How could being a good Samaritan and checking on your neighbor in a retirement community turn into a disaster even though Helen was used to being helpful as well as having disasters in her life?
BEFORE SHE WAS HELEN should be your next read because you never know what goes on in a retirement community.
A delightful read. 5/5
FULL REVIEW HERE.
PRAISE FOR ATOMIC FAMILY:
Publishers Weekly gave it a gorgeous starred review! "Powerful debut...McElroy writes with veracity about the effects of nuclear waste on the land and water, and brings to life the strange mix of terror and naivete of the era."
“Atomic Family is a wholly original, gripping, and stunningly crafted story of one family’s attempt to cope with the fears and uncertainty of the nuclear age. Ciera Horton McElroy captures the fragility of a young boy and his parents as they struggle with their own personal demons in the face of potential catastrophe. Atomic Family is as lyrical and assured as it is devastating.”—Diane Chamberlain, NYT bestselling author of The Last House on the Street
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ABOUT ATOMIC FAMILY:
It’s November 1, 1961, in a small town in South Carolina, and nuclear war is coming.
Ten-year-old Wilson Porter believes this with every fiber of his being.
He prowls his neighborhood for Communists and studies fallout pamphlets and the habits of his father, a scientist at the nuclear plant in town.
Meanwhile, his mother Nellie covertly joins an anti-nuclear movement led by women in town—and his father, Dean, must decide what to do with the damning secrets he’s uncovered at the nuclear plant.
When tragedy strikes, the Porter family must learn to confront their fears—of the world and of each other.
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MORE INFORMATION ABOUT ATOMIC FAMILY:
Debut novel from a powerful emerging voice: In addition to fiction published in a number of journals, Ciera has written for film and digital projects. In Atomic Family, shemasterfully evokes the early 1960s—the daily life of housewives on the edge of a revolution, as well as the fraught atmosphere of the duck-and-cover era.
Inspired by McElroy’s real-life family story: This impeccably researched story is inspired by McElroy’s grandfather, who was a nuclear physicist at an atomic plant in the
South in the 1960s. McElroy drew from a rich family history, photographs, declassified reports, and primary sources in crafting this novel.
An enduring and timeless environmental fiction: While a general audience will also enjoy this book, fans of Charlotte McNaughty’s Once There Were Wolves and Richard Powers’ The Overstory will find a new favorite eco-fiction novel in Atomic Family. Despite the book's Cold War setting, this narrative is increasingly relevant to a world combating environmental crisis.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Ciera Horton McElroy (b. 1995) was raised in Orlando, Florida. She holds a BA from Wheaton College and an MFA from the University of Central Florida.
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Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week.
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Emma @ Word and Peace
Serena @ Savvy Verse and Wit
Martha @ Reviews By Martha’s Bookshelf
On Wednesday, February 22, I received:
1. THE PARIS MAID by Ella Carey, courtesy of Bookouture and NetGalley.
