About:
- 352 pages
- Publisher : Ballantine Books
- Language : English
- ISBN-10 : 0593158717
Thoughts:
This book has not been on my radar at all, even though I do love to read about the space program. My wife wanted to read it, and thought I’d be interested in it as well. I am a fan of Apple’s For All Men Kind and thought this book about women in the 1990s space program-in going to be just as much fun.
Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid is more of a romance than a space program historical fiction. Shame of the publisher for marketing it otherwise. I found the parts about astronaut training, space program and the challenges women had to be fascinating. The romance part was really not up my alley, and I have to admit I found myself skipping parts of it.
The relationship which I thought was the most interesting was a subplot of the protagonist, Joan, relationship with her sister Barb and niece Frances. Barb is a person who should never have had children and is relying on Joan for help. That all changes when Joan has been accepted to the program and her schedule has been filled with astronaut training and NASA responsibilities.
I had a tough time keeping my interest in about 1/3 of the book. As I mentioned, the romance part wasn’t interesting and worse it made the ending entirely predictable.
I did enjoy the book though, I thought the writing was good and the characters were interesting. The research into the space program was decent, I just wish there was more of it.
Synopsis:
Joan Goodwin, physics professor and astronomer has been selected by NASA to join the astronaut corp. This honor has turned her life upside down, especially when it comes to her sister and small niece which she helps to take care of.
Part of a group of candidates which are aggressive and talented, Joan is a bit intimated but soon finds her place in the program.
Disclaimer:I got this book for free.
*Amazon links point to an affiliate account
