Her fans just refer to her as TJR. And she has a ton of fans. This novel has been on many "best of" lists this year, and after reading it, I guess I'm a little surprised. It is well written and the book certainly held my interest, but the subject matter might not attract a large audience.
The book takes place in the 80's in the NASA Space Program. The group of incoming astronauts are all brilliant, talented, competitive people who form a close knit group as they await their chance to go on one of the space shuttles. The main character, Joan, also has a close relationship with her young niece who is being raised by Joan's sister and this becomes a major part of the book. Because it's the 80's, the role of women in space plays an important part in the book.
Clearly the author had to do extensive research in writing this book. Much of the technical information about space flight was over my head but it's written in a way that is understandable.
Many fans of the book wrote about the ending and how they could hardly read it because they were sobbing so hard. Not me. I found the last 20 pages to be a bit manipulative, over dramatic, and drawn out. But still, overall, I recommend the book and I would definitely try another of her novels. - June
P.S. I'm deliberately leaving out a major theme of the book to avoid spoiling it for you. You'll understand when you read it.
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