's dad is called to Washington, D.C., she moves in with Suze's family. After a few problems, they come to understand each other and even become friends.

The setting is the Manhattan Project. The girls parents are working on the development of the atom bomb. Klages has done a very good job of placing the characters at Los Alamos during the 1940s. There is a feeling of the importance of the work, but the story barely touches on the horrors of the atom bomb and the moral questions related to it.

The depth of feeling regarding the girls' characters is excellent. Dewey has major difficulties to face. Plus, she is an extraordinary girl at a time when girls were expected to do girlish things. There are also some enjoyable extras such as codes, comics, and Dewey's gadgets.

related-World War II, Los Alamos, Manhattan Project, 1940s, loss of parents, friendship, girls, invention, atom bomb, nuclear weapons, fission, United States history, scientists, historical fiction
RL=6th-YA