Atomic Family - by Ciera Horton McElroy (Hardcover)

About the Book

"A South Carolina family endures one life-shattering day in 1961 in a town that lies in the shadow of a nuclear bomb plant. It's November 1, 1961, in a small town in South Carolina, and nuclear war is coming. Nine-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 angry housewives-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"--

Book Synopsis

2023 VCU Cabell First Novelist Award Long List

2023 Book of the Year, Southern Literary Review

Named a 2023 Great Group read, Women's National Book Association

A South Carolina family endures one life-shattering day in 1961 in a town that lies in the shadow of a nuclear bomb plant.

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 angry housewives--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.

Review Quotes

"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."--STARRED Review, Publishers Weekly

"Atomic Family is a sharp portrait of a family unraveling under the pressure of the paranoia of the Cold War arms race"--Foreword Reviews

"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, New York Times bestselling author of The Last House on the Street

"An intensely moving and emotional book...a 24 hours where, for one family, everything implodes."--Historical Novel Society

"Atomic Family reminds us that it's the everyday moments that matter, as the novel shifts from the national and global to the deeply personal."--EcoLit Books

"Ciera Horton McElroy is a magician of prose and psychology. Atomic Family is a Mrs. Dalloway updated for the nuclear age, an intense excavation of memory, trauma, and hope. Her characters, so deeply felt, will whisper to you at night long after you finish the book."--Brenda Peynado, The Rock Eaters

"Atomic Family is a gorgeous, suspenseful story of the Cold War and of complicated characters living in the wake of the second Red Scare. Historically precise, but never a history lesson, the novel explores a series of moments as resonant and relevant to America today as they have ever been. A glorious debut announcing the arrival of an astonishing talent on the literary scene."--David James Poissant, Lake Life and The Heaven for Animals

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. Her work has appeared in AGNI, Bridge Eight, Iron Horse Literary Review, the Crab Orchard Review, and Saw Palm, among others. She currently lives in St. Louis with her husband and son.