Atomic Family is centered around a family of 3 living in a Southern Carolina small town near the nuclear power plant. Wilson, 10 years old and a product of a nuclear town's upbringing, is a copy-cat of his dad who works as a scientist at the plant, mimicking everything he does and reading every pamphlet about Communists and nuclear fallout. His dad, Dean, found out the plants dirty secret that he's not sure what to do with, and his mom, Nellie, joins a new anti-nuclear movement that is very popular with angry housewives.

This book is moving and powerful. The layers and complexities of the government, power, the truth and real fear about the Cold War aftermath and what a nuclear bomb might just mean for them was a lot to unravel. Dreams/nightmares reveal terrifying images their town after the bomb, and Wilson seems to take it on in a very real way. His parents see his paranoid signs but don't do anything about it until it's too late. It also made me feel as though I was living in the 6o's, with fascinating descriptions and details transporting me directly into that time.

Nellie was a character that I loved reading about. When she went on a shopping spree, pretending there was no trauma or trials, and fantasizing about walking into her home upon her return made me super emotional. (Especially knowing what happened what she was gone!) The love that Dean has for Wilson and his desire to do good gave me so my sympathy for his situation, and then sweet Wilson trying to make sense of the world around him had me wanting to reach into the book to hug him.

This is definitely not the happy redemptive ending I was hoping for, but it was a story of hope through trauma, and of a family that desperately wants to be seen and understood while dealing with their personal demons.

Overall, I give this book 4 stars!

Thank you NetGalley and RB Media for ALC of Atomic Family!

This family story set with a backdrop of the Cold War and the threat of atomic bombings was heart wrenching. This takes a very close look at what is important in family interactions and what things truly don’t matter in the grand scheme of life. The entirety of the book is told from 3 perspectives, mother -Nelly, father - Dean and son - Wilson, I found Wilson’s storyline to be most interesting and Nellys to be the most difficult to read as a mother of a young child myself. Dean grapples with what to do when you find your job to conflict with the morals you have -I found this subplot interesting. Overall I rate this 4.25 stars. The audio was also well done with multiple narrators for each perspective.

An enjoyable, quick read. Some books are exactly as long as they need to be, and this one found the perfect balance for the story being told. I got to know the characters enough to be moved by what they went through and, while I feel like there were some important things left up in the air by the ending, it didn't feel truncated or cut short.

I liked having two narrators for the adults, but I found it odd to have the same narrator for the child's sections. He did an excellent job with the voices but having a kid's POV come from a very grown man was a little jarring given how perfectly cast the parents were (that said, I probably would've been annoyed by a child narrator, so there's really no winning with that criticism...)

One of the disadvantages of reading as much as I do is that many books feel formulaic. Well, not this one. It's a fascinating reflection on life in the nuclear age and life in nuclear families. It would provide excellent discussion material for book groups, and the ending was amazing.


Review copy provided by publisher.