"But then, in a shock, Joan feels the most perfect peace overtake her. What a gift. To have known Vanessa, and to have loved her. The way the universe had developed-the way God itself unfolded-was that Vanessa had been here for thirty-seven years. But Joan had been given four of them. She had been given so much of Vanessa when so few ever understood her at all. She had been given that face to sketch for the rest of her life. To spend her days trying and failing to capture her hair. In this one moment of brilliant clarity-a clarity Joan knows she will lose her grasp on within seconds, and have to fight like hell for years to come back to-Joan understands that God gave her something spectacular. A love, and a life, beyond the confines of her imagination. Small, slight, unimportant Joan. Just one person of five billion, on a small planet orbiting a small star, in a humble galaxy, one of billions of galaxies. Joan is so insignificant and yet, look what God had given her. Look at all that God had given her. Look at what no one will ever be able to take away. Vanessa has gone into the ether. And it will make Joan even more eager to take each breath."

This was lyrical. Forget about the love story of two women (which no one can); I cannot get over the love story of a friendship and companionship in this book. Being part of something so special and doing something only select people could achieve must be an amazing feeling.

It's another TJR classic, giving me all the feelings about being part of a great friend group and going after some once impossible dream!

Thanks to NetGalley for the early read. This was a fantastic read that left me so emotional. It is not the story I had expected, but that's OK. It was better than anticipated. Readers were given so many characters to are about who were truly likable, lovable even. I worried there would be too much jargon, but there was not. For those who want a story about strong women, men who embrace them and familial love, this is for you. I loved this book! I was holding my breath that last chapter, but it was worth it.

I enjoyed the newest novel by TJR, Atmosphere.
I sometimes forget how much research authors dedicate to their craft. Reading this novel, it is clear that TJR spent countless hours researching and collaborating with experts. The thoroughness in detail is astounding.
There is a love story between two astronauts that seems almost forced. And the dynamics between a lead character, Joan , and her sister is extreme. I do appreciate Joan's big heart and love for her niece. Joan loves this child, when her own mother is unwilling to step up and be the mother the child deserves and needs.
Overall, this novel is one of love and hope. Love of space, the unknown, family, friendship and the future.

As always, thank you to Netgalley and Ballantine Books for allowing me to view the ARC.

Thank you Net Galley & Random House Publishing for this ARC!

This story absolutely wrecked me in the best way. Joan is a powerful and compelling protagonist. I was in awe of her strength, resilience, and quiet brilliance throughout the novel. I especially loved how deeply she cared for those around her, even when it came at a personal cost. Taylor Jenkins Reid has an incredible talent for breathing life into her characters. She made me root for them, cry for them, and even get completely frustrated with them too. Every emotion felt raw and real. This book is a masterclass in character-driven storytelling, and it’s one that will stay with me for a long time. Highly recommend!

I'll read anything & everything TJR writes -- her writing is so compulsive, authentic, immersive, and utterly relatable, even when she's writing about something I don't know a lot about. And while space travel isn't necessarily my thing, any story with strong women at the center is. I lost a lot of sleep reading this one, because I just couldn't put it down. And while my all-time favorite of hers might always remain The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (it's just so hard to top), this was another solid five-star read. She's that good.

I have not read all of TJR's work, but this is such a special read. Joan is a compelling main character, and I kept the pages turning to learn more about there, her family, her career goals, and her burgeoning love life. The details about NASA training were interesting, and the mystery of whether or not other astronauts would survive their assignment had me awake until 3AM to finish. So good.

Joan Goodwin has been obsessed with the stars for as long as she can remember. Joan is ca professor of physics and astronomy at Rice University until she comes across an advertisement seeking the first women scientists to join NASA’s space shuttle program. Suddenly, Joan wants to become one of the few people to go to space. So begins the story. She is selected and what follow is a tale of hard working women, friendships and a story of love.

A thoughtful story of passion, love, and the battle for radical acceptance in a world that’s determined to keep women in a box.

This is the first of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s books that I’ve read and I enjoyed the ride. Their writing style is quippie and fast paced. It was easy to get into the story and to be a witness in the story of Joan’s life was both wonderful and frustrating. The only qualm I had was some of the events Joan attended; it seemed like we could’ve done without some of those beats.

Taylor Jenkins Reid you have done it again! This was amazing and so heartfelt. I loved every character and was rooting for our lead women! It was such an empowering book without if feeling forceful feminism.

Taylor Jenkins Reid has the ability to make every subject interesting. Whether it's surfing, tennis, music, or space, she nails it.

