Atomic Hearts

A Novel

By: Megan Cummins

Narrated by: Helen Laser

“A nuclear blast to the emotional core . . . Part teenage summer fling, part family tragedy, Megan Cummins’s debut is the most exquisitely written, bighearted journey into friendship, addiction, and the frustrations that come with parenting our parents.”—Nick Fuller Googins, author of The Great Transition

I’d been raised on secrets, I knew they weren’t a good idea.

Sixteen and living in a small Michigan town, Gertie is harboring a secret heavy enough to fracture her closest friendship. She and Cindy have been bonded since birth by the fact their fathers are addicts, and their unsteady home lives are a little easier when they’re together, sprawled on a trampoline with pilfered vodka and dreams of moving to New York.

Everything was changing so fast. I didn’t know what was real.

After an accident involving a bonfire and an aerosol canister sends Gertie to the hospital, she finds herself with nowhere to go but to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to live with her newly sober father. She sees it as a chance to escape the hometown drama she’s caused, but drama finds her all the same: parties without curfews, boys without boundaries, a compromising photo, tragedy back home . . . and her father, once again teetering on the edge of oblivion. Terrified of the consequences of being honest with Cindy, her sole refuge is the fantasy novel she’s writing, a portal to another world and the story of a young girl roaming a strange land, trusting her wits to survive.

I had to become a different, stronger person before I’d even figured out who I was in the first place.

Years later, when ghosts of the past surface, Gertie decides to write again about that explosive summer from the stabler shores of adulthood. Powered by the fierce imagination of her youth, Gertie finally allows herself the grace to tell a version of her narrative that she always hoped would be true.

Written with the feel and power of a ticking time bomb, Atomic Hearts is an unforgettable story of the ways we can be saved by friendship, love, and imagination.

Phenomenal book, phenomenal audio performance

This is the most entertaining and beautiful novel I’ve read all year. Within the first ten minutes I was completely in love with the main characters, felt for them, wanted to protect them, wanted to see them overcome their problems and insecurities. How did the author get me to buy into the story so quickly? I’m going to listen to it again to see if I can figure out its magic. The author has another book of short stories called IF THE BODY ALLOWS IT that was also a phenomenal read, some similar themes. Love this writer.

It's OK

This isn't a bad book but it simply wasn't my cup of tea. The writing is fine, as is the pacing. Because there were so many "issues du jour" in the story, the book was a bit unfocused.