The Atomic City Girls

A Novel

By: Janet Beard

Narrated by: Xe Sands

Length: 8 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

In the best-selling 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, 18-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.

©2018 Janet Beard (P)2018 HarperCollins Publishers

A disappointing read

Was hoping for more of the "historical" viewpoint. Not a fan of the "tawdry cheap novel" chapters that drag out the story. Great narrator.

Just Blah

Really wanted to give the book a chance but honestly with the exception of Joe none of the characters are likable. The way the story is written drones on, you just don’t get invested in any of the characters. Xe Sands did as good as possible with the story. Probably wouldn’t recommend to others though

Historical Fiction is the Best

I loved how all the stories tied in together. Of course, there could have been more going on with Joe and his family, the struggles he and his friends faced with racial discrimination in the work place. But overall, it brought me to a time my grandparents lived and experienced. My grandfather was a POW of WWII. I'm sure he thought what he was doing for the war was the right thing to do. I can't imagine the pain and suffering he must have went through those years in his young life.

Book club pick

I must confess...I only “read” this book because it was my book club’s pick for this month. I was pleasantly surprised, however, as I really enjoyed the story.

Best narration!!

This book is very good, but this is the best narration I’ve ever heard for an audiobook!! Xe did amazing in her transition from male to female to narrator!
This is a great historical tale leading up to the bombings in Japan that ended WWII.

A STORY TOO LONG UNKNOWN TO US

First I am from Maryville Tn and all my life I have heard stories about the BOMB and Oak Ridge. Until now I had no idea what was really going on. This book gave an excellent tutorial on the process . I laughed when June said she was from MARYVILLE. The people in East Tn say MUR VUL.

Enjoyable but nothing to write home about.

Interesting premise. Lagged in the middle. But stick for the epilogue. Nice to have a new environment for these chic lit war stories.

Good book

Title is a little misleading. It follows the story of just as many men as it does women. Still good stores and fascinating information. The narrator can mumble sometimes but isn’t bad at all. Glad I listened, will probably listen again!

My Oak Ridge Home

My family moved to Oak Ridge when I was four years old in 1951. My father, a pathologist in research, took a job at Y-12, the central laboratory in this book when the town was opening up to the world. He still had to show ID at the security gates to approach the lab, and once again to enter the lab itself, and I remember the how guards scrutinized his badge carefully all the while chatting away with this young scientist whom they knew well. By the time I went to elementary school, all of us at school had parents working at one of the three labs in town, but we never asked what our parents did because their work was often still top secret! My father specialized in radiation research with the Marshall Islands project and traveled to Japan and the regions surrounding it where fallout from the bombs affected the health of the populations--something I really didn't understand until I was much older.
I found the story of the beginnings of my hometown fascinating. The description of WWII secrecy and the urgency to end the war was gripping. Xe Sands style of narration was spot on, as it always is. I heartily recommend the book.

Started slow, but got better

Characters could have had more background to add to a story that dragged until about 1/2 way through. Had a good surprise ending.