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  • Published: 8 April 2026
  • ISBN: 9781804941430
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 352
  • RRP: $24.99

Atmosphere





The new novel by the Number 1 New York Times bestselling author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones & The Six

THE No.1 SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

From the author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones & The Six, an epic novel about the extraordinary lengths we go to live and love beyond our limits, set against the backdrop of the 1980s space shuttle program.

'Thrilling ... heartbreaking ... uplifting. ... I loved it' KRISTIN HANNAH, bestselling author of The Women

'A richly drawn page-turner' OBSERVER

‘The queen of escapist fiction’ SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

---------

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 to be an astronaut at Houston's Johnson Space Centre, alongside an exceptional group of fellow candidates.

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, it all changes in an instant.

Atmosphere is a soaring story about the transformative power of love - this time among the stars.

READERS ARE SAYING...

'Taylor Jenkins Reid is the master of a really great love story' 5* Reader review

'So emotional by the end that I could hardly speak' 5* Reader review

‘Beautiful and moving…I could not put this book down’ 5* Reader review

‘Made me laugh and moved me to tears, what more could you ask for?’ 5* Reader review

‘Emotional, captivating, and wonderfully written, Atmosphere is one of those rare books that stays with you long after you’ve finished the final page.’ 5* Reader review

Praise for Atmosphere:

'Is there a popular fiction writer alive who conveys falling in love better than Taylor Jenkins Reid?'
DAILY MAIL

'NASA? Space missions? The 80s? This is a collection of all the things I love. ... Thrilling'
ANDY WEIR, author of Project Hail Mary and The Martian

'Packs a hefty emotional punch'
MAIL ON SUNDAY

‘An empowering and out of this world love story’
PEOPLE

'Beautifully written, immersive'
THE TIMES

'Our favourite TJR novel yet'
COSMOPOLITAN

'I absolutely adored this'
BRYONY GORDON

'Breathtaking'
HEAT

'Unputdownable'
GRAZIA

  • Published: 8 April 2026
  • ISBN: 9781804941430
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 352
  • RRP: $24.99

About the author

Taylor Jenkins Reid

Taylor Jenkins Reid is the No.1 Sunday Times bestselling author of ten novels, including Atmosphere, Carrie Soto is Back, Malibu Rising, Daisy Jones & The Six and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and their daughter.

Also by Taylor Jenkins Reid

See all

Praise for Atmosphere

TJR is surely the queen of escapist fiction

Sunday Telegraph

Thrilling ... heartbreaking ... uplifting. Taylor Jenkins Reid's novel, Atmosphere, is the fast-paced, emotionally-charged story of one ambitious young woman, finding both her voice and her passion, as she fights to become one of the first female NASA astronauts in the 1980s. You'll barrel through this electric novel, rooting for the women to not only succeed in the space program, but to soar. A pitch perfect ending ... I loved it.

Kristin Hannah, author of 'The Women'

NASA? Space missions? The 80s? This is a collection of all the things I love. Great story, excellent research and accuracy, and a thrilling conclusion.

Andy Weir, author of 'Project Hail Mary' and 'The Martian'

A richly drawn page-turner ... It would take a stony reader to turn away from its pleasures ... Melding action thriller emergency with star-crossed romance ... I'd be lying if I said my eyes weren't wet by the end

Observer

An ambitious novel that explores human limitation, sacrifice and the essence of love itself

Woman & Home

Takes you on a journey to show the lengths we go to for love. Sure to be a must-read

Fabulous

Quite possibly our favourite TJR novel yet ... Even if you're not a big space fan, you can't help but fall for this cosmic tale

Cosmopolitan

Moving, pacey and a read that will stick with you

Press Association

You'll see this one on every sun lounger this summer

iPaper

Tipped as the read of the summer

Sunday Times

Is there a popular fiction writer alive who conveys falling in love better than Taylor Jenkins Reid?

Daily Mail

Atmosphere is at once epic and intimate, heart-wrenching and hopeful. It's an escapist novel of the best kind with a final few pages that will leave you utterly breathless

Culturefly

I absolutely adored this

Bryony Gordon

A breathtaking, quietly staggering tale of female empowerment, desire, and our place in the universe

Heat

Packs a hefty emotional punch

Mail on Sunday

Unputdownable

Grazia

[A] passionate yet transformative love story among the stars.

The Book List, Stylist Magazine

She's here! If Daisy Jones and The Six irrevocably changed your life, then buckle up; your new obsession has arrived.

11 best new books you need to read in June 2025, Glamour Online

Joan's voyage of self-discovery through the bumpy internal landscape of her heart is depicted as every bit as momentous as her first flight into space

Financial Times

Taylor Jenkins Reid at her best

Out and About Magazine

Pure escapism for sci-fi fans craving passion

ELLE Magazine

Expect to laugh, cry and everything in between

Express

An unforgettable read

Mirror Online

Taylor Jenkins Reid writes fiction that feels cinematic in scope

Radio Times

The perfect summer holiday read ... a beautifully written, immersive story about pioneering women, the bonds of friendship, the beauty and heartbreak of true love and the risks people will take to help it triumph against the odds

Nicola Sturgeon, The Times

A textbook summer read

iPaper

Taylor Jenkins Reid can always be counted on for an entertaining read

Belfast Telegraph

Emotional, exhilarating and achingly human, it's one small step for fiction, one giant leap for your summer book stack

Platinum

Out of this world ... a deliciously fizzy concoction of warmth and giddy female ambition ... wonderfully enjoyable

The Scotsman

Taylor has an amazing knack at transporting her readers to another world where anything could happen. It's pure escapism.

Fearne Cotton, Woman's Own

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