Ratings7
Average rating2.6
In November 1944, eighteen-year-old June Walker boards an unmarked bus, destined for a city that doesnt officially exist. Oak Ridge, Tennessee has sprung up in a matter of monthsa 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 governments 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 Junes 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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I liked this book a lot! I enjoyed learning about another lesser-known aspect of our history, and the role of women in that history. I've wondered before about the people that developed the bomb, and if they had any misgivings about the weapon, and in that respect I appreciated Sam's character in the book, even though he was a flawed individual. I appreciated the last chapter where the author wraps up all the stories with what became of these characters. Good read! Can't wait to discuss with book club next week!
I received this book for free as a member of the Book Club Girl Book Club from Harper Collins, and it was a great read.
A bit on the boring side but other than that a solid read.