The Astronaut Wives Club by Lily Koppel (2014)Many of us have heard of America's first astronauts, but few of us know about the women and families of those men. Lily Koppel gives us an inside look at the astronaut wives who became overnight celebrities, whether they wanted to or not. I thought this was a really interesting read - I've read other books about astronauts, how they were chosen, how they trained, and their professional achievements (and sometimes tragedies, unfortunately), but I've never seen a book focus on their wives and family lives. Koppel explores how these women became somewhat famous in their own right, were touted as the "perfect" wives and homemakers, and had to keep up appearances even when they were going through tough times. There were a lot of people to keep track of, especially as the astronaut classes grew bigger, but several of the women stood out, and overall I thought this was an honest and intimate look at astronaut wives. 4 stars
Halley is looking for a place to hide while she rides out a political scandal, so she takes a job as a sort of caretaker on a space barge that was previously used as a glamorous place to store the cryogenically frozen bodies of the rich and famous, years ago. Soon after, though, weird noises and odd images on the security cameras make her wonder if something truly horrible is happening on the ship. SA Barnes is always good for a space horror, although I have to admit, this one was a bit convoluted for me. Halley is a well-rounded character, even if her backstory isn't totally clear at first. The space barge is an eerie, atmospheric setting for a horror novel, with all the defunct cryo chambers around the ship and a handyman who just seems a little off. The whole bit with AI, though, just added too many layers and made this already unbelievable story almost a bit laughable, unfortunately. 3 stars
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The lives of the astronaut wives sounds stressful.
ReplyDeleteI had to look back at my list, but I have read The Astronaut Wives Club - in 2013 apparently. I think this was probably for a book group discussion. Seem to have some memory of that. I do recall that I liked the book and it was very interesting. Thanks for featuring it because it kind of makes me want to seek it out again. ;-)
ReplyDeleteThe Astronaut Wives Club sounds like it'd be an interesting one! I might be crazy, but I believe there was a TV show with the same/similar name that was adapted from a book--was it that book!? If so, I believe my mom and I watched the show all that time ago, haha. And I'd been curious about Cold Eternity, but it does sound like maybe there's just a bit too much going on in there.
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