The Wait Is Over—Taylor Jenkins Reid's Next Thrilling Novel Is Here!
When we hear the words "Taylor Jenkins Reid new novel," not much more needs to be said. We're immediately invested because three things are certain: We're about to be transported to an epic time and place, become deeply engrossed in the life of an interesting and nuanced female protagonist, and fall hard for a love story that will most certainly be sweeping and heartbreaking. They're all the elements we look for when building out our summer reading lists, making the highly anticipated arrival of Jenkins Reid's ninth novel, Atmosphere: A Love Story, all the more exciting. Our sun loungers are beckoning.
Set against the 1980s Space Shuttle program, Atmosphere, which is out now, takes readers on a thrilling and emotional space adventure. At the center is Joan Goodwin, a professor of physics and astronomy who becomes one of the first women scientists to join NASA's Space Shuttle program. While training to become one of the few people to go to space, Joan embarks on an incredible journey of self-discovery and unexpected love that throws into question everything she thought she knew about herself.
With a film adaptation already in place, Atmosphere is primed to be one of the biggest releases of the summer, if not the year, solidifying Jenkins Reid—who is also behind such beloved titles as Daisy Jones & The Six and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo—as a publishing powerhouse. The novel comes after a self-prescribed three-year break for the author, but it was that much-needed R&R that gave Jenkins Reid exactly what she needed to pen her next hit. Here, we chat with the writer about why she landed on NASA for her next romance, her plans for the movie, and why she is off BookTok.
Following your debut novel, you were releasing books at a breakneck pace—almost one a year. When Carrie Soto Is Back was published in 2022, you talked about taking an extended break before releasing your next project. Why did it feel like an appropriate time for that break, and what did you focus on during that time?
I think the writing of Soto really prompted me to ask myself questions about my work-life balance. It's a story about a woman who has a singular determination to achieve, and the book is ultimately quite critical of how she is relentless in the pursuit of her goals and that she has a lopsided life. She is overindexing in certain areas and then drastically underindexing in other areas, and the book is saying, "Geez, I hope Carrie gets it. I hope Carrie stops doing this." So to write that book and then not look inward and realize that I was doing that in a different way… I had different metrics than Carrie.
My goals were always about a much more internal metric than an outside one. I've never had a desire to be the best. I've had a desire to make sure everybody was really happy with me. I had to ask myself, Am I taking that same formula? So I wanted to stop. I pushed and said, "I'm not gonna publish for three years. I'm going to take my time to figure out what my next book is about. I'm gonna allow myself the time to research it and not feel rushed and release it when it's ready and, in between then, put my feet up, relax, and spend time with my family."
The past few years, I've been working on this book, yes, but I had the release of the Daisy Jones TV show, so I was working. But also, I took vacations. I went with my family to Europe. I rented a beach house in Malibu, and I just sat there for days on end watching the waves roll in. I took time to let myself get a little bit bored and recharge, and it has made a massive difference—not only in my passion for what I do (because I have energy to do it now), but also, I just have a gentler approach to life.
