In Atmosphere, Taylor Jenkins Reid reaches for the stars – delivering a story as radical as it is romantic.
From the glitz of old Hollywood in The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo to the drug-fuelled chaos of Daisy Jones & The Six and the sun-soaked tennis courts of Carrie Soto Is Back, Taylor Jenkins Reid has built a name for herself as a master of emotionally resonant, era-defining storytelling. Her books always carry a sense of cinematic scope – sweeping across decades, capturing moments in pop culture and history where women dared to take up space, even when the world told them not to.
With Atmosphere, Reid launches us somewhere entirely new: space, and more precisely, NASA’s 1980s Space Shuttle program. But true to form, it’s not just about rockets and astronauts. This is a story about ambition, identity, and quiet revolution – a novel that asks what it means to reach for the stars when you’re told you don’t belong among them. Think Hidden Figures meets Portrait of a Lady on Fire, filtered through the razor-sharp emotional lens that only Taylor Jenkins Reid can deliver.
Set against the backdrop of the 1980s and a NASA program opening its doors to women for the first time, Atmosphere is sapphic, soulful, and steeped in history. It’s about women breaking barriers in science and society – and the cost of doing so. With her signature blend of emotional intimacy and epic scale, Reid gives us something that feels at once nostalgic and radical: a love letter to the women who dreamed big, flew high, and loved in secret.
📖 Quick Overview
Atmosphere – Taylor Jenkins Reid
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 pilot Hank Redmond; mission specialists John Griffin and Lydia Danes; warmhearted 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.
📌 TL;DR
A soaring, sapphic novel about women reaching for the stars-literally and figuratively-Atmosphere blends space-race tension, emotional intimacy, and the 1980s into one unforgettable story of love, ambition, and visibility.
💥 Hook
“There are few places lonelier than space – unless you’re a woman trying to get there.”
💬 The Big Idea
What lingers is the question: What do we risk when we dare to take up space – in love, in ambition, in history? Joan’s journey is more than a physical launch; it’s a quiet revolution. The novel leaves behind the ache of untold stories and the warmth of claiming your own.
🧠 What’s it About?
Joan Goodwin, a reserved physics professor, leaves behind a quiet life to join NASA’s 1980s Space Shuttle program. There, she discovers camaraderie, heartbreak, purpose – and a love she never expected.
🔍 Why It’s More Than Just the Blurb
This isn’t just a space story. It’s a sapphic coming-of-self tale set against the backdrop of the 1980s, where women – and queer women especially – fight for visibility in a world that still sees them as anomalies.
Bullet Points
- 🚀 Empowering and emotional: Women scientists and engineers forging paths through NASA’s male-dominated halls.
- 🌈 Sapphic love at the heart: A slow-burn romance that dares to exist in silence and starlight.
- 🧠 Social and historical commentary: A smart look at how 1980s politics shaped progress.
🔍 Deep Dive
Let’s dig in. Atmosphere orbits big themes: ambition versus expectation, visibility versus safety, and the quiet bravery of choosing love in a world that tells you not to. From the sterile fluorescence of NASA’s control rooms to the charged silences between women who can’t speak their truths aloud, Reid crafts a tension that’s more human than technical. Every moment feels earned, especially when everything – careers, lives, love – is one misstep from collapse.
📚 What’s Inside? (Spoiler-Free Breakdown)
- An ensemble cast of compelling astronauts – each with their own reason to reach for the stars
- Queer yearning that pulses just beneath the surface of protocol and precision
- Meticulous research on shuttle missions, training, and 1980s NASA culture
- A ticking clock structure that ratchets up the tension until it breaks
Full Review By Jasmine
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Taylor Jenkins Reid has always had a gift for creating characters who feel not just real, but intimate – like people you’ve known all your life or wish you had. In Atmosphere, she takes that gift to dizzying new heights. Set within the rigid structure of NASA’s 1980s Space Shuttle program, this novel is bursting with emotional gravity, quiet resistance, and unforgettable people who live just as boldly on the page as they would in history.
At its center is Joan Goodwin, a woman who feels like the most human kind of hero – reserved, brilliant, afraid, and brave all at once. She isn’t loud or showy, but her longing – for space, for recognition, for love – is deeply felt in every line. You root for her not just to succeed, but to be known. Her evolving relationship with Vanessa Ford, a fellow astronaut and enigmatic engineer, is one of the most compelling and tender sapphic romances in recent literary fiction – built not on tropes, but on glances, gestures, and that slow, painful awareness of what’s at stake if they’re discovered. The love between them feels earned, and Reid never rushes it. Instead, she lets it simmer, quietly challenging the constraints of the time.
But this isn’t just Joan’s story – it’s also a story about community, and how the right people can make space for you when the world doesn’t. Frances, Joan’s young niece, steals every scene she’s in. She’s precocious without ever being irritating, and her role in the story is both grounding and heartrending. She reminds Joan – and us – why it matters to dream loudly.
