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The Atomic City Girls A Novel Janet Beard Books

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The Atomic City Girls A Novel Janet Beard Books

I read alot and love historical novels even if they are fiction but was really disappointed with this book. The plot sounded fascinating as is the history of Oak Ridge and the author did a decent job at incorporating facts and information about the place that I found really fascinating. She did a good job at painting a picture of the place and what it must have been like for some to work there.

My issue is with the characters. They were uninteresting, superficial, shallow and boring. The most interesting characters to me were Joe, Ralph, Shirley and Joe's family because they had more depth and talked about real issues. June was so annoying to me and didn't seem to develop much as a character. Sam was a jerk, despite the author's attempt to convey the personal crisis he was undergoing. Cici was useless, not much point to her at all. There was no resolution to their characters or the back stabbing by Cici or justice for Ralph's death, and I felt like the author just threw in anecdotes about their lives after Oak Ridge to quickly tie up loose ends and make up for the fact she didn't think that far ahead.

Too bad as it could have been a phenomenal novel.


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The Atomic City Girls A Novel Janet Beard Books Reviews

After reading The Girls of Atomic City The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II, I was eager to read more about Oak Ridge and the people who worked there. Unfortunately, not that many books have been written about the people however this historical fiction book looked promising. I'll admit I had some issues with the book, but overall I'm glad I read it.

The author did a good job weaving historical facts into the story. Some of the details might not seem significant such as all of the mud or the massive lines and shortage of food at the commissary but they did help contribute to painting the picture of what life was like at Oak Ridge. The character of Joe at times didn't seem to fit in with the rest of the story but I'm glad he was included because it showed the vast differences in living and working conditions for white vs. black workers.

Unfortunately the fictional story just was not very strong. While the book title implies the story is about women, in reality the story lines were split between two women and two men. Cici's story was definitely the weakest of the four and I feel like her sole purpose was just to create unnecessary drama.

***SPOILER ALERT***

I actually had a really big problem with Sam telling June they were building an atomic bomb at Oak Ridge. I was willing to buy the fact he was drunk the first time, but him continuing to discuss it with her in great detail when he was sober just really rubbed me the wrong way. I realize that not everyone probably kept their mouths shut about the project and that some of the workers suspected some type of bomb was being made there. However, to have one of the scientist characters who would have been one of the very few who had knowledge of the project blab everything to his girlfriend felt like some cheap plot device. There are so few books written about Oak Ridge, do we really need a story about a worker's lack of integrity? I'll admit this isn't something that will probably annoy readers as much as it did me.

So yes, I did have some problems with the book but it is by no means the worst historical fiction book ever. It's just an average read, but that's disappointing because what the men and women accomplished at Oak Ridge is a significant and I wish this book would have been a better reflection of their interesting stories.
While there is more romance here than you would typically find in a historical fiction novel, it is through those different stories that you begin to understand the Oak Ridge project. What was it like to be a scientist on the project? What about people who worked on the construction of the project? How were African Americans treated differently?
Overall, an easy and quick read on a subject that I knew nothing about.
I 100% agree with Regina Sarnicola's review. My grandmother was one of the 'Atomic City Girls'. I wanted to gain some insight on that part of her life and I wanted to like the book. It was well written as far as including facts. But I didn't like any of the characters, except Joe. June, the heroine, was weak. I think the point was to see her become strong, but that didn't actually happen until the last chapter which seemed too little too late. And Cici was an abominable waste of a life and she never changed. And I don't even fully understand why Sam had a drinking problem. it was an issue long before he got to Oak Ridge and started working on the bomb. He was, apparently, just a weak person who couldn't deal with normal life problems. And I especially hated how June always let him have his way with her when she didn't like it. She basically let him rape her because she was not fully consenting. She was just too weak to say no. I don't have to have everything all tied up with pretty bows and a happy ending, but it would have been nice to see the characters grow as people. And I don't feel that happened. The characters live mostly parallel lives for 99% of the book. In a very brief moment at the end of the book all their lives touch. But it is so brief that I was a little disappointed there was so much build up with so little actual meeting of the characters. When all was said and done, I finished the book feeling depressed. I wish I could say it was because of the subject matter, but it truly was because I disliked the characters so much.
Very good book with lots of history. Interesting reading about the different groups of people and their role in developing the nuclear bomb. And the way of life and how US government played huge role. I highly recommend this book.
I had to read this book twice to realize the actual experience of creating and manufacturing the bomb that ended World War Two at the same time our president died, and kept it a secret- something likely impossible today. The author did an excellent job with the history and included real pictures of the factory during the story. At the end of the book, there is a notation of actual history with the story of the book which is fascinating.
I read alot and love historical novels even if they are fiction but was really disappointed with this book. The plot sounded fascinating as is the history of Oak Ridge and the author did a decent job at incorporating facts and information about the place that I found really fascinating. She did a good job at painting a picture of the place and what it must have been like for some to work there.

My issue is with the characters. They were uninteresting, superficial, shallow and boring. The most interesting characters to me were Joe, Ralph, Shirley and Joe's family because they had more depth and talked about real issues. June was so annoying to me and didn't seem to develop much as a character. Sam was a jerk, despite the author's attempt to convey the personal crisis he was undergoing. Cici was useless, not much point to her at all. There was no resolution to their characters or the back stabbing by Cici or justice for Ralph's death, and I felt like the author just threw in anecdotes about their lives after Oak Ridge to quickly tie up loose ends and make up for the fact she didn't think that far ahead.

Too bad as it could have been a phenomenal novel.