Atmosphere
Fiction
Random House
June 3, 2025
Hardcover/Audio
353
Purchased/Library
In the summer of 1980, astrophysics professor Joan Goodwin begins training to be an astronaut at Houston’s Johnson Space Center, alongside an exceptional group of fellow candidates: Top Gun pilots Hank Redmond and John Griffin; mission specialist Lydia Danes; warm-hearted Donna Fitzgerald; and Vanessa Ford, the magnetic and mysterious aeronautical engineer. As the new astronauts prepare for their first flights, Joan finds a passion and a love she never imagined and begins to question everything she believes about her place in the observable universe.
Then, in December of 1984, on mission STS-LR9, everything changes in an instant.
My review:
If the idea of a book about space travel is not appealing to you, do not be put off by that. While this book does have some of those elements, it's really a book about the people chosen from one class to travel in space. Having said that, I am a huge space junkie. I still remember my obsession with the moon landing back in 1969 (yes, I'm that old, I was 11 years old that summer). I devoured the book The Martian (highly recommend if you like fictional books about space). I could have used more about space in this one, but that is why I don't think you have to love that subject to be caught up in the characters in this one. The book starts in the present with a heart pounding disaster in the making, and then the story goes back seven years leading up to the present timeline. I loved watching Joan grow through the years. The few glimpses we get into life in the 80's was much appreciated as well. Even as we follow her love story, the book has a sense of foreboding about it since we all remember the past space disasters that happened during most of our lifetimes. The last few pages will have you riveted to find out what happens, and while predictable, I still enjoyed getting to the ending.
Go into this one expecting a sapphic love story, with a bit of astronaut thrown in. Even though I would have loved more space, I think it was the perfect amount to appeal to a broader audience.