Atmosphere

1980, Houston. Joan Goodwin, physics and astronomy professor at Rice University, has been obsessed with the stars since childhood. Content teaching and doting on her precocious niece Frances, Joan’s carefully built life shifts when she sees 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. She applies immediately.

Against all odds, she’s selected along with other pioneering women including Lydia Danes (pilot, cunning), Vanessa Ford (engineer, determined), and John Griffin (fellow mission specialist, easygoing). The novel alternates between 1980 (training begins) and December 1984 (mission STS-LR9, where everything changes). As Joan and her crew prepare for their historic flights, she finds passion and love she never imagined in Lydia, beginning to question everything she believes about her place in the observable universe.

The astronauts navigate the intense physical training, media scrutiny as “first women,” complex team dynamics, and the weight of representing all women in space. Joan must balance her devotion to science with newfound desire, her obligations to Frances with professional ambition. Then December 1984 arrives—mission STS-LR9. An in-flight emergency occurs. Everything changes in an instant. The aftermath reverberates through all their lives.

The Plot/Key Appeal: Taylor Jenkins Reid at peak form—signature emotional storytelling meets space exploration. Dual-timeline structure (alternating 1980/1984) builds suspense masterfully. The 1984 emergency is based loosely on real shuttle program dangers, giving novel gravitas and tension. Reid captures NASA training authenticity (centrifuge tests, underwater EVA practice, flight simulations) while maintaining emotional intimacy. Joan is reserved, thoughtful, intellectual—refreshing protagonist for Reid. The sapphic romance between Joan and Lydia is tender, nuanced, complicated by 1980s homophobia and professional risks. The niece Frances subplot adds heartwarming family dimension. Reid doesn’t shy from hard truths: sexism in NASA, media reducing women to “firsts” rather than scientists, the Challenger disaster shadow looming. Space sequences are thrilling and technically accurate.

Why It’s Trending:

• GMA Book Club Pick June 2025.
• Winner 2025 Goodreads Choice Award for Historical Fiction.
• #1 NYT Bestseller. Released June 3, 2025 as biggest book of summer.
• Book Riot called it “the biggest book of the summer.”
• Andy Weir (Project Hail Mary) praised: “NASA? Space missions? The 80s? Thrilling.”
• Kristin Hannah loved it.
• NPR’s Favorite Fiction Reads of 2025.

For fans of: Hidden Figures, The Right Stuff, space race history, sapphic romance, women breaking barriers, emotional family stories, Reid’s other novels. Book clubs devouring for discussions about ambition, sexuality in 1980s, women in STEM, love vs. career, representation.