Take a photo of a barcode or cover
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It is the early 80s. Joan, an astronomer and astrophysicist professor and Vanessa, an aeronautical engineer, both in their thirties, meet and fall in love trying to become one of the first female American astronauts. It's a time full of wonder for space travel, stars and new worlds but also a time where homosexuality was forbidden so liaisons had to be conducted in private because some people thought gays were evil and couldn't be let near children. Joan's tender love for her niece Frances debunks all that thoroughly of course.
I got this book on the strength of the author's name, without knowing anything about the story. I had equally loved Daisy Jones and the Six and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, but this must be her best yet. Why else would I read a book about fictional female astronauts in the NASA space shuttle programme in the early to mid eighties and be utterly absorbed, even though I haven't got a clue about the terminology that's freely banded about?
There are two timelines, the one spanning the years in the NASA training programme, and the one day in December 1984 when tragedy strikes, and the start of which opens the book. While you're reading the space rescue story you don't want it to pause and when it switches to the love story, that soft, swooning romance, you don't want it to end either. And that is the mark of a great storyteller. I loved all the characters, Griff, Hank, Donna, Frances, even Lydia. Ok, maybe not Barbara and Daniel, they were awful parents.
I loved the short chapters that made it impossible for me to stop reading. I was rooting for Joan and Vanessa from the beginning, and there was always an undercurrent of tension - will they get the life they want? And that ending, oh my God, it nearly broke me. I ended up in floods of tears at 3am. This has to become a movie. If I could have given six stars, I would. Such an emotional story so beautifully told, about our passions and our place in the world - to find where we can belong. Bravo. Read if you love Hidden Figures and Apollo 13, coupled with found family and lesbians.
I got this book on the strength of the author's name, without knowing anything about the story. I had equally loved Daisy Jones and the Six and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, but this must be her best yet. Why else would I read a book about fictional female astronauts in the NASA space shuttle programme in the early to mid eighties and be utterly absorbed, even though I haven't got a clue about the terminology that's freely banded about?
There are two timelines, the one spanning the years in the NASA training programme, and the one day in December 1984 when tragedy strikes, and the start of which opens the book. While you're reading the space rescue story you don't want it to pause and when it switches to the love story, that soft, swooning romance, you don't want it to end either. And that is the mark of a great storyteller. I loved all the characters, Griff, Hank, Donna, Frances, even Lydia. Ok, maybe not Barbara and Daniel, they were awful parents.
I loved the short chapters that made it impossible for me to stop reading. I was rooting for Joan and Vanessa from the beginning, and there was always an undercurrent of tension - will they get the life they want? And that ending, oh my God, it nearly broke me. I ended up in floods of tears at 3am. This has to become a movie. If I could have given six stars, I would. Such an emotional story so beautifully told, about our passions and our place in the world - to find where we can belong. Bravo. Read if you love Hidden Figures and Apollo 13, coupled with found family and lesbians.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Vomit, Grief, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Abandonment
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Death, Death of parent
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Sexism, Grief, Lesbophobia
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Homophobia, Sexism, Vomit, Abandonment, Alcohol
Minor: Cursing, Drug use, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury
Moderate child neglect/maltreatment
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief
Moderate: Bullying, Medical content, Lesbophobia, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual content
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexual content, Abandonment
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Homophobia
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The newest offering from Taylor Jenkins Reid is a sapphic love story set against the background of the 1980s space shuttle programme. Reid really knows how to craft a story, and here she uses the dual timeline to particularly good effect. I love a good "woman succeeding against the odds" story, and this book shares many of the same ingredients as her recent books that have made her such a publishing success story. And yet I was left feeling a little underwhelmed without being able to pinpoint precisely why. Possibly, I'm tiring of Reid's style, and it's starting to feel a bit formualic. I know I've been leaning more and more literary in my reading tastes. Maybe the space jargon felt too techy? Could be that knowing the story was fictional made it feel too low stakes - especially since I was confident there were directions Reid wouldn't take the plot . The ending might have felt too emotionally manipulative for my tastes. Regardless, while this is not objectively a bad book and I did enjoy many parts of it, it ultimately didn't land for me in quite the way I hoped.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Abandonment
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Abandonment
Moderate: Confinement, Misogyny, Vomit, Death of parent, Outing
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The main character in the book is Joan Goodwin. Most of the story is told by Joan in the 3rd person. The story starts in late 1984. The Space Shuttle Navigator is partway through its mission. The flight is being monitored in the Mission Control Room in Houston. Joan is the person who directly communicates with the Space Shuttle. All communication goes through her. Something goes very wrong with the Space Shuttle. The story shifts back to 1977. Joan is an astronomer teaching in a local college. NASA announces that they are going to admit women to their astronaut corps. Joan applies. There are interviews. She is accepted to the 2nd training group. The trainees will be judged for their acceptability. The story goes from there. It is partly about Joan and her fellow trainees and their path to possibly becoming astronauts. It is partly about Joan’s relationship with her sister Barbara and her niece Francis. And it is partly about Joan’s romantic relationship with another of the trainees. The story goes deep into training of astronaut candidates and astronauts. It goes deep into the science of space shuttles. The author did an impressive amount of work learning and writing the details. There are deaths. There is sexism. There is a sapphic relationship. There is homophobia. There is very poor parenting of a young child. Because of the way the book is written, you know that certain characters are going to die. You then go back and get to know and like (some of) them. There are a lot of scientific details. I loved the book. I recommend the book to anyone who wants to read what it was like for women first entering the astronaut corps. who wants to learn a lot about astronaut training and the space shuttle, about a difficult romantic relationship, and about a difficult family relationship. I loved the book. I teared up a bit at part of it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Homophobia, Sexism