Atmosphere, A Love Story by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Hi Readers! I read Atmosphere by Taylore Jenkins Reid (TJR) several weeks ago, and only now did I get the time to write a review. With any novel of TJR’s, the story stays with you for a while, so here we go!
~~GOODREADS DESCRIPTION~~
From the #1 New York Times bestselling 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.
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 easy-going even when the stakes are highest; mission specialist Lydia Danes, who has worked too hard to play nice; warm-hearted 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, everything changes in an instant.
Fast-paced, thrilling, and emotional, Atmosphere is Taylor Jenkins Reid at her best: transporting readers to iconic times and places, with complex protagonists, telling a passionate and soaring story about the transformative power of love, this time among the stars.
~~THOUGHTS~~
A love story set at NASA in 1980s with a woman lead astronaut? A setting so fragile with peak uncertainty over the very existence of characters? Set during a time where being the first women in the space was revolutionary? A story with immense scope of political, emotional, mental and physical complications? And getting to explore the gloriousness of all of this through Taylor Jenkins Reid’s writing? Obviously, Atmosphere was one of my most awaited reads of 2025. And, as it usually goes with high expectations, you end up disappointed. Especially given the potential the story had, I felt like it didn’t measure up.
Atmosphere is the story of Joan Goodwin, an astronomer, who is selected for a space program. She is joined in the journey by Vanessa Ford, an aeronautical engineer, Commander Steve Hagen, Pilot Hank Redmond and Mission specialists Lydia Danes, John Griff, Donna Fitzgerald among others. A dynamic team, quite accepting, friendly and non-sexist folks. Almost felt like it was set in the current period. We also see Joan’s sister Barbara & niece Frances.
There are themes of gender fluidity, self-acceptance, sexism in the workplace especially what were termed as male dominated fields. When you have a sister and niece to support, or a pregnant wife, or any person who is tethered to you, it leaves you open to hurt. What will happen to them if you die in space? Or worse if you are stranded in space? That kind of vulnerability, helplessness and fragility could have been masterfully explored through all kinds of emotions. A woman astronomer in a love story which is not a love story between her and the stars, but instead just a plain old human love story? Did not enjoy that angle at all. A woman falling in love with another woman at a time like that and field like that could have been explored with more entanglements of various kinds. With a dual story line, one with a team in space unsure of life or death and another in the past leading up to the first line, was ideal, but somehow it didn’t make an impact with this novel. I felt like there was always something missing. It was like it reached 60% of its potential and what could have been some devastating aspects were not touched.
I am certainly in the minority about this book. Perhaps because I have read other fictional books set in space which were written with emotional nuance, this one didn’t leave an impression. (Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir) Perhaps nothing has matched TJR books like Daisy Jones did because it was the epitome of complicated feelings written with absurd intensity. Perhaps I have outgrown soft books which don’t devastate me. Anyway, if you have liked majority of TJR books, you should definitely read this one too. I have rated Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid at 3/5 stars!
If you want to read my reviews on TJR’s earlier books, check them out below!
Until next time,
About The Author
Aishwarya Shenolikar
Hello! I'm Aishwarya, an Introverted bookworm & writer. I have been reviewing books since 6 years on my blog - Mindscape in Words. My favourite genres are Historical Fiction, Mystery, Thrillers, Magical Realism, Poetry, Fantasy & Memoirs. I like the kind of books which evoke emotions on several levels leaving me wrecked, but also incredibly content. I'm dreaming for the world to paint a landscape full of words, more like Mindscape in Words. Hope you enjoy the view.