Orbiting Jupiter

nikolag - The book Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt was the best realistic fiction book you could ever choose to read! When I read the first few chapters of the book I was already heartfelt. It made me want to continue to read to the end. I truly fell in love with this book. If I were to rate this book from one to ten I would definitely give it a ten. In my opinion this book was a great book to sit down with and enjoy. The reason is because it made me feel I was in the actual story. who finally meets his new foster brother named Joseph. Jack already knows three things about Joseph. Joseph almost killed a teacher. He was incarcerated at a place called Stone Mountain. Joseph has a daughter named Jupiter. Even though Joseph is a scary and dangerous fourteen year old he tries to find his daughter that he has never even seen. Joseph and Jupiter were separated, and Joseph was only able to see her once. It's pretty sad to think if Jupiter was your daughter and you only saw her once in your life. You wouldn't feel great. I think an audience that loves sad books and a little of suspense would love the book Orbiting Jupiter. The story itself was a roller coaster ride. The story starts out with a young and shy twelve year old, who is the main character, who finally meets his new foster brother named Joseph. Jack already knows three things about Joseph. Joseph almost killed a teacher. He was incarcerated at a place called Stone Mountain. Joseph has a daughter named Jupiter. Even though Joseph is a scary and dangerous fourteen year old he tries to find his daughter that he has never even seen. Joseph and Jupiter were separated, and Joseph was only able to see her once. It's pretty sad to think if Jupiter was your daughter and you only saw her once in your life. You wouldn't feel great. I think an audience that loves sad books and a little of suspense would love the book Orbiting Jupiter.

Starred review from August 17, 2015
Joseph Brook, 14, has been dealt a hand so bad that he deserves to win the foster family lottery, which he does, delivered into the care of the Hurds—loving, patient, thoughtful farmers. He arrives nearly mute, his social worker warning that, because of what he’s been through in detention, he doesn’t like the color orange, to be touched, or to be approached from behind. But Joseph thaws quickly, bonding with narrator, Jack, the last foster child the Hurds took in. Within weeks, Joseph shares his tragic history: he fell in love with a well-to-do girl, and she became pregnant at 13. The baby, Jupiter, is now in foster care, too, and Joseph desperately wants to find her. The plot can be heavy-handed, but Schmidt’s writing is so smooth and graceful that is easy to empathize with Joseph, who is victimized repeatedly—by his father, by adults who write him off before they meet him, by bullies who see an easy target. It’s a powerful story about second chances, all the more devastating because not everyone gets one. Ages 10–14.

Starred review from August 1, 2015

Gr 6 Up-This contemporary story feels taut and austere, eschewing the humorous episodes that buoy Schmidt's earlier books. Jackson Hurd, a taciturn sixth grader, narrates the arrival to his family's farm of Joseph, a jumpy foster kid two years his senior. The author makes milking cows a substantial presence throughout the novel, and the steady rhythm of farm life coupled with the Hurd family's stolid acceptance calm Joseph enough to unveil his story. The straightforward narration-Schmidt's colloquial style is tinged here with a somber tone-proves integral to balancing the potential melodrama in the catalog of miseries Joseph has endured by age 13. He has suffered familial and institutional abuse, fathered a daughter he's never been allowed to see, and lost the baby's beloved mother. The novel initially takes the shape of a redemption story, as Joseph begins to imagine a future for himself through the Hurds' support and the persistent attention of a few dedicated teachers (readers of the author's previous books will appreciate the character connections here). While Joseph inches past his traumatic history into a new middle school existence, Jack's commitment to the older boy prompts his own evolution. Schmidt displays his talent for character development as Jack grows more deliberate and active in defense of Joseph, with a burgeoning comprehension of his own ethics of behavior. But further tragedy follows this hopeful period for both boys, though just the right details are included to keep this heartrending story palatable. VERDICT The matter-of-fact narrative voice ensures that the tragic plot never overwhelms this wrenching tale of growth and loss.-Robbin E. Friedman, Chappaqua Library, NY

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Starred review from July 15, 2015
Jackson Hurd's family has taken in a new foster child, and Jackson will have to find the meanings of love and loyalty as he befriends his foster brother. Joseph Brook looks like an average eighth-grader at Eastham Middle School, but he's not. He became a father at age 13, spent time in juvie, and has an abusive father. Living with Jack's family on their Maine farm could mean a normal life for him, but he is obsessed with finding Jupiter, the daughter he's not allowed to see. He finds love within Jack's family and support from some teachers at school-including Coach Swieteck, whom some readers might remember from Okay for Now (2011)-who appreciate his skills in math and gymnastics, but one teacher warns Jack of Joseph's bad influence, and other students call Joseph "Psycho." Schmidt writes with an elegant simplicity in this paean to the power of love. But there's a snake in the garden-Joseph's father-and it is the uncoiling of fate, rooted in the tale from the beginning, that leads to the novel's devastating conclusion.Readers will not soon forget either Joseph Brook or this spare novel written with love and grace. (Fiction. 10-14)

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