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adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Vomit, Medical content, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, Alcohol
Minor: Drug use, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Lesbophobia
Moderate: Death, Toxic relationship, Vomit
Minor: Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Abandonment
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Houston, I need more tissues and an epilogue. Highly recommend the audiobook version, but NOT while driving due to all the sobbing. I don't normally like space/astronaut books, but I loved this book so much! Really would've liked to see an epilogue though.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Homophobia, Vomit, Grief, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Miscarriage, Sexual content, Pregnancy
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
The last 20 minutes had me bawling internally since I was listening to this at work 😠Why you do that to my heart TJR?!?! (but also dabs eye with handkerchief in happiness cause Joan and Vanessa and Frances deserve only the best!!!)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Homophobia, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Grief, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, Dysphoria
Minor: Child abuse
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
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:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Vomit, Lesbophobia, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Pregnancy, Abandonment
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Drug use, Death of parent, Pregnancy
adventurous
emotional
tense
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:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Misogyny, Lesbophobia
Moderate: Abandonment
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Atmosphere was beautifully written, and both Joan and Vanessa were strong, layered leads. TJR really knows how to write complicated women and romance. Vanessa was a standout character and I loved getting to know her through Joan. And Joan was also a super smart character that had a good amount of growth…although she was a pushover when it came to her sister.
I really appreciated how the book tackled sexism in STEM and showed you can be soft and strong at the same time. The NASA backdrop was interesting(even if I side-eyed a few science-y plot points… like how does a shuttle with multiple leaks actually make it back to Earth?!)
The ‘80s references were also perfection and not too cheesy or forced. That said, this didn’t quite hit like I hoped it would. The ending felt rushed to me and I think the book really needed an epilogue. There were just too many loose ends. Overall, I liked Atmosphere and I’d still recommend it, but it didn’t make it into new favorite book territory for me.
I really appreciated how the book tackled sexism in STEM and showed you can be soft and strong at the same time. The NASA backdrop was interesting
The ‘80s references were also perfection and not too cheesy or forced. That said, this didn’t quite hit like I hoped it would. The ending felt rushed to me and I think the book really needed an epilogue. There were just too many loose ends. Overall, I liked Atmosphere and I’d still recommend it, but it didn’t make it into new favorite book territory for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexism
Moderate: Vomit, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual content
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-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
Atmosphere was beautifully written, with Joan and Vanessa both as lovely leads for this story, but overall I think it fell a bit short of my expectations.
First off, I was not a fan of the cold open, or at least in how much we learned during it. Within the first few chapters, we learn that an accident has happened and Vanessa thinks she is the only one left alive. This later turns out to be not entirely true, but we still are told relatively early what has happened to the other crew members. I think it would have been better if we didn't know exactly what had transpired so early on, that it should have left off at the pressure being stabilized part (or even before that in the midst of the chaos) until we got more of an introduction to these characters, because for me personally there were certain characters that I didn't pay as much attention to (or in my mind I would think"oh yeah that's the dead guy" which is not the best first impression to have about a character!). In general throughout the novel I feel like we didn't get too much characterization of the side characters (aside from Barbara and Frances), which was annoying considering they were specifically mentioned in the description for the novel, but I was also left feeling like that was by design. For example, we get to see into the lives of Hank and Donna every so often, and are introduced to the idea of Donna being an astronaut while being a mother (a few times in fact) , but not much comes out of that subplot (for obvious reasons, but still).
There were also certain characterizations that came off as corny to me during this novel, namely the gay awakeningat a strip club felt corny, and Joan's talks about God and loving a child (specifically Frances, but still), which felt a bit too preachy at times (while also giving WAY too much leniency to Barbara for her treatment of Frances). Speaking of Barbara, I have a couple of choice thoughts about her: Barbara was the true villain of the story, absolutely manipulative and narcissistic to the end, and I personally want to punch her and tell her that she should have had an abortion if she was going to treat Frances like this, because Joan isn't man enough to do that.
There were also some parts in the ending that, while sweet, were things that I don't think would have been historically accurate for the atmosphere (get it?) in mission control during such a crucial period. The back and forth we got to see between Joan and Vanessa was beautiful, but realistically would this have happened in mission control?With her supervisors basically giving her permission to profess her love to Vanessa in front of everyone, on something that would be recorded for future use? Absolutely not.
Ending spoilers:Vanessa making it back alive on a space shuttle that basically had a leak in it sealed by a clipboard also seemed like a stretch to me, but I don't know enough about physics to really make any comments on that part. Or maybe it was possible, but not described with enough of a visual for me to really understand what happened. I also REALLY wished there was an epilogue!
But as I said before this was beautifully written, TJR knows how to write romance between strong female characters, and this is no exception. Vanessa is an incredibly complex character and I loved learning about her through Joan's eyes. Joan, while a bit more controversial and definitely more of a pushover with her sister for most of the novel, was a lovely lead during the NASA side of things and a strong, smart, and very capable woman who shot down sexism and showed it was okay to have a soft side while chasing your dreams in a male-dominated field. The romance between Joan and Vanessa felt very realistic, while the NASA setting felt mostly realistic, and the novel oozed top notch 80's vibes.
Overall did I like Atmosphere? Yes absolutely. Did I love it? No. And did it become my new favorite TJR novel? Unfortunately, that answer is also no, but I still enjoyed the novel for what it was and would still recommend it!
First off, I was not a fan of the cold open, or at least in how much we learned during it. Within the first few chapters, we learn that an accident has happened and Vanessa thinks she is the only one left alive. This later turns out to be not entirely true, but we still are told relatively early what has happened to the other crew members. I think it would have been better if we didn't know exactly what had transpired so early on, that it should have left off at the pressure being stabilized part (or even before that in the midst of the chaos) until we got more of an introduction to these characters, because for me personally there were certain characters that I didn't pay as much attention to (or in my mind I would think
There were also certain characterizations that came off as corny to me during this novel, namely the gay awakening
There were also some parts in the ending that, while sweet, were things that I don't think would have been historically accurate for the atmosphere (get it?) in mission control during such a crucial period. The back and forth we got to see between Joan and Vanessa was beautiful, but realistically would this have happened in mission control?
Ending spoilers:
But as I said before this was beautifully written, TJR knows how to write romance between strong female characters, and this is no exception. Vanessa is an incredibly complex character and I loved learning about her through Joan's eyes. Joan, while a bit more controversial and definitely more of a pushover with her sister for most of the novel, was a lovely lead during the NASA side of things and a strong, smart, and very capable woman who shot down sexism and showed it was okay to have a soft side while chasing your dreams in a male-dominated field. The romance between Joan and Vanessa felt very realistic, while the NASA setting felt mostly realistic, and the novel oozed top notch 80's vibes.
Overall did I like Atmosphere? Yes absolutely. Did I love it? No. And did it become my new favorite TJR novel? Unfortunately, that answer is also no, but I still enjoyed the novel for what it was and would still recommend it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Vomit, Abandonment
Moderate: Homophobia, Death of parent, Lesbophobia
Minor: Drug abuse, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Alcohol
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Readable in a way that isn’t simple. Although there wasn’t a super fast-paced plot, I couldn’t put it down. The main characters were well-developed and engaging. There were moments and lines of reflection and insight.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexism, Lesbophobia, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Death of parent