Lise Meitner’s work as a scientist led to discovery of the element protactinium early in her career, and nuclear fission later. An Austrian Jew born in 1878, Lise was living and working in Germany when Hitler’s rise to power began—vividly accounted here. Like many others, she was eventually dismissed from her job because she was Jewish. Colleagues helped her escape to Sweden, and it was there that she revisited some of the work she’d done with Otto Hahn, with whom she’d collaborated for 30 years in Germany, and identified nuclear fission. When Hahn, whose name appeared first on all of their papers, was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1944 for the discovery, he did not credit or acknowledge Lise’s work, a stunning example of the sexism she faced throughout her life and career. Lise, meanwhile, had refused to help develop the atomic bomb, firm in her resolve to not be involved in any effort that contributed to war. This fictionalized account of Lise’s life is a novel in verse that makes the most of its form, with compelling scientific metaphors for events or feelings in her life. The author’s note is an essential complement to the primary narrative, explaining that this admirable portrait of Lise has a framework of facts but includes many imagined elements, especially when it comes to how people might have been feeling or what they might have said.  (Ages 10-13)

From the acclaimed author of Finding Wonders and Grasping Mysteries comes a gorgeously written biography in “deliberate, delicate verse” (Kirkus Reviews) about the pioneering Jewish woman physicist whose scientific prowess changed the course of World War II.

At the turn of the 20th century, Lise Meitner dreamed of becoming a scientist. In her time, girls were not supposed to want careers, much less ones in science. But Lise was smart—and determined. She earned a PhD in physics, then became the first woman physics professor at the University of Berlin. The work was thrilling, but Nazi Germany was a dangerous place for a Jewish woman. When the risks grew too great, Lise escaped to Sweden, where she continued the experiments that she and her laboratory partner had worked on for years. Her efforts led to the discovery of nuclear fission and altered the course of history.

Only Lise’s partner, a man, received the Nobel Prize for their findings, but this moving and accessible biography shows how Lise’s legacy endures.