2 Book Lovers Reviews

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Atmosphere is a book about barriers. It is set in the not-so-distant past when those barriers were a lot more entrenched in society than many of us would like to remember. It took some very brave and courageous people to break down those barriers.

Atmosphere and I took our time getting to know one another. I remember the Space Shuttle program from the 1980s. I watched the first few launches. I remember the Challenger and I remember the Columbia many years later. Alright, Taylor Jenkin Reid, where are you going to go with this love story?

As the story went on, I had a pretty good idea where this story was going to go; no spoilers from me though, you will have to experience it for yourself. Knowing where the story is going is not a problem for me, the best stories are about the journey, not the destination.

Through Joan’s perspective, I really felt embedded in the NASA program, I can only assume that she talked to all of the right people and got all the details; but it felt real for a layperson like myself. Reid’s main focus was on the challenges to women as this new door off the planet opened up. I can only imagine how difficult it was for women to navigate that profession and how hard they had to work to get the opportunity that was laid out on a silver platter for hotshot pilots.

A good book will entertain you. A great book will pull you in, make you feel like a piece of the action and above all else, it will make you think. Atmosphere gave me a lot to think about: the challenges that people face just to live their own life and how more often than not, there is a whole lot of chipping away done before those barriers are knocked down. And that we really can’t take it for granted that someone isn’t working hard to build that wall back up again.

*5 Stars

Read Shelley's review of

Atmosphere.

Atmosphere

​By Taylor Jenkins Reid

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Contemporary Adventure