Atmosphere: A GMA Book Club Pick Audiobook by Taylor Jenkins Reid

I pressed play on *Atmosphere* one clear night while gazing at the stars from my Portland porch, mug of chamomile tea warming my hands. There was something fitting about tracing Joan Goodwin’s journey from grounded professor to aspiring astronaut as I watched the moon cast its glow—her story had me looking up in more ways than one.

Taylor Jenkins Reid has long been a literary comfort zone for me, her previous novels unfolding in glitzy Hollywood or the electric haze of ‘70s rock. But here, she launches us into a new orbit—NASA’s 1980s space shuttle era—a setting that pulses with both historical detail and metaphorical reach. As someone who came of age in the ‘80s and once dreamed of being an astronomer (before life nudged me elsewhere), this backdrop felt personal and thrilling.

Joan isn’t your typical “heroine.” She’s reserved, content with her professorial world at Rice University and a doting aunt—so familiar to women like myself who’ve built lives full of quiet joys rather than loud ambitions. Yet when Joan stumbles upon NASA’s call for women scientists, Reid describes how she “burns” to be among those chosen few bound for space—a passion that crackles through every moment of her transformation.

This wasn’t just inspiring; it was validating. At thirty-six myself, I felt Reid speaking directly to anyone whose big dreams have ever seemed belated or outlandish. Joan proves it’s never too late to rewrite your universe—and that struck home for me during some recent career soul-searching.

The heart of *Atmosphere* lies not only in ambition but also love—specifically Joan’s deepening relationship with Vanessa Ford, an enigmatic engineer whose technical prowess is matched by her magnetic presence. Their romance unfolds amid rigorous training and secret glances, wrapped in all the complexities (and dangers) faced by two women falling for each other in Reagan-era NASA. Listening to Kristen DiMercurio and Julia Whelan trade dialogue as Joan and Vanessa made their attraction feel raw and immediate—the kind you can almost hear sparking over static-filled headsets.

Reid doesn’t gloss over the pressures or societal challenges; instead, she weaves them seamlessly into both plot and character development. The ensemble cast offers lively camaraderie: tough-as-nails Lydia Danes challenged my assumptions about professional rivalry among women (and made me laugh aloud on several occasions), while pilots Hank Redmond and John Griffin were refreshingly supportive allies rather than predictable antagonists.

But what elevated this audiobook above so many others I’ve heard recently was its sense of atmosphere—pun fully intended! The narration trio brought vibrancy to each scene: DiMercurio beautifully conveyed Joan’s internal battles between comfort and longing; Whelan gave Vanessa a flinty confidence softened by vulnerability; even Taylor Jenkins Reid herself lent narrative grace notes at key moments that made everything feel intimate yet grand.

My only quibble? A few technical details occasionally dragged—a hazard when marrying science with fiction—but these passages served purpose: they grounded the narrative emotionally even as they described zero-gravity somersaults or orbital mechanics. If anything, they reminded me how courage often blooms precisely where knowledge meets uncertainty.

*Atmosphere* delivers more than an epic adventure—it offers hope that reinvention is possible at any age or stage if you dare question your limits (literal or otherwise). It asks us what it means not just to gaze at distant worlds but to discover unknown corners within ourselves…and maybe fall spectacularly in love along the way.

For anyone seeking sweeping inspiration tethered firmly to authentic emotion—and especially if you’re craving LGBTQ+ representation without cliché—I can’t recommend this listen enough. By book’s end, beneath Oregon skies littered with stars unseen by city light pollution, I found myself whispering thanks—to Joan Goodwin for reaching beyond boundaries…to Taylor Jenkins Reid for taking hers even further…and perhaps most importantly, for reminding us all there are still universes waiting inside each brave leap forward.