FALLOUT: A Novel

by Eleanor Ansthruther

250 pages, Paperback

Expected publication April 21, 2026

Reviews

[Kimberly Warner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fallout is a novel on fire from the inside. It moves with the quiet force of something long-held finally spoken. A daughter steps out of the frame of her life, and the shock of that movement ripples through everything that was arranged to stay still. What fractures is not only a family structure, but the stories they believed would keep them safe.

Anstruther writes with clear, unflinching tenderness. She understands how desire can knuckle under restraint, how grief travels through generations without language, how a single act of refusal can open a door and a wound at the same time. Each character is rendered with patience. No one is redeemed in a tidy way, yet each is recognized.

This book should be required reading. It asks what we inherit without choosing, and what we’re willing to risk to become more fully ourselves. I found myself reading slowly, and often more than once, wanting to stay inside the honesty it made possible.

I’ll be pressing this into other hands for a very long time.

[Kate Connell · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the winter of 1982, 15 year old Bridget is tired of her family’s secrets, and the perfection her mother wants their family to project. Flyers on the Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp catch her attention, and when an opportunity arises, she runs away to join the protest. But her running away impacts her whole family, her father’s secrets come to light and her mother discovers parts of herself she never faced before. As the metaphorical fallout of Bridget running away (to protest the literal fallout of nuclear weapons), will her family be able to pick up the pieces?

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC of this novel.

[Janine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book giving a “snapshot” of the history of Greenham Commons, which is a story of feminist activism. Based true events in England in the 1980s when a group of woman attempted to prevent the installation of American cruise missiles.

This is a coming-of-age novel. Fifteen year old Bridget runs away from her dull town and uptight parents to join the Greenham Commons protest. What she finds is a dizzying world of people some like her and some so unlike her. This opens Bridget’s eyes to the diversity of the world and the need to preserve this. In the meantime, the secrets Bridget’s family has hidden emerge which also shows that underneath our skins we are all striving for acceptance.

The writing is uncomplicated and terse which contributes to the success of this book.

I’d like to thank NetGalley and Empress Editions for allowing me to read this great book.

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Before reading this book, I had (somehow) never heard about the history of Greenham Common. This book has opened a door for me into exploring that history further. This is a tale of family, belonging and becoming. Activism and feminism, the book touches on a lot of important topics. I found the book easy to get through, with some unexpected twists keeping me drawn in.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers and author for access to this book.

[J R · Rating 4 out of 5]

fun, unique, and effective book with cool characters throughout, though at moments it meanders. 4 stars. tysm for the arc.