The Atomic City Girls

The Atomic City Girls

by JanetBeard (Author)

Synopsis

In November 1944, eighteen-year-old June Walker boards an un-marked bus, destined for a city that doesn't officially exist: Oak Ridge, Tennessee-a town of trailers and segregated houses, twenty-four-hour cafeterias, and constant security checks. There, June joins hundreds of other young women operating massive machines whose purpose is never explained.

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 share-cropper 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.

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.

$21.07

Quantity

20+ in stock

More Information

Format: Large Print
Pages: 464
Edition: Large type / large print edition
Publisher: HarperLuxe
Published: 30 Jan 2018

ISBN 10: 0062791702
ISBN 13: 9780062791702

Media Reviews
Suspenseful and intriguing...explores an aspect of the Manhattan Project long shrouded in secrecy, bringing to light an important chapter of World War II history. --Jennifer Chiaverini, New York Times bestselling author of Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker
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 Flight
Both page-turning and illuminating, The Atomic City Girls brings to life an eerie piece of world history. --Madeline Miller, author of The Song of Achilles
Beard has taken a project of momentous impact and injected a human element into it. [...] This is approachable, intelligent, and highly satisfying historical fiction. --Booklist (starred review)
The Atomic City Girls explores love, war and patriotism, forcing the reader to consider the devastating effects of Hiroshima. Once readers learn that Beard's own aunt was one of the workers, the intimate knowledge and specific details of Oak Ridge come to life even more. --San Francisco Chronicle