Book Summary and Reviews of Atomic Love by Jennie Fields

Book Summary

Love. Desire. Betrayal. Her choice could save a nation.

Chicago, 1950. Rosalind Porter has always defied expectations--in her work as a physicist on the Manhattan Project and in her passionate love affair with colleague Thomas Weaver. Five years after the end of both, her guilt over the bomb and her heartbreak over Weaver are intertwined. She desperately misses her work in the lab, yet has almost resigned herself to a more conventional life.

Then Weaver gets back in touch--and so does the FBI. Special Agent Charlie Szydlo wants Roz to spy on Weaver, whom the FBI suspects of passing nuclear secrets to Russia. Roz helped to develop these secrets and knows better than anyone the devastating power such knowledge holds. But can she spy on a man she still loves, despite her better instincts? At the same time, something about Charlie draws her in. He's a former prisoner of war haunted by his past, just as her past haunts her.

As Rosalind's feelings for each man deepen, so too does the danger she finds herself in. She will have to choose: the man who taught her how to love ... or the man her love might save?

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. Rosalind Porter is an independent, intelligent woman trying to make a difference in a male- dominated field. Do you relate to Rosalind's societal struggles? If so, how?
2. What was your reaction upon learning about Rosalind's upbringing? How do you think this shaped her into the woman she became? How about Louisa?
3. Who did you empathize with or relate to the most in the novel?
4. How does World War II affect each character, specifically Rosalind, Weaver, and Szydlo? What similarities can you draw? What differences?
5. On page 104, Zeke tells Rosalind, "I'm afraid I'll never love a man as much as I love you." How do you feel about their friendship? Do you have a Zeke in your life? A Rosalind?
6. How do you feel ...