In 1952 a huge meteorite obliterates much of the East Coast of the US, forcing the country and the world into an accelerated space race in order to escape the increasingly hostile planet. Elma York, genius mathematician and pilot, gets hired on as a “calculator” but her dream is to be included in the astronaut cadre. Standing in her way: extreme amounts of 1950s misogyny, as well as severe stage fright and imposter syndrome from years of being talked down to by men in technical fields; despite the unceasing support of her husband, it’s an uphill battle. Elma also gets to see little snippets of how racism complicates life even further for women who aren’t as white and privileged as she is. Despite the apocalyptic nature of the situation, the tone of the book is weirdly light; the real conflict is Elma’s battle to get to space. Most of the book is spent on her inner turmoil while precious little attention is paid to the rest of the post-cataclysm world, a balance that didn’t sit well with me.