Michelle Shocklee: The Women of OakRidge

By Kelly Bridgewater

In the hills of Tennessee, two women work at a Manhattan Project site during World War II and uncover truths that irrevocably change their lives in this captivating new story from award-winning Southern fiction author Michelle Shocklee.

1944. Maebelle Willett arrives in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, eager to begin her new government job and send money home to her impoverished family. She knows little about the work she will be doing, but she’s told it will help America win the war. Not all is what it seems, however. Though Oak Ridge employees are forbidden from discussing their jobs, Mae’s roommate begins sharing disturbing information, then disappears without a trace. Mae desperately attempts to find her but instead comes face-to-face with a life-altering revelation—one that comes at significant cost.

1979. Laurel Willett is a graduate student in Boston when she learns about the history of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, where thousands unknowingly worked on the atomic bomb. Intrigued because she knows her Aunt Mae was employed there, Laurel decides to spend the summer with her aunt, hoping to add a family connection to her thesis research. But Mae adamantly refuses to talk about her time in the Secret City. Mae’s friends, however, offer to share their experiences, propelling Laurel on her path to uncovering the truth about a missing woman. As Laurel works to put the pieces together, the hidden pain and guilt Mae has tried so hard to bury comes to light . . . with potentially disastrous consequences. 

 

My Thoughts:

The Women of Oak Ridge by Michelle Shocklee is a unique look into the Manhattan Project during World War II. Most students who have studied World War II have learned about the Manhattan Project, but never heard about a little town that helped create the atomic bomb. Readers will enjoy how Shocklee takes the stories of characters who actually worked and dealt with the issues there and brought it to the forefront of their knowledge. The characters' struggle and defeat were realistic and harrowing. Mae's story will keep readers' guessing and wondering what really happened. I couldn't read fast enough. I really want to know what happened. Why did it affect her so much? What happened to her? Shocklee laid out a wonderful story, and I felt engrossed in the plot. This story reminded me a lot of her story The Tulip Tree, that I absolutely loved and still think about today. I recommend this story and hope others love it as well as I did.

I received a complimentary copy of The Women of Oak Ridge of Michelle Shocklee from Tyndale Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Purchase The Women of Oak Ridge

Favorite Books of 2024

 By Kelly Bridgewater

Here are my favorite books of 2024: (All images come from Goodreads.) 

Majority of these books were non-stop action, which I need to make a good story. Meyer and Raybon surprised me with their unique, yet lovable story lines. Shocklee's story tore at my heart, and I have recommended it to a number of people to read. I have put Under the Tulip Tree on my Christmas Wish List. I can't wait to dive into it again. 

One Last Chance by Susan May Warren

One Last Stand by Susan May Warren

Fury by Ronie Kendig and Steffanie Webb

For a Lifetime by Gabrielle Meyer

Truth be Told by Patricia Raybon

Under the Tulip Tree by Michelle Shocklee

Quell the Nightingale by Michelle Israel Harper

Of Gold and Shadows by Michelle Griep

A Hope Unburied By Kimberley Woodhouse

70 North by Kimberley Woodhouse

I would love to know if you read these books, what did you think?

Michelle Shocklee: All We Thought We Knew

 By Kelly Bridgewater

She was so sure she knew her family’s story . . . Now she wonders if she was wrong about all of it.

1969. When Mattie Taylor’s twin brother was killed in Vietnam, she lost her best friend and the only person who really understood her. Now, news that her mother is dying sends Mattie back home, despite blaming her father for Mark’s death. Mama’s last wish is that Mattie would read some old letters stored in a trunk, from people Mattie doesn’t even know. Mama insists they hold the answers Mattie is looking for.

1942. Ava Delaney is picking up the pieces of her life following her husband’s death at Pearl Harbor. Living with her mother-in-law on a secluded farm in Tennessee is far different than the life Ava imagined when she married only a few short months ago. Desperate to get out of the house, Ava seeks work at a nearby military base, where she soon discovers the American government is housing Germans who they have classified as enemy aliens. As Ava works to process legal documents for the military, she crosses paths with Gunther Schneider, a German who is helping care for wounded soldiers. Ava questions why a man as gentle and kind as Gunther should be forced to live in the internment camp, and as they become friends, her sense of the injustice grows . . . as do her feelings for him. Faced with the possibility of losing Gunther, Ava must choose whether loving someone deemed the enemy is a risk worth taking, even if it means being ostracized by all those around her.

In the midst of pain and loss two women must come face-to-face with their own assumptions about what they thought they knew about themselves and others. What they discover will lead to a far greater appreciation of their own legacies and the love of those dearest to them.

 

My Thoughts:

All We Thought We Knew by Michelle Shocklee combines the world of World War II and the Vietnam war. This is definitely a unique and different perspective. I have not read many stories about the Vietnam war. My uncles do not like to talk about it, so I know they do not want to share the horrors that they had to endure. I know this was the Hippie era where there were many protests across America and college campus. But other than that, I really did not know much about this time period. I would have liked to see more of a justification for Mattie not wanting her brother and friend, Nash, to join the Marines to go fight in Vietnam. It was covered, but slightly. I wanted a little more depth to this aspect of the novel. This is a timeslip novel, so there is two time periods that depend on each other in order to solve the mystery by the end of the story. A little bit of romance in both periods. A horse farm as the setting and a camp in other. Shocklee does a wonderful job at bringing the settings to my imagination. Overall, All We Thought We Knew by Michelle Shocklee ventures into the Vietnam War Era and ties a thread to the World War II era. From heroic characters to characters with doubts, Shocklee invites readers into a world of questioning why readers believe what they believe. It is okay to dive deeper to cement pre-conceived ideas.

I received a complimentary copy of All We Thought We Knew by Michelle Shocklee from  Tyndale Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating:  3.5 out of 5 stars

Purchase All We Thought We Knew

Most Anticipated Historical Romance

 By Kelly Bridgewater

Books that I can't wait to read this Fall. 

(All covers come from Goodreads.)

The Clovertone Charade by Sara E. Ladd

A Token of Love by Carrie Turansky

Of Gold and Shadows by Michelle Griep

Specters in the Glass House by Jaime Jo Wright

All We Thought We Knew by Michelle Shocklee

Waiting for Christmas by Lynn Austin

Across the Ages by Gabrielle Meyer

Seaside Homecoming by Julie Klassen

Cloaked in Beauty by Karen Witmeyer

What about you? Any covers capture your fancy?