A review by chuckstafer
Atomic Anna by Rachel Barenbaum

challenging emotional hopeful mysterious reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This novel wasn't terrible by any means, but it was not great either. It was squarely in the middle for me. The premise was very fascinating: 3 generations of women working together to avoid catastrophe and reconnect over the years. But the story was just so long-winded I kept losing interest in the story. I think too much time was spent in the backstory and a bit more could have been spared for the work between the women to solve the Chornobyl disaster. The conclusion felt not necessarily rushed, but just kind of thrown together, and there was just no substance to it.

I did get invested in the characters at points and hoped they would accomplish their various tasks, but this novel just fell a little short for me.
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