Joan has always been obsessed with the stars. When she gets the rare chance to train as an astronaut in the late 1970s, she forms a bond with her team, including the intriguing Vanessa, and their lives depend on each other.

She is also navigating her changing relationship with her growing niece, Francis, and her manipulative sister. Francis has always been the most important thing in Joan's life.

Does she finally have the confidence that she could have it all only to lose it?

I grew up in Huntsville, Alabama, only a few miles from the US Space and Rocket Center. I thought it was cool that she mentioned training in Huntsville in the book. That being said, I have never cared that much about anything space related. As usual, TJ R made it interesting. I loved the storyline of Joan and Francis. I thought TJR painted a real picture of the barriers that women, as well as diverse relationships, faced in the early 80s. I wish that I could say we've come a long way, but maybe not as far as we hope. I had a little trouble getting into this one (probably because it was about space) but I was all in at the end! I don't cry often in books but this one made me cry twice.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced electronic copy!

Taylor Jenkins Reid, like Kristin Hannah, excels at romantic historical fiction centered on women at pivotal moments in American history. Atmosphere follows that formula, dropping Joan, one of NASA’s first female astronaut trainees, into the 1970s Space Race. The twist: she falls in love with a woman and fellow trainee, a risky secret in an era when homosexuality was taboo at NASA. Reid is always an automatic buy for me and Atmosphere is worth the read, particularly for those in love with the cosmos and space travel.

The setup is rich with potential, especially when Reid dives into the group dynamics of astronauts in training. But instead of fully exploring that tense, fascinating world, the novel narrows its focus to Joan’s personal journey: her coming out, her passion for astronomy, and her devotion to a niece and narcissistic sister I didn’t care much about.

Unlike the magnetic stars of Evelyn Hugo or Daisy Jones, I felt Joan was too timid to carry the story alone. I wanted more of the other women: Donna, torn between love and ambition; Lydia, bristling with competitive energy. Vanessa, a self destructive bomb ready to go off. I wanted gossip, tension, fallout. Instead, Reid plays it safe. Atmosphere had all the right ingredients, but never quite lifts off.

An interesting and unique story. I will recommend it to patrons. ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

Another gem in TJR’s crown! A great balance of suspenseful and romance. The writing was so beautiful, even all of the science and process of becoming astronauts. A beautiful love story with a unique backdrop.

“Happiness is so hard to come by. I don’t understand why anyone would begrudge anyone else for managing to find some of it.” - Taylor Jenkins Reid

“Though I’d like to look down at the Earth from above
I would miss all the places and people I love
So although I may go, I’ll be coming home soon
‘Cause I don’t want to live on the moon” -Ernie, Sesame Street

When my ARC of Atmosphere hit my dashboard it was the week a billionaire was paying for celebrities to go to space and due to the state of….everything, I wasn’t in the mood to read about astronauts.

But I realized this was the opposite of that. A love story about two women who just want the same things everyone else does, who happen to be living through something extraordinary. I loved it.

Thank you to @netgalley for the ARC

I loved this book! Astronaut school and a wonderful love story? Perfect. I give it 4.5 stars only because I needed a little bit of an epilogue. The author has such a way of putting beautiful words to huge feelings.

Best-selling author Taylor Jenkins Reid crafts a moving story set against the early days of NASA's Space Shuttle program.
Taylor Jenkins Reid's new novel, Atmosphere, opens with a bang—literally. It's 1984, and astronaut Joan Goodwin is acting as NASA Command's CAPCOM ("Capsule Communications," the person who relays instructions to the personnel in space) when the unthinkable happens: A satellite explodes, sending shrapnel through the hull of the space shuttle and injuring some of the crew. Time is of the essence as oxygen leaks from the vessel; Joan becomes the sole link between Ground Control and the astronauts aloft, forced to stay calm as the situation degrades.

The story then rewinds seven years to when Joan, a university professor in physics and astronomy, learns that NASA is recruiting for their astronaut program, and that for the first time, women are invited to apply. She's never considered a career in space, but she applies at her sister's insistence—and when she's rejected in the first round, she's surprised by how disappointed she is. A year later, the opportunity presents itself again, and she jumps at the chance, this time becoming one of sixteen individuals who are selected for Group 9. (The previous class, Group 8, included Sally Ride, the first American woman to go to space; see Beyond the Book.)

At first, Joan feels out of place at the Space Center, surrounded by extremely smart and capable people who are primarily white men. Throughout her career, Joan has more often been dismissed than praised, and has always been awkward around others, so she finds "a familiar peace in going unnoticed" by her NASA teammates. But as she reluctantly begins socializing with them, she develops deep bonds with her team, forming perhaps the first true friendships of her life. The others, in turn, come to appreciate not only Joan's brilliance and passion, but her calm demeanor and ability to prevent petty disagreements between other members from disrupting the mission. "Being an astronaut," she realizes, "is not just about getting up there. It is about being a member of the team that gets the crew up there."

