Customer Reviews

This Place Has No Atmosphere

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Whenever I think of the Thornton Wilder play "Our Town," I am reminded of Paula Danziger's book "This Place Has No Atmosphere." It was already a little dated in the mid-90s when I read it in middle school, but the characters rang true and I enjoyed it immensely. I don't remember the story itself so much as I remember that it was one of the first books that made me stop and think about new ideas every once in a while. How would people live on the moon? What does it mean to REALLY move away?

In short: if I remember this book after nearly ten years and hundreds of books in between, there's got to be something sepecial about it.

Aurora Williams seems to have everything; she's a member of the 'in-group' at her school, she's best friends with a rich celebrity and best of all the cutest boy in school just asked her out. Teen heaven right? But Aurora isn't really happy. Her parents don't understand her, or she them, and she isn't really like the other kids in her group though she's good at acting like she is. In short Aurora is pretending to be somebody she's not in order to be accepted. What this book is really about is Aurora discovering who Aurora is and getting the courage to be herself. Along the way she learns hanging out and having boyfriends isn't all there is to life, that people she used to dismiss as 'barfburgers' might be worth knowing after all, and maybe her parents understand her better than she thought. She even learns to appreciate her kid sister! None of which would have happened if she hadn't been forced to move to the Moon.

If you think your life couldn't get any worse, you should share a day in the life of Aurora Williams. The book This Place Has No Atmosphere by Paula Danziger is a classic. In the year 2057, 14-year old Aurora and her friends do all the regular teenage activities. They get in trouble, buy CD's, and watch models in mood clothes. One day Aurora's life is shattered with news from her mother that she and her family are moving to the Moon. Aurora prepares for the worst and the beginning of a new life on the Moon. After about a year on the moon, Aurora's fears have gradually disappeared as she makes new friends, and found the finer things on the moon. Danziger surely has pointed out every teens nightmare in this science fiction-comedy. It sure will make children and adults laugh from years 2000 to 2060!

The year is 1986. I had recently moved (AGAIN) to a different state and was about to start school mid semester. I was the new kid once more. It seemed like just as soon as I would start to fit in my family moved. I am sure many adults can relate to the feeling of being up-rooted and moved as a child, but at the time you swear you are the only person who has ever felt that way.

So...I read...a lot. At first it was to pass the time on long cross country car trips following a moving van (remember this is back in the days before TV's in cars, ipods, cell phones...) But, as I grew older the books and stories I would read would have more purpose than just killing time. Sometimes the books actually changed my perspective on things by telling me a story in which I could so deeply relate. It wasn't a person in my face telling me that "this too shall pass". No, it was a story that I could understand and it showed me that things can get better if you change the way you confront them. I know they seem so similar, but it's a very different thing to show and not tell.

This brings me to the late Paula Danziger's 1986 release of THIS PLACE HAS NO ATMOSPHERE. I picked up the book because I thought the premise of living under a dome on the moon really cool. And it was...totally, but it was so much more.

Danziger wrote a quirky Science Fiction spoof that is at times funny and sad but if anything it is a wonderful coming of age story. The characters are all very realistic in their actions and the emotions conveyed. Readers get to see a teen, who by nature is feels like the center of the universe, discover that she is a part of that universe. Aurora deals with depression and normal teenage angst, but in the midst of it all she grows closer to her parents and realizes all that she can be and contribute to the world whilst finding her true identity.

And, lets face it . . . finding ones identity is a timeless lesson that continues to be something kids, teens and adults have issues with.

I loved this book. I am so happy to see that it is still in print...with a far less cheesy 1980's cover. ;)

Full review: [...]

This was a great story. Aurora disovers she is going to leave everything behind, her friends, her school, and most devastating of all, her boyfriend Matthew! What's worse is that she is leaving all this behind to live on the moon for 5 years, with a bunch of "barfburgers"! How will she survive?

It takes a lot of acceptance, reflection, inflection and changing before Aurora realizes that she has a place to belong on the moon in the year 2056. She discovers that the life she left behind and the friends she clung to so much are totally fake, and dispassionate about anything.

Danziger does a great job of creating Aurora and Starr, the two sisters who make this story memorable. Written and published in 1986, Danziger employs slang and cliches that would escape the grasp of todays kids. However her subtle predictions on lifestyles, and her intriguing plot develop a fun story that kids will love.

One of my favorite strategies used by Danziger is the variety of writing formats she presents different chapters in. While most is narrated in first person from Aurora's perspective, Danziger also uses letter format, lists, a lunar quiz, and even a script format for one chapter. This kind of fun writing is inspiring and encouraging to a dream to be writer like myself.

This book is about a teenager in the year 2057 name Aurora whose life on Earth is a teenage dream. Unfortunately, she has to leave it all behind to be with her parents and bratty brother on the moon; a change Aurora has to learn to cope with, lunar dust and all.

It's been so long since I last read this book. I think I was thirteen and Amazon hadn't been invented yet (I'm now 26, by the way, and I already know of one mall that has condos built over it), but I haven't forgotten about it at all. I loved it then and I still love it now. The plot, puns and characters have stayed with me and all I could say is that a book that stays with you for this long with such fond memories deserves a five all the way.

Aurora is a wonderful character; imperfect yet lovable (when she isn't whining) and the surrounding cast bring out the best and worse in her. The setting of the story makes for a refreshing take for an otherwise uninteresting theme, yet we are not made to forget that in spite of the fast-paced developments in technology, we remain simply human, folks who eat the batch of brownies grandma sent, down to the last crumb (biggest thumb rules!) and teens who pop pimples in spite of clearasil and parents who embarrass their children.

Book best served for tweens.

I think This Place Has No Atmosphere was one of the most uniqe books I have ever read. It made me think about what life would be like in fifty or so years. It is the perfect book for kids like me who love space and science fiction, and can't wait to see what the future might bring.

In 2057, Aurora is living on the Earth with her parents. Her life is going great and her crush just asked her out when suddendly her parents annouce that the family is moving to the moon. You've got to love this book!

I read this book about a year ago for a book report and I loved it! This book is meant mainly for a teens and that's exactly what I am. This book discusses many teen issuses today such as moving; being popular; guys; and friends. It also takes place in a fun setting, the moon! Although this book takes place in the future I could still relate to many of Aurora's problems. I loved it and recommend it to anyone!

This book was terrific! It really expressed the way a kid who is moving would feel. With its humorous perception of the future, tied to the life of a normal teen who goes through the same things as a teenager in the '90's, this book was literally out of this world!