Gary D. Schmidt

"Jack, 12, tells the gripping story of Joseph, 14, who joins his family as a foster child. Damaged in prison, Joseph wants nothing more than to find his baby daughter, Jupiter, whom he has never seen. When Joseph has begun to believe he'll have a future, he is confronted by demons from his past that force a tragic sacrifice"--

Orbiting Jupiter

Srijita Sarkar 

Cynthia 

not as emotional as i thought it would be but it was sooo good nonetheless 

baku

Paula Plaza Ponte 

Straight for the jugular, this book about love and loss and hope and tragedy seems to be about fathers. Who they can be. Who they are. How they love and how some cause a lot of pain. Written beautifully and quietly from the point of view of Jack(ie), this book will break hearts everywhere. I read the end over and over again and wept. I am so sorry Joseph. and thank you, Gary D. Schmidt for giving him and Jupiter a voice.

chateau

IM CRYING MY