Atmosphere: A GMA Book Club Pick: A Love Story

Written by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Narrated by Taylor Jenkins Reid, Kristen DiMercurio and Julia Whelan

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK • From the author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones & The Six comes an epic new novel set against the backdrop of the 1980s space shuttle program about the extraordinary lengths we go to live and love beyond our limits.

“Thrilling . . . heartbreaking . . . uplifting . . . the fast-paced, emotionally charged story of one ambitious young woman, finding both her voice and her passion.”—Kristin Hannah, author of The Women

“NASA? Space missions? The ’80s? This is a collection of all the things I love.”—Andy Weir, author of Project Hail Mary and The Martian

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: Time, NPR, People, Good Housekeeping, them, Marie Claire, Seattle Times, Book Riot, Library Journal, Chicago Public Library, She Reads, Denver Public Library

Joan Goodwin has been obsessed with the stars for as long as she can remember. Thoughtful and reserved, Joan is content with her life as a professor of physics and astronomy at Rice University and as aunt to her precocious niece, Frances. That is, until she comes across 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.

Selected from a pool of thousands of applicants in the summer of 1980, Joan begins training at Houston’s Johnson Space Center, alongside an exceptional group of fellow candidates: Top Gun pilot Hank Redmond and scientist John Griffin, who are kind and easygoing even when the stakes are highest; mission specialist Lydia Danes, who has worked too hard to play nice; warmhearted Donna Fitzgerald, who is navigating her own secrets; and Vanessa Ford, the magnetic and mysterious aeronautical engineer, who can fix any engine and fly any plane.

As the new astronauts become unlikely friends and prepare for their first flights, Joan finds a passion and a love she never imagined. In this new light, Joan begins to question everything she thinks she knows about her place in the observable universe.

Then, in December of 1984, on mission STS-LR9, it all changes in an instant.

Fast-paced, thrilling, and emotional, Atmosphere is Taylor Jenkins Reid at her best: transporting readers to iconic times and places, creating complex protagonists, and telling a passionate and soaring story about the transformative power of love—this time among the stars.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
• Release date: Jun 3, 2025
• ISBN: 9780593614198

Taylor Jenkins Reid

Taylor Jenkins Reid is the author of the New York Times bestselling novels Carrie Soto Is Back, Malibu Rising, Daisy Jones and The Six and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, as well as One True Loves, Maybe in Another Life, After I Do, and Forever, Interrupted. Her books have been chosen by Reese’s Book Club, Read with Jenna, and Book of the Month. Her novel Daisy Jones and The Six is now a limited series on Amazon Prime. She lives in Los Angeles.  

Reviews for Atmosphere

[pawsandpaperbacks.emily · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed this audiobook; i found the structure of the story to be a bit… convoluted. I understood the reasoning but it did take away from the experience, in my opinion.

[jup1828 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A solid read. It plays on your feelings with family twists and turns, it spotlights many historical issues around the queer community and its lack of understanding by from the world, and ultimately this story highlights how love is love, regardless of sex, gender, professional position and era. Why not 5 stars??? That ending! Too sudden. The book could have been longer. Amazing narration by the speaker.

[Melissa Stephan · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I don’t usually write reviews. This was the best book I read in 2025. The highs and lows, the social situations, women puoneers in space, the losses. It was breathtakingly beautiful and I felt like we were in that spaceship with them. They audiobook is masterful. Worth the ride!

[Kerri Ivie · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Absolutely fantastic. I laughed and cried. I learned to add salt and paper to my buttered bread. Best of the year hands down.

[jenreadseverypage · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Absolutely loved this. It was so good. Highly recommend! Could not stop listening.

[vannessarowe · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wow…I didn’t expect to cry this much. This book wrecked me, but I loved every second of it.

[omsyphus7 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Absolutely incredible! I’ve loved every one of Taylor’s books, but this one blew them all out of the water for me. I truly can’t find the right words to describe this book without spoiling it. All I can say is that this is a must-read.

[pjlinea · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

TJR done it again! Beautifully written. Initially, I did not have much interest in reading this book because of the subject but I do like the author and her other books so I thought I’d give it a try. Wow, I am so glad that I read this one of the best books I’ve read.

[kmarokeo · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Beautiful story.
I shed tears.

I imagine these trail blazing women are enjoying their golden years holding hands while staring at the stars!

Would like to see a movie adaptation!

[sfraga · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

First 5 star rating of the year. The way this book had me in a chokehold. I didn’t cry, I sobbed. Take in account I’m a big sucker for a mushy love story- but this was something so different and beautiful! I just can’t even!!!!!

