Opening of the book here. A little more of it over here.
(Note: there's a prequel story taking place in the same universe here that foreshadows the meteor, but doesn't seem to have much relevance otherwise in this world.)
Holy shit, this book! I finally got it from the library and OMG!
"If you haven't gathered by now, I don't do well with "helpless." -Elna York
This alternate history book starts out with a meteorite hitting Washington DC in 1952, wiping out most of the East Coast and pretty much all of the government, leaving the Secretary of Agriculture as the acting president. Our narrator, Elna York, is a pilot and math genius with two PhD's and her husband Nathaniel is lead engineer at their equivalent of NASA (now NACA). They managed to survive by being out of town and end up in Ohio, the first meteor refugees, and end up staying and becoming friends with Eugene and Myrtle Lindstrom, a black couple. This book does a good job of focusing on the racial aspects of the 1950's, with Elan realizing that without having made friends with the Lindstroms and later other women of color, it might not have even occurred to her that they were being ignored and neglected and shut out. For example, when the Lindstroms notice that nobody of color is getting rescued, they borrow Elna's plane to find a way to notify folks about coming out of hiding.
Elna does the math and realizes essentially that what just happened is an extinction level event--they're going to have a long winter for years, followed by eternal summer, global warming, ruined weather (her brother works in meteorology), and... well, they'd better prioritize GETTING THE HELL OFF THE PLANET BEFORE EVERYONE DIES. Hence this two book series on the space program in an alternate universe where space exploration REALLY had to be prioritized.
Most of this first book in a duology is dedicated to Elna and her pilot friends' work towards getting women accepted in the space program. (Remember, you're gonna need to have babies in space colonies!) She knows plenty of female pilots that can and should qualify, and she works as a computer (yeah, like Hidden Figures) for NACA along with her husband, working on launches. But Elna ends up catching the public eye--a near death experience here, a few guest appearances on "Mr. Wizard" there--and even though she's not an astronaut, people start calling her the "Lady Astronaut," and she really catches on among young girls. However, Elna's had issues with being in the public eye before as a teen math genius and throws up a lot when she's doing public appearances, and ends up taking Miltown (popular tranquilizer at the time) to take the edge off. If you've read enough astronaut memoirs like I have, you know that's a risk for her, and it is. More on that below the spoiler cut, though.
Elna's major rival in the book, besides the usual sexism and racism and whatnot, is Stetson Parker, the first man in space. Unfortunately, like a lot of dudes, he sexually harassed ladies, and Elna was a general's daughter, so she had the clout to report on him. He hates her and says he'll make sure she never gets in space, she usually can't stand him right back--but even he has some moments of humanity in between his hatred and folksy sexism. As the opposite to him, Elna's husband Nathaniel is just about perfect as a very enlightened guy who supports Elna no matter what.
Elna also has some awesome friends, such as the aforementioned Myrtle. I really loved Nicole Warner, the Senator's wife and pilot, who is glam and badass and sassy. She makes friends with cool ladies of color (though not Sarah Coleman, who gets a fed-up cameo early on) named Imogene and Ida, and her fellow computer Helen. She has some conflicts with Betty, a fellow pilot who has a journalism career and isn't averse to using Elna to boost hers. It's very interesting to see how the ladies use "feminine wiles" when they have to to survive socially in this climate. Elna is a Southern woman and every time she said "bless his heart,"I wanted to crack up. Nicole is also very good at playing the games. For example, the time when Elna's telling a story about how she did NOT get rescued by "our boys," but thwarted some German bad guys despite having no ammunition, and Parker claims that she must have been mistaken as to the plane she was dealing with being a Messerschmitt, and oh no, she wasn't lying, she just got excited and confused!
"Oh, Colonel Parker, you're so clever! Why, that must be just what happened." Laying my head on my bosom, I turned to Nicole. "Don't you think?"
She joined me, like the world's best wingman. "I'm sure you're right. And to think after all these years, we've been confused by the wreckage. Why, that prisoner must have lied about what kind of plane he was flying to make himself look good."
Anyway...this story is flat out badasss. I had to stop myself from immediately starting book 2 to write this review. Four and a half stars, near epic. I also appreciated the notes at the back about her research, her sources, and the slight historical changes. Damn, this book had to have been hard to write!
Spoiler space
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Oooooh, the scene where Elna thwarts Parker's trying to blackmail her about the Miltown by casually outing herself as having taken it--and then getting backed up by other male astronauts--Wow!
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