Atmosphere: A Love Story

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. How does Atmosphere compare to Taylor Jenkins Reid’s other novels, such as The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo or Daisy Jones and the Six? What similar tropes, character types, settings, plot elements, or themes do they share?

2. What are your overall impressions of the novel? For instance, what aspects did you find most emotionally resonant or engaging? How did you respond to the nonlinear narrative structure?

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. Discuss Joan’s passion for stars and how it impacts her career and ambitions in life. What passions/interests influence your dreams and ambitions? Did Joan’s journey inspire you to pursue those dreams in some way?

2. Joan and Lydia function as foils for each other, both in how they react to gender discrimination and in their attitudes about competition among the astronauts. Whose position do you find more reasonable or compelling? How might you respond in a similar situation?

3. Have you, like Joan and Vanessa, ever faced a difficult choice to sacrifice an important personal connection to fulfill a lifelong ambition, or vice versa? How did you resolve this decision, and what did you learn about yourself or others in the process?

4. Consider Barbara’s parental neglect and Joan’s reluctance to confront her sister. How might you have handled this situation? Was any better outcome possible in this scenario?

5. Several characters consider the importance and power of one’s legacy (both positive and negative), which inspire their actions throughout the novel. What legacy do you hope to leave behind, and how does this influence your actions/choices?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. The women of Group 9 face many instances of gender discrimination on both social and systemic levels. How do their experiences of gender discrimination in the 1980s compare to contemporary gender attitudes and challenges faced by women today?

2. Antigay bias and sexuality discrimination were deeply ingrained in 1980s US culture and codified on a federal level, impacting the workplace and lives of many people, just like Joan and Vanessa in the novel. What comparison can you make between the characters’ experience (and the realities facing the LGTBQ community in the 1980s) and the experiences and challenges facing today’s LGBTQ community?

3. Consider the historical context of the NASA shuttle program in the 1980s. How does this historical setting impact the narrative? Could Joan’s story be told in any other time period? How might a different historical time change her professional and emotional journey?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. Discuss the impact of the nonlinear narrative structure, particularly the shift between the crisis aboard the Navigator and the timeline leading up to this event, on your engagement with and understanding of the text.

2. Compare and contrast the characters of Jimmy Hayman, John “Griff” Griffin, and Hank Redman. How do their differing attitudes toward gender or their roles in NASA influence their interactions with the other characters or contribute to developing the novel’s themes?

3. Consider the inclusion of Vanessa’s point of view in the four chapters titled “December 29, 1984.” In a novel that is otherwise written in close third-person from Joan’s perspective, what is the value or significance of Vanessa’s perspective? What does this narrative choice add to the novel’s meaning or impact?

4. At several points in the novel, the themes of The Relationship Between Ambition and Sacrifice and The Need for Love and Belonging clash. How would you characterize the conflict and interplay between these two themes? What might this indicate about the hierarchy the novel places on these opposing values?

5. Consider the significance and symbolism of stars in the novel? How do stars relate to Joan’s worldview about humanity, science, and religion? What does this contribute to the novel’s themes? How does it inform Joan’s character development?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. The novel concludes with Vanessa’s return to Earth, inviting many possibilities for the future open. Imagine a continuation of the novel. What might happen to the characters next? What direction do their lives take after the conclusion?

2. Imagine that you were adapting Atmosphere for the screen. Who might you cast as Joan, Vanessa, and the other astronaut candidates? Would you adapt it for film or for television, and why?