I have read many books set during WWII, but none have been anything like The Women of Oak Ridge. This book has a very original plot. Through its dual timeline in the 1940s and late 1970s, the story of Maebelle Willett slowly and carefully unfolds. We first meet young Maebelle as she answers President Franklin D. Roosevelt's call to serve her country after being approached by a recruiter to work for Clinton Engineer Works, a Tennessee company involved in war work. We meet Maebelle as an older version of herself as her niece comes to spend the summer with her to do research on how living and working in the secret city of Oak Ridge, Tennessee impacted the lives of those who, mostly unknowingly, helped in the making of the first atomic bombs, and therefore in the death and destruction that resulted. The Women of Oak Ridge becomes a story of spies and espionage, a story that reveals how easily lines between right and wrong can become blurred. It also reveals the toll secrets and unforgiveness, even if it is for ourselves, can take on one's life.
Michelle Shocklee's careful research and skillful storytelling is masterfully displayed in The Women of Oak Ridge. Her use of the dual timeline to reveal information that carries the story forward and develops her characters is carried out with great precision, intricately weaving the story together. I am grateful to have received a complimentary copy of this book from Tyndale House Publishers via NetGalley without obligation. All opinions expressed here are my own.
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