The Gadget

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Summary: An exciting recreation of the events at Los Alamos in 1945.
Review: After living in London for most of World War II, Stephen is finally able to join his father, an American scientist, at Los Alamos, New Mexico, in February of 1945. At first Stephen is able to simply accept the secrecy of the work going on - but after an accident, he begins to question the veil of secrecy, for things are strange at Los Alamos. An unusually warm stream nearby is filled with two-headed toads. When he questions the victim of the accident, he is told of the mysterious "gadget" - a weapon that could cause the very sky to burn. This knowledge only makes Stephen more determined to find out what is going on. This determination could cost Stephen his life. Because the weapon that is being developed at Los Alamos will change the world forever. And there are people who would kill to find out what it is. This was a faced-past, suspenseful novel that recreated the events at Los Alamos, New Mexico, in 1945, as the age of nuclear weapons began.

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Summary: Gadget Review by Evan
Review: I found this book a very interesting book. I liked how the author started off the story in London, showing the attack and all the information to get you caught up. Then when he moves the story to the military base in New Mexico, I found it easy to tell what was going on in the base, it was very descriptive. The author also made you wait a while until you found out what kind of project Stephens father was working on. Also when you meet Alexei you don't think anything is going on, just that he is an ordinary kid. So I like how he kind of hid things from you until he felt like he would let you know.
Also when he tells the historical events that are happening outside of the story it gave me a better sense of what time it was. And when you find out what the "Gadget" is you understand why the man in the hospital gave Stephen the sunglasses. Also, the author gave all the attacks on Japan and how effective the gadget was, which showed how many people were killed by only 4 men. The author also used foreshadowing when the maid told Stephen she thought Alexei was a spy, and he ended up trying to kill Stephen because he found out he was a spy. You also learn about the relationship the Stephen didn't have with his father so he found other people in the base that he could love.
He also she shows how the war was affecting everybody all over the world, even when the war was only going on between 3 countries. Over all I would recommend this book to people who like a good suspense or historical story. Go read this book and right a review.

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Summary: This buk waz the best buk ive evr red
Review: i lovd ths buk. it waz the best book evr. when i red it i was so happy. it has a lot of action, and its abot a boy in his tens. he goes to new mexiko. this buk was very gud for cids mi age. pleese red ths buk. i red thic buk with mi clasz. thy all licked it. ...

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Summary: The Book
Review: I really enjoyed reading about World War II and Hitler. I read The Gadget in an advanced reading class, this book is mostly geared toward boys in general.I was surprised when someone turned out to be a spy. If you are going to buy this book I actually wouldn't pay [very much money for it]. I would rather get the book from the library than pay for it. The book doesn't last long enough for me. I didn't quite understand what 'The Gadget' in the story was. If you like reading about history and spies this book might be right for you.

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Summary: What I thought of The Gadget
Review: I thought this book was a great historical fiction book to be read in all good schools. It taught me about Hitler and his army. There were spies that couldn't be trusted that lived right down the street pretending to be Stephen's friends. It was an exciting book because Stephen always wanted to know what his father was doing when he kept leaving in the morning with big trucks. When he finally found out the secret, he and his friends went to the site where the bomb was going to be launched and were nearly killed...

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Summary: Mom's perspective
Review: My 4th grader chose this book for a "realistic fiction" book report. I read it as well. I was a little surprised by what I thought was a mismatch between the level at which the book is written and the content. I think my 4th grader (10 year old boy) is still too young to really appreciate the content, but that his reading level is beyond the book. I guess I am just not sure who the book is for -- it seems too easy and simply-written for the age of child who would appreciate it best. But maybe as a quick read for, say, a 7th grader, it is just right.

