The Longest Night by Andria Williams

Love, love, loved this book!!!

In 1959, Paul and his young family are transferred to Idaho Falls. We meet them on their two week plus hot car ride across the country.  You will feel hot and sweaty and grubby until they stop for a swim.  Then, you will feel refreshed, and be glad for the swim.

When they arrive in Idaho Falls,  Paul will begin work at the nuclear reactor-one of the first in the United States, and Nat will raise their two girls and take care of things at home. Unfortunately, Paul discovers some dangerous conditions at the reactor, but is under pressure not to report them, and Nat discovers other ways to combat her loneliness and boredom.  Told from alternating points of view, mostly Paul’s and Nat’s, and based on a real situation at a small nuclear reactor in Idaho Falls in 1961, The Longest Night endeavors to bring to light some of the fascinating early American nuclear history.

Here is what I liked:  I love Nat as a mother, balancing expectations of her as a military wife with what she believes is best for her young children.  She is modern in her approach to parenting and yet is wonderfully 1950s as well. Paul reminds me of a boss I once had, a retired Navy man, who led with great organization and attentiveness to reporting and a patient kindness that we see in Paul with his children.  Both Paul and Nat struggle with what the right thing to do is, and both feel the repercussions of their struggle, and ultimately their choices.  The Longest Night was a page turner for me–on hand for every free minute!