Book Review: The Women of Oak Ridge by Michelle Shocklee

 

The Women of Oak Ridge by Michelle Shocklee
5 Stars
A Favorite Book of 2025

Wow, what can I say? My first Michelle Shocklee book and not my last because WOW - 5 STAR FAV book for me y'all. Michelle truly brought Oak Ridge to life. I grew up near Oak Ridge. I attended community college there. My first job was there. My husband attended Oak Ridge High School. So many memories. As someone so familiar with the history and town, I appreciated the way she told this story. A piece of my heart will always belong to East Tennessee, and I’m grateful Michelle chose to write about it. I can't wait to attend one of her upcoming book tour signings!

The Lord really put this book in my path as someone who primarily reviews Christian Fiction books, this book being a Christian Fiction with a beautiful faith thread, all about a city very close to my hometown, was perfection for me. 

This is a Christian Historical Fiction, dual timeline in 1944 and 1979. In 1944, we follow Maebelle Willett, who arrives in Oak Ridge, Tennessee to start her new Government job at K-25, one of the major facilities built in Oak Ridge during WWII as part of the Manhattan Project. It was a massive uranium enrichment plant that contributed to the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945. Of course, no one knows this at the time Mae goes to work for K-25. Everyone is told to keep quiet and Oak Ridge isn't even on the map - it was the "secret city" for a reason...We follow Mae's employment at K-25 with her roommate when one day, her roommate Sissy goes missing. Mae starts to investigate when her boyfriend Clive isn't all that he seems....

Then we have 1979 - Mae's niece Laurel Willett, who is a graduate student in Boston and she is writing thesis research on the history of Oak Ridge, hoping to add a family connection to it when she learns her Aunt Mae worked at K-25 during WWII. But Mae doesn't want to discuss her time working in the secret city....She starts putting all the pieces of the puzzle together with the handsome police officer there and gets closer with her Aunt along the way.

The way Michelle tied in the history of Oak Ridge and the city was great. I liked her mentioning actual street names I was familiar with, Big Ed's Pizza (which we all LOVED growing up) and other parts of the history I remember so many talking about over the years. She also told the truth of the hard things that happened - didn't sugar coat it. That is so important in Historical Fiction to me so we can remember and learn from history.

Mae's journey was powerful, sad, heartbreaking, but the LORD was all over her story in the end. Oh how I loved the ending. We saw grace. Forgiveness. Mercy. I also love how this book is about an Aunt and her Niece. I have always loved spending time with my Dad's sisters when I could and that adds a layer of connection for me in this story. Seeing Laurel really grow with her family was also important. 

Overall, what more can I say? This Tennessee girl approves!! Highly recommend for a great historical fiction. This was my most anticipated release this year and I am so thankful for it.

Thank you to Tyndale House Publishers for a complimentary copy of this book to honestly read and review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

*content warning for abusive boyfriend mentioned, no detail shown, death mentioned of someone close to someone, grief mentioned, feeling of shame but Jesus takes it all - nothing explicit in nature in my opinion.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7711236122
Amazon: https://amzn.to/46sbfZs
Baker Book House: https://bakerbookhouse.com/products/638156

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