THE ATOMIC CITY GIRLS by Janet Beard takes place during
the last part of WW2 when several lives collide in Oak
Ridge, Tennessee, the city that doesn't exist, at least
not officially.
For eighteen-year-old June Walker, the prospect of
working at Oak Ridge is a chance to get away from home. She
has no idea what she is actually doing at Oak Ridge other
than she's helping the war effort. As she starts an affair
with a
Jewish physicist, Sam Carter, she starts to realize
more and more what they are doing there. At the same
time, her roommate Cici is trying her hardest to find a
rich man and get away from her past life. African-
American construction worker Joe Brewer has left his
family behind since the job at Oak Ridge pays well, but
being away from his family is hard for him. All these
people have their own dreams and goals, but life isn't
always easy and things can change in a moment.
I found THE ATOMIC CITY GIRLS to be a very captivating
story. There were pictures from Oak Ridge added at the end
of every chapter, which was a plus. I really enjoyed
finishing a chapter and seeing visuals of Oak Ridge at the
end. As for the story, it was fascinating to read about all
these strangers whose lives get interwoven with each
other. Oak Ridge is a closed-off community, where most
people don't seem to
know what is going one. However, life must go on and I
was fascinated to get a picture of how it could have
been. It was with a bit of sadness that I closed the
book. I really came to like the characters and, even
though the ending felt like a closure, I was sad to see
them go.
In 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.
“What you see here, what you hear here, what you do
here, let it stay here.”
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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