[Ashley Hoskins · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

TJR does it again. A masterfully written love story that made me cry like a baby

[suzywells · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great story! Very enlightening! We’ve come so far! Would have appreciated more history on the space flights!

[aerinhigginbotham · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

That was an amazing journey. I am in awe of the emotions this writer is able to convey so effortlessly. I am a huge fan of this book.

[shell.torres63 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved/hated it. Loved Joan Vanessa and Frances. Did not LIKE Barbara at all. I need more !

[daniiuterr · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Sobbed! Just beautiful! Oh to be loved and to be adored flaws and all. The tension, the stakes, the everything. Loved loved loved. Narrators are so talented! Conveyed each character very well

[Lauren Nieves · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved every second of this audiobook. I laughed I cried made me have all the feels.

[Amanda Paulson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

oh my… my heart is still pounding. now that’s how you end a book.

[Dalia Soles · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Another phenomenal TJR book! I laughed and cried and felt too many emotions.

[karnold411 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Absolutely fantastic. I’m so glad I chose to listen to this one. It’s my new favorite book since Kristen Hannah’s The Women and the Great Alone. I didn’t know what to expect with this book, a story about outer space, but it exceeded my expectations. TJR is a natural at writing love stories. I can never get enough of my favorite audio narrator, Julia Whelan, either!

[steague0502 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Absolutely beautiful book. Taylor Jenkins Reid hit this out of the park.

[brooklynfalkenberg · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book was everything I want out of a romance story. Thought provoking, beautiful in all the ways a book could be. Absolutely amazing!!! 100000000/10 cutest love story!!!

[Shelby Wells · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

TJR does it again. brb im crying in a corner

[qpstyrzxqm · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I’m new to reading and reviewing thanks to a great friend. This audiobook for me was amazing and pulled me in right away, I couldn’t stop listening. It made me laugh, cry and a little angry in some parts. The characters felt real and the emotions hit hard. I purchased a copy today because I need this book for in it’s physical form!

[C Sch · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I've loved all her other books, really. They've been wonderful. This was good but was way too much of a love story versus her other books which had much more surrounding them. Writing is wonderful, but this one was just, for me, off the mark from the other books that I loved so much.

[Lezlie Rutherford · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Absolutely one of the best books I have listened to in a very long time!!!

[Gideon Morgan · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

When I read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, I was so captivated, I listened to it in two days. Well, friends, I listened to Atmosphere in just one day, and I wish I had savoured it for longer.
I was blown away by every aspect of this book. Every character is unique and complex. Taylor Jenkins Reid takes different kinds of love—romantic, familial, platonic, and even spiritual—and weaves them into a beautiful tapestry.
The dialogue feels natural, yet still poetic at times. I also love how she uses proper nouns much more often than pronouns; it helps me keep track of who she’s talking about when my ADHD brain wanders off.
I 100% recommend this book, especially if you enjoyed The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.

[kaitlinpetruska · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Oh my stars! This book was the best book I’ve read in 2025!

[dabossladie82 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I didn’t know what to expect going to this book. I didn’t know anything about it just decided to listen to it. It took me by complete surprise and was one of the best books I have read so far this year. Definitely recommend reading it!

[shazjhb · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Great book about women in the space program. I loved the workings of NASA. Joan, and Vanessa were lovely characters. Francis stole the show. Barbara was a bit too awful.

[lorikboyd · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Taylor Jenkins Reid does it again! Will I every get tired of saying that? Probably not. She is one of my favorite authors and this book did not disappoint.

It’s early 80s..big hair and small minds set in the NASA Space Program. Joan Goodwin has loved the stars since she was young. She now teaches physics and astronomy at Rice University, and is also an extra special aunt to an adorable niece. She sees an ad looking for women scientists to join NASA’s Space Shuttle Program. This opens a whole new world for Joan and other exceptional women in so many ways.

This brought so many memories of watching the space shuttles on TV. Joan finds her passion while chasing a dream and in turn, finds a part of herself she never knew she was missing. The heaviness of the subject matter could have bogged down this storyline but is so well researched and written that it adds to the reading experience. The characters are brought so vividly to life that you will take every breath, success, failure and discovery along with them. My emotions ran high throughout this book. Evelyn Hugo has always been one of my favorite books, now I’ll add Atmosphere to this list.

Thanks to BallantineBooks for this most anticipated ARC. This is my honest opinion.