The Speed of Light in Air, Water, and Glass

Laura Scalzo's heroine Julia in The Speed of Light in Air, Water, and Glass is a lover of fractals, those patterns in nature that look just the same from close up as they do from far away. "A fractal is a thing that's itself over and over again, forever," Julia explains, speaking of herself as much as of science. It's a perfect image for a book that flowers in a similar way, as three distinct stories--of a young girl who feels abandoned by her father, a boy searching for a lost grandfather, and a kind of Japanese princess who points the way ahead--find echoes in each other and in larger narratives from history books. But the real power of Scalzo's book is in its sentences--lyrical and insightful--which sweetly convey the thoughts and hopes and dreads of a young girl who figures out a way to shed old patterns of being and turn herself into something brand new.

--Vince Bzdek, Editor-in-Chief, Colorado Springs Gazette, and author of The Kennedy Legacy and Woman of the House.

In this beautifully written novel, Laura Scalzo manages to make sense of both twenty-first century teenagers and a fifty-year-old covert war. Every word rings true.

--Hunter Bennett, author of The Prodigal Rogerson

Julia is a wonderful character! She's awed by the universe and Walt Whitman, annoyed by her parents, and challenged by a mystery. In one tumultuous week she delves into the history of the Vietnam War, medieval Japan, and nineteenth century Washington, D.C. and the physics of fractals. Laura Scalzo skillfully weaves historical figures and an array of present-day characters into a sometimes funny, sometimes poignant, always fascinating novel.

--Deborah Johnson, Barstons Child's Play