raynerira21 's review for:

Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid

4.25

challenging emotional hopeful informative 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

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Sometimes a book finds you at exactly the right moment, and Atmosphere was that book for me. It follows Joan Goodwin, a quiet, thoughtful physics professor who has always loved the stars but never truly imagined herself among them. That changes when she’s accepted into NASA’s space shuttle program in 1980, joining a diverse and complicated group of candidates—including the magnetic pilot Vanessa Ford, who becomes both her closest friend and, eventually, her partner. Joan is steady and kind, but her inner world is vast, especially when set against her strained relationship with her sister and her deep bond with her niece.

I was surprised by how much this story moved me. Reid doesn’t shy away from portraying the sexism Joan and her fellow women astronauts faced, but it’s woven so naturally into the narrative that it never feels didactic—just honest. What I loved most, though, was the balance between the human and the cosmic. The novel constantly reminded me of the smallness and the greatness of being alive, of how we are simultaneously tethered to earth and reaching for the infinite. Joan’s reflections on her place in the universe mirrored my own after a recent life event, and I felt comforted and seen in her words.

The friendships, the rivalries, the love story—everything felt beautifully grounded, even when it was reaching for the stars. And the ending… I won’t spoil it, but it left me stunned, grieving, and yet oddly hopeful. Atmosphere isn’t just about space exploration; it’s about the fragile, fleeting brilliance of being human.