Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid delves into the burgeoning space program in 1980 and 1981, focusing particularly on these trail blazing women Taylor Jenkins Reid is a writing icon in modern times. Her book Daisy Jones and the Six struck chords of Almost Famous and the award-winning mini series that was produced captured the zeitgeist of ‘70’s rock star life…at least the fictional one I was exposed to growing up. In addition her book The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo was a book club darling in 2018. Jenkins Reid excels at creating characters that are insanely real. My draw to literature as a child was my attachment to the girls in Ann M. Martin’s The Babysitters Club series. Jenkins Reid creates characters that are as real as those girls that I loved as she develops her characters in her novels.  Although they are not sequels, all the books have characters that make easter egg appearances in her other novels. She develops these characters into their own fascinating tale.

 Atmosphere focuses on a disastrous space walk and focuses on the love story between two of the female astronauts. Although this was not an intriguing part of the story for me, I am just not a romance fan, the friendship and love between these two humans speaks so proudly to the strength of the bond of love. Fluctuating between the astronaut on the space walk, Vanessa, and her lover home in the control room, Joan, the story also jumps back and forth to their past training and relationships. As women in the space industry in the 1980’s they were trailblazers in their field on the cusp of women beginning to be ubiquitous with the work force, though not yet equal.  The race to save the lives of the astronauts dying in space brings to the forefront their love’s urgency and the flashing of lives past before their own eyes. Whether you are a space fan, a woman’s rights fan, or just a fan of great stories Atmosphere inspires us all to reach for the stars in our journey of life.

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