Atmosphere: A Love Story by Taylor Jenkins Reid

In her previous novels, Taylor Jenkins Reid took her readers into the lives of tennis players, musicians, movie stars, and a famous family. Atmosphere: A Love Story shows us the life of an astronaut.

The year is 1980, and the first women scientists are being encouraged to apply at NASA.  Joan Goodwin, a professor of astronomy, applies and finds herself one among a group of other wanna-be astronauts.  But there is more to Joan than her desire to explore space. It is also a story of Joan’s self-exploration and discovery.

The subtitle - A Love Story - is a little misleading.  I don’t even know which genre this book belongs to.  It begins in 1984 with Joan supervising a deadly mission and then works backward to 1980. In that sense, it might be considered as an action/adventure story. It takes place in the early 80s, so some might say it is historical fiction (which is hard for me to admit). It has a touch of romance.  It has friendship and family.  

This novel belongs on your to-be-read list. The pacing and storytelling had me turning the pages, but the relationships between the characters had my heart. And Reid’s novels will always have a place on my shelf.

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