1. Joan dreams of becoming an astronaut in a time when very few women are given the opportunity. What internal strengths does she draw upon during the processes of applying, training and then practicing for this career? Have you ever been in a situation where you were underestimated, or not given equal opportunities? What strengths did you draw upon?

2. Describe Joan’s relationship with her sister, Barbara. What bonds them? What are their fundamental differences?

3. How would you characterize Joan’s relationship with her niece, Frances? What does Joan provide for Frances that Barbara doesn’t? How does this triangle of relationships change over time?

4. “She didn’t want to lower herself to the game men played,” Joan thinks. “To be like them. Why would she follow people who were lost?” How do Joan, Vanessa, Lydia and Donna all react differently to being women in a male-dominated field?

5. When Joan does finally make it to space, it’s not what she expected. How does she process the realization that her life’s dream has changed? Have you ever achieved a dream, only to discover you want something different now?

6. “People say opposites attract, but Joan found this to almost never be true. People just couldn’t see the ways they were drawn to exactly who they feared --- or hoped --- they might be.” Do you agree or disagree? Discuss.

7. Which of the other mission crew members were you most drawn to? Whose arc did you find most moving? Most surprising?

8. If you were making a movie or TV show of ATMOSPHERE, who would you cast in the lead roles?

9. What did you think of the book’s ending? Why do you think the author chose to end the book that way, especially with that final line? What do you imagine for the characters in 10 years?

10. If you’ve read other books by Taylor Jenkins Reid, what themes does ATMOSPHERE share with her previous novels? What sets it apart?