Even the side characters – Hank, Griff, Donna, Lydia – are beautifully rendered. Each one adds a layer of warmth, friction, or subtle support. What’s most moving is how quietly they stand by Joan, how their camaraderie becomes its own kind of safety net. Without big speeches or forced conflict, Reid shows us a chosen family willing to risk their reputations to protect one of their own. In a profession shaped by politics, patriotism, and appearance, that kind of loyalty reads as nothing short of radical.
And yes, it’s heartbreaking. Reid doesn’t shy away from the cost of reaching for the stars – not just physically, but emotionally and socially. There’s a moment in the book (you’ll know it when it comes) that hits like a rupture, one that stays with you long after the final chapter. It’s gutting. But somehow, even amid the ache, Reid gives us hope. The prose is luminous, tight, and emotionally layered – never overwrought, always honest. She captures that paradox of space: the vast emptiness above, and the full hearts down below.
Atmosphere is one of those novels that lingers. Not because of any one twist or plot point, but because of the people. Because of Joan. Because of what it meant to live – and love – beyond what the world said was possible.
🎭 Mood & Matchmaker
Think Hidden Figures meets Portrait of a Lady on Fire, with a pinch of The Right Stuff.
🌈 Vibes Check
What kind of vibe are you in for? Let’s break it down:
✍️ Writing Style: Lyrical, character-driven, grounded in historical intimacy
🚀 Tension Level: High-stakes but human – equal parts launchpad and emotional fallout
🏳️🌈 Queer Rep: Quietly central, deeply moving, sapphic and affirming
🛰️ Science Elements: NASA realism, 1980s shuttle program, beautifully researched
🌌 Emotional Range: Empowering, nostalgic, devastating, quietly triumphant
🔄 Mood Matches
If you liked…
📘 The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo – for closeted love and historical heartbreak
📘 Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow – for smart characters grappling with big dreams
📘 Lessons in Chemistry – for women in STEM defying the world’s small expectations
…then this one’s for you.
For more powerful queer stories, check out our LGBTQ+ Books collection!
🧃 Emotional Map
😨 Tense silence + NASA danger – 6/10
💔 Emotional gut-punches – 8/10
🌈 Queer joy + resistance – 9/10
🧠 Stays with you afterwards – 10/10
🎯 For the Right Reader
If you’re craving something queer, empowering, and quietly defiant, with just enough space-race adrenaline to keep you flipping pages through tears – this might be your next favourite read.
📦 Who Will Love This?
Perfect for readers who…
🚀 Want stories where women in STEM get to be the story
🌈 Crave sapphic romance that’s tender, hidden, and hard-won
🧠 Love fiction grounded in real-world history and subtle social critique
🪐 Felt changed by The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo or Hidden Figures
🎥 Can already see this as an Oscar-nominated adaptation
🧭 Where I Found It
Being a huge fan of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones and the Six, when I saw Atmosphere hardback on sale for half price, I knew it had to be my next read!
💡 Extra Curiosities
Got some quick questions about Atmosphere and Taylor Jenkins Reid? Here are a few things readers often wonder about the book:
What is the book Atmosphere about?
Atmosphere is Taylor Jenkins Reid’s latest novel, set during the 1980s Space Shuttle program. It follows Joan Goodwin, a reserved physics professor who joins NASA as one of its first female scientists in space. As she trains with a diverse group of astronauts, Joan finds herself pushed to her emotional, intellectual, and personal limits – including falling in love in ways she never expected. It’s a story about ambition, identity, love, and what it means to find your place in a world that hasn’t made room for you.
What is the summary of the Atmosphere a love story?
Atmosphere: A Love Story by Taylor Jenkins Reid is a sweeping historical novel set in the early 1980s, following Joan Goodwin – a brilliant but reserved physics professor – who joins NASA’s Space Shuttle program as one of its first female scientists. As she trains alongside a groundbreaking group of astronauts, Joan is challenged not only by the physical and mental demands of spaceflight but also by her growing connection with another woman on the team.
What is the most popular Taylor Jenkins Reid book?
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is widely considered Taylor Jenkins Reid’s most popular and acclaimed novel. It became a viral sensation, especially on TikTok and Bookstagram, thanks to its glamorous yet tragic story of an aging Hollywood icon and her lifelong secret love. It’s known for its nuanced queer representation and emotional depth – and continues to draw new fans year after year.
👋 Final Thoughts
Atmosphere is Taylor Jenkins Reid at her most daring and tender. It’s a novel about space, yes – but more than that, it’s about what it costs to live authentically in a world that isn’t built for you, and the rare beauty of finding people who see you anyway. It captures the thrill of ambition, the ache of repression, the warmth of chosen family, and the breathtaking vulnerability of queer love in a time when silence was often the only safe option.
This isn’t just a story about NASA or the 1980s – it’s a deeply human, deeply felt exploration of identity, longing, and resilience. Reid doesn’t write caricatures or plot devices – she writes people. And in Joan, Vanessa, Frances, and the entire cast, she’s created a constellation of characters who will live with you long after the final page.
Whether you’re here for the sapphic romance, the slow-burn emotional arc, or the empowering depiction of women in STEM, Atmosphere delivers something extraordinary: a love story that reaches beyond gravity – and lands right in your chest.