Ballantine Books
Atmosphere: A GMA Book Club Pick: A Love Story
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#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK - From the author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones & The Six comes an epic new novel set against the backdrop of the 1980s space shuttle program about the extraordinary lengths we go to live and love beyond our limits.
"Thrilling . . . heartbreaking . . . uplifting . . . the fast-paced, emotionally charged story of one ambitious young woman, finding both her voice and her passion."--Kristin Hannah, author of The Women
"NASA? Space missions? The '80s? This is a collection of all the things I love."--Andy Weir, author of Project Hail Mary and The Martian
Joan Goodwin has been obsessed with the stars for as long as she can remember. Thoughtful and reserved, Joan is content with her life as a professor of physics and astronomy at Rice University and as aunt to her precocious niece, Frances. That is, until she comes across an advertisement seeking the first women scientists to join NASA's space shuttle program. Suddenly, Joan burns to be one of the few people to go to space.
Selected from a pool of thousands of applicants in the summer of 1980, Joan begins training at Houston's Johnson Space Center, alongside an exceptional group of fellow candidates: Top Gun pilot Hank Redmond and scientist John Griffin, who are kind and easygoing even when the stakes are highest; mission specialist Lydia Danes, who has worked too hard to play nice; warmhearted Donna Fitzgerald, who is navigating her own secrets; and Vanessa Ford, the magnetic and mysterious aeronautical engineer, who can fix any engine and fly any plane.
As the new astronauts become unlikely friends and prepare for their first flights, Joan finds a passion and a love she never imagined. In this new light, Joan begins to question everything she thinks she knows about her place in the observable universe.
Then, in December of 1984, on mission STS-LR9, it all changes in an instant.
Fast-paced, thrilling, and emotional, Atmosphere is Taylor Jenkins Reid at her best: transporting readers to iconic times and places, creating complex protagonists, and telling a passionate and soaring story about the transformative power of love--this time among the stars.
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Book Details
ISBN:
9780593158715
EAN:
0593158717
Binding:
Hardcover
Pages:
352
Authors:
Taylor Jenkins Reid
Publisher:
Ballantine Books
Published Date: 2025-03-06
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The amazing Taylor Jenkins Reid does it again! Atmosphere was definitely my most anticipated summer release. I’ve read every single one of TJR’s books. I had my doubts about this one because I’m not into space things BUT this book delivered with all the 80s nostalgia, beautifully written characters, and all the emotion. It’s not about space at all, it’s an epic love story, a forbidden love story with a lot of depth! The only bad thing is the wait until her next book!
As a lesbian who also had a career in a “Man’s World” (US Army) during those same years depicted in this book, I was disappointed that the book didn’t focus more on the struggles & challenges of female astronauts in the NASA space program. It focused more on the lesbian relationship of two women in the space program. I did like how the book opened with the crisis at hand, then did flashbacks.
With every book she writes, TJR gets better. As always, she’s researched so thoroughly that we readers enter the time and place inhabited by characters so complete we can cohabitate in their world, the world of astronomers, space lovers, pilots, and dreamers. In this world, 2 women among others enter NASA seeking the opportunity to view the world from space.And in this most compelling story, among the training classes, friendships are forged, life-altering friendships. Unfortunately, for 2 women, the depth of their love must be concealed during a time when any such relationship between same sex would have merited dismissal from the very elite program of which they sought their entire lives.Told in dual timelines looking back and on flight mission day, the tensions accelerate in rotations that increase much as would the return to Earth upon reentry. Like Apollo 13 film, the awareness of the strengths of NASA and all its scientists inspires as does this stellar love story.
Taylor jenkins reid has my heart and my money lol. i will read and buy anything she writes!! i was a little nervous for this book with the slow built up but my gosh everything was worth it. The NASA mission and crew felt so real. The romance was steady and so sweet. The main character is not loud or flashy like her other characters. And i appreciated that because Joan was just very relatable. i havent been on an emotional book journey like that in a while! My favorite book by far this year.
Solid read. It was a glorious love story between two strong women. I learned about the NASA space program, the characters were relatable and well crafted by the author. The story kept you engaged. The love between them was challenged by the time and place and yet the story didn't dwell. It dealt with the topic and let the reader feel for themselves. One of the most enjoyable reads I've had this year.
