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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.
The stunning hardcover of Atmosphere features beautiful endpapers and a premium dust jacket!
“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.
From the Publisher
Publisher : Ballantine Books
Publication date : June 3, 2025
Language : English
Print length : 352 pages
ISBN-10 : 0593158717
ISBN-13 : 978-0593158715
Item Weight : 1.2 pounds
Dimensions : 6.34 x 1.17 x 9.56 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #30 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #2 in Literary Fiction (Books) #2 in Women’s Friendship Fiction #16 in Women’s Domestic Life Fiction
Customer Reviews: 4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 21,794 ratings var dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction; P.when(‘A’, ‘ready’).execute(function(A) { if (dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction !== true) { dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction = true; A.declarative( ‘acrLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault”: true }, function (event) { if (window.ue) { ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } } ); } }); P.when(‘A’, ‘cf’).execute(function(A) { A.declarative(‘acrStarsLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault” : true }, function(event){ if(window.ue) { ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } }); });
Customers say
Customers praise this love story for its well-developed characters and emotional depth, with one review noting how it delves into the complexities of human relationships. Moreover, the book receives positive feedback for its thorough research, with one customer highlighting its detailed insights into NASA programs, and its fast-paced narrative that hooks readers from the start. Additionally, customers appreciate the writing quality, with one review noting its masterful structure, while another appreciates how it combines space history with 2nd wave feminism.
NZLisaM –
Atmosphere was the kind of love story that reminded me what it means to feel!
It’s December 1984 and newly qualified Astronaut Joan Goodwin is assigned as CAPCOM for Mission Control at the Johnson Space Centre in Houston. She is the person who communicates directly with the crew aboard the shuttle. But while two astronauts are on a spacewalk, disaster strikes threatening the lives of everybody on board. People who all hold a special place in Joan’s heart – they’re friends and found family, but one person in particular means everything to Joan.The characters in Atmosphere were unforgettable. The kind you carry with you long after you’ve read the final page. The altruism, selflessness, heroism, and compassion displayed by them reduced me to tears more than once – a mark of an incredible read. Conversations involving philosophy of religion, existence and meaning in a vast universe, and feminism provided the characters with even more depth, enriched the dialogue, and gave me a lot to think about.The central theme of Atmosphere was the celebration of love in all its forms and glory – romantic, family, friendship, and humankind. The romantic relationship featured in this book was poignant, tender, and soul stirring. Joan and her love interest (who I won’t name as it was kept secret at the beginning) faced adversary, discrimination, rejection, and ostracisation. The bravery and courage it took for them to love openly, even from behind closed doors, against impossible odds, was an inspiration.Throughout the novel Joan was unfairly viewed by certain characters as being childlike because she had never dated, implying that a romantic relationship is a requirement for adulthood, which is a reductive and unfair way of looking at things. I liked how the plot portrayed Joan leading a rewarding, mature, rich life prior to finding a partner. Furthermore, marriage and children were seen as the default, the ultimate to aspire to, but Atmosphere did an amazing job of showing that marriage and children is only one chosen path to fulfilment not the only one.Motherhood without giving birth, was shown in the deeply rooted, meaningful, and beautiful bond Joan shared with her young niece, Frances. Joan showed up and was there for Frances at every turn and her love for her never wavered. For Frances, whose own mother saw her as an inconvenience, as someone to be managed rather than cherished, her aunt was home.Another important theme was the sexism women entering the space shuttle program during that time period faced. Joan, Vanessa, Lydia, and Donna dealt with exclusion, ridicule, and were often the butt of jokes by the male astronauts. Female astronauts were expected to be perfect and hide parts of themselves for fear of being criticised for being overly emotional or physically weak. Their every action was scrutinised, dissected, and judged – not just as individuals but as a collective representation of their entire gender.I pre-ordered the audiobook as soon as I heard that the narrators were Kristen DiMercurio and Julia Whelan and had every intention of listening to the entire thing. However, the first section of the novel included an overload of technical details regarding NASA, the key responsibilities of a CAPCOM, and space shuttle logistics, so I highly recommend reading the first chapters. I switched back to the audio when the plot rewinded to 1977 (the beginning of Joan’s astronaut journey), and it was smooth sailing from then onwards. Both narrators were phenomenal, and they embodied every character.As mentioned in my synopsis, the opener contained a high-stakes, perilous situation. And yes, it was gripping and intense on a visceral level but failed to draw me in emotionally because the characters were strangers at that point. Once I had gotten to know Joan’s fellow training candidates I went back and reread the December 29, 1984 part and that really helped me become deeply invested.Atmosphere is easily in the running for my favourite book of the year. Taylor Jenkins Reid’s best book yet!*All the stars in the sky. I’m still emotionally reeling. This story hit hard, and I need a moment to process my thoughts before writing my review.*
Claudia Hogan –
4-Star Review for Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Write a 4 star review for atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins’s Reid . This book started out really slow for me but the fact that it’s set in Houston at the Johnson space center was very intriguing for me. The slow burn of Vanessa and Joan’s love story was totally worth the slow start for me. Going into it, I did not expect it to be a romance between 2 women, but as soon as Vanessa was introduced, i knew it in my gut. I knew that Joan was going to find that person to make her feel like she belonged in the world, in a world where she didn’t know how to fit in. Since this story takes place in the late 70s/ early 80s, It’s very sad to me that they had to hid their love for each other. Joan’s family dynamic was very well written and my heart yearns for Frances. I’m so glad that Frances always had Joan in her corner and the relationship Vanessa built with her even though she had no idea how to do it was beautiful. I was kind of upset that we didn’t get an epilogue. I would love to know what happened to them years later. I found myself holding my breath so much during the entire book because early on, we know kind of happens to the crew. We learn to love them through out the book because they build a found family dynamic going through the training of nasa together. At the end, I found myself crying and gasping for air at the unknown and it literally comes down to the wire and literally the last sentence of the book. Taylor Jenkins’s Reid intensive research on space and space travel and nasa in general definitely shows and I highly appreciate because she wrote it in a way that someone with absolutely no space knowledge could easily follow along with. The growing relationship between Joan and Vanessa was very well done and I could totally see this becoming a mini series that I would love to watch IRL. I saw how everything played out soo well. The story telling was very well done.Also, intertwine a little bit of the following synopsis in the review: 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.
Cez09 –
A wonderfully written novel. Good pacing, engaging characters. Hopeful and heartbreaking. I wish there was an epilogue to catch one more glimpse.
Denise Weiershaus –
I knew from chapter one that I would love this book but I didn’t imagine to feel so deeply for not only the main character but every character in this book and the love for space and our unique blue planet.A true masterpiece!
Giovanna Souza –
Great book! Loved every second of it!
Debby Flandes –
BOOK OF THE YEAR.
Elisa –
Divorato in pochi giorni, molto scorrevole.Ho praticamente letto tutti i libri di Taylor Jenkins Reid, e anche questo è sullo stesso livello dei precedenti.Libro in inglese ma molto facile da leggere per chi ha un buon inglese.