I think if this book report wasn't due tomorrow, we should have picked a different book. Nevertheless, I thought The Gadget was a good introduction to a discussion with my son about The Bomb and about World War II history. As others have written, it is suspenseful and gives a somewhat balanced perspective on the pros and cons of having the weapon (within the limitations of the time at which the story takes place, the genre of the book, intended audience, etc.). There are also some short bios at the end of the key figures involved in the conception and design of the bomb, as well as a WWII time line. (I was disappointed by some sloppy production issues in the paperback: my son noticed at one point that Stephen was spelled 'Steven' with a 'v'. On the back cover it mentions a friend named "Tilanov" when the friend's name is Alexei Nagavatsky. Where did that come from?)

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Summary: The Gadget
Review: My Book The Gadget was a good book I would recomded this book to someone who like a action book. This book was about a 13 boy who was sent to the war to help his dad. His name was Stephen he was sent from war-torn England so he could help his father, his fathers is becomeing really obcess with the Gadget. What is the Gadget if you want to know what the Gadget is you have to read it a fine out.

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Summary: Reasonably balanced -- which is saying a lot these days.
Review: Political correctness has invaded children's literature in a big way. If you have any doubts about that, peruse the "new books" shelf in the juvenile section of your local library.

That's why it was refreshing to see that Zindel provided a reasonably balanced presentation of the pros and cons of the use of the A-bomb to end the war. The protagonist, young Stephen, was used by Zindel to give the "con" view (not completely realistically; it's unlikely that a child would immediately grasp all the implications and give all the usual suggestions about alternatives to using the bomb -- making a "demonstration drop" in the ocean, for example). But the character of Stephen's father was used to expound the reasons the bomb, horrible as it was, needed to be used.

My own view is that the use of the bomb was necessary and justifiable. But whether the young readers of this book agree with me or not, I am pleased that they are being given something to think about -- rather than being fed blatant propaganda.

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Summary: The Gadget
Review: Stephen, his mother, and cousin were living in London when the Germans bombed their home city of London. Stephen?s father, a physicist, had been in Los Alamos on a top-secret military base. After the German bombing raid, Stephen was sent to stay on the base with his father. At the base Stephen met a boy named Alexei, and they soon became good friends. Since Stephen had arrived at the base he felt something was going on and he took many chances to find out the truth. He narrowly escaped from an attempted kidnapping with the help of his friend Alexei. They eventually follow military trucks to a bomb testing area and experience the base?s secret first hand, an atomic bomb that the base physicists were working on. When Stephen heard that the war ended, he ran to Alexei?s house, which was off base, he accidentally finds out that Alexei and his family were spies. A chase ensues between Stephen and Alexei and his father; in the end Stephen is safe, Alexei is hit by a train and killed, and his father and associates are taken away. Stephen learned more than he bargained for in his quest for answers.
I enjoyed this book from the first page to the last. I found it interesting because it related to topic we were studying in school. The book, The Gadget, is a great story about a boy in search for answers and the struggles and hardships he faced along the way. The book is very descriptive and allowed me to visualize the events and settings. I felt the tension, worry, and other emotions along with the main character.
I would definitely recommend The Gadget, to anyone because it was suspenseful from the beginning to the end; I had a hard time putting it down. This book grabbed my attention and never let go. The story of Stephen and the chances and adventures he took to find the secret of the base fascinated me. The answers he found shocked me; the base secret was a hidden atomic bomb, and Alexei and his family being spies. If you are looking for adventure, suspense, and surprise in your reading, you should definitely consider reading The Gadget.

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Summary: what i thought...a kid'z view
Review: The "Gadget" by Paul Zindell is the story about a boy named Stephen. Stephen lived in England with his mother adn his cousin. while ventureing out one night Stephen adn his cousin find then selves in the middle of a bomb attack. Unfortunatly, stephens cousin is killed. Stephen survived.After the attack, Stephen is sent to Los Alamos which is in the states to be with his father. His father is one of the top scientist working on a top secret project, controlled by the goverment. while at the camp army base, Stephen meets a boy about his age. they become good friends and go to seek the answer to the secret gadget.what they find out changed them forever in more than one way. i didn't really like this book because for the fact that it wasnt't detailed enough for me and it's plot was very simple, predictable and common. But one thing I did like about it was that thgere was a lot of historical facts in it...