Atmosphere's plot follows Joan's professional and personal journey over the ensuing years, until the main storyline meets up with the currently unfolding emergency. We read about Joan's training as an astronaut and her first voyage into space, and we watch her transform from an awkward introvert into a confident woman and respected leader. She also discovers how to parent her sister's daughter, Frances, in a plotline that adds interesting depth to her character. Perhaps the core of the book, though, is how Joan learns that her desires—both her career ambitions and her romantic feelings, including realizing that she's gay and in love with a fellow astronaut—are legitimate and deserve to be embraced.

Atmosphere is subtitled "A Love Story," but which aspect of the novel that subtitle is referring to can be read ambiguously. Atmosphere is a relatively conventional love story in the way Joan comes to develop feelings for and begin a relationship with the mission's aeronautical engineer, Vanessa. But Joan's love extends well beyond this single relationship: Her relationship with her niece deepens over the course of the novel, as do her relationships with her fellow astronauts. The novel packs in quite a lot of emotional content for a book ostensibly about the Space Shuttle program.

Another genuine love of Joan's is space itself. Her passion for the cosmos is a constant undercurrent throughout Atmosphere—and that passion includes a reverence for God, whom she conceives of not as the world's sole creator but as a force that's a part of every atom across space and time. "The Jewish philosopher Spinoza said that God did not necessarily make the universe, but that God is the universe," she tells Vanessa by way of explaining her faith. "The unfolding of the universe is God in action. Which would mean science and math are a part of God."

I do have a couple of quibbles about the novel. One is that Reid's dialogue sometimes comes across as artificial—more like lengthy soliloquies about the nature of the universe than conversations one might have with another person. These can be interesting and occasionally moving, but are not always convincing as real exchanges. Also, while the book does reference both sexism and homophobia at NASA, it's not to the extent that I would have expected. Joan and Vanessa's teammates, for example, seem aware of their relationship and approve of it—something that seems a little unrealistic for the era, and perhaps a missed opportunity for narrative conflict.

I also think that this beautifully written book may suffer from the expectations set by its marketers. While the scenes set aboard the shuttle are intense and propulsive, they're few and far between; most of the story is character-driven and rather quiet. Readers expecting a thriller will likely find the book slow-moving, particularly in its early chapters. But Joan Goodwin is an unforgettable, complex character, and it's following her journey of self-discovery that keeps the pages turning.

Taylor Jenkins Reed’s Atmosphere is a hauntingly beautiful novel that will stay with me for a long time. From the very first page, I was completely captivated, not just by the compelling storyline but by the emotional depth and complexity of the characters.

The narrative follows Joanne’s extraordinary journey, not only into space but through the equally vast terrain of love, loss, and self-discovery. Reed masterfully intertwines past and present, giving the story a layered richness that deepens with every chapter. I especially loved how the dual timelines enhanced our understanding of Joanne’s inner world and the decisions that shaped her.

Each character felt vividly real, and while I couldn’t stand the sister (as intended!), the rest of the cast was wonderfully nuanced and engaging. By the time I reached the final pages, I found myself clinging to the book, holding back tears, it was powerful.

The writing is elegant, emotional, and immersive. A perfect blend of science, soul, and storytelling. Sheer perfection.

I enjoyed the space race story from Reid. She really doesn't stay in one rom/com lane and that alone is fantastic. I did think a few parts were just TOO cheesy for me. I had read those scenarios between lovers a million times and that bummed me out that Reid wasn't more creative in those scenes. Overall TJR fans will devour this like her last ones!

I really enjoyed this book. I learned a TON about space exploration and what it's like to be an astronaut, which, on its own made this book worth it. But the ending was so moving that it brought me to tears. Loved the ending! However, the middle part of the book lagged. I was anxious to get back to the space/NASA-related stuff, and I started skimming the pages as Vanessa and Joan's relationship built up, skimming just enough to get the gist. I even skipped roughly an entire chapter somewhere in the middle of the book to get back to the good parts and the ending STILL had such an emotional impact on me, so I really don't think parts of the middle were needed. Overall, really great book.

Atmosphere reminds us of the importance of dreaming big and defying odds. Full of action and history, the setting contributes to guiding the reader to their own introspections about what love (of yourself, family, and friends) can cost. It is heartbreaking and hopeful within a short span of time, keeping the audience engaged and cheering for the characters to succeed.