The Atomic City Girls
Books | Fiction / Historical / 20th Century / World War II
3.3
(168)
Janet Beard
"The Atomic City Girls is a fascinating and compelling novel about a little-known piece of WWII history."—Maggie Leffler, international bestselling author of The Secrets of FlightIn the bestselling tradition of Hidden Figures and The Wives of Los Alamos, comes this riveting novel of the everyday people who worked on the Manhattan Project during World War II.In November 1944, eighteen-year-old June Walker boards an unmarked bus, destined for a city that doesn’t officially exist. Oak Ridge, Tennessee has sprung up in a matter of months—a town of trailers and segregated houses, 24-hour cafeterias, and constant security checks. There, June joins hundreds of other young girls operating massive machines whose purpose is never explained. They know they are helping to win the war, but must ask no questions and reveal nothing to outsiders. The girls spend their evenings socializing and flirting with soldiers, scientists, and workmen at dances and movies, bowling alleys and canteens. June longs to know more about their top-secret assignment and begins an affair with Sam Cantor, the young Jewish physicist from New York who oversees the lab where she works and understands the end goal only too well, while her beautiful roommate Cici is on her own mission: to find a wealthy husband and escape her sharecropper roots. Across town, African-American construction worker Joe Brewer knows nothing of the government’s plans, only that his new job pays enough to make it worth leaving his family behind, at least for now. But a breach in security will intertwine his fate with June’s search for answers. When the bombing of Hiroshima brings the truth about Oak Ridge into devastating focus, June must confront her ideals about loyalty, patriotism, and war itself.
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More Details:
Author
Janet Beard
Pages
384
Publisher
HarperCollins
Published Date
2018-02-06
ISBN
006266672X 9780062666727
Ratings
Google: 5
Community ReviewsSee all
"This story showed me the secret world of Oak Ridge where workers were unaware of the bomb they were creating. There’s some romance and personal drama throughout on top of the creation of the atomic bomb, and it was a very exciting read. I was waiting to see how romantic relationships would end up, and I was interested in the history behind the atomic bomb."
"Very good character development. Not many authors these days still write in third person and can allow the reader to really feel like they're with the character's POV. However, the plot was pretty predictable, especially in terms of the relationships between the characters. <br/><br/>Overall, still a very good read.<br/><br/>"
"Amazing!!! Loved it! "
J H
Julie Hurtt
"Disappointed in this one, gave up about halfway in. Wanted to read The Girls of Atomic City, but my parents had purchased this thinking it would be similar. Going to tell them to go with GoAC instead. The real history in this one is more my jam, especially since my grandmother spent some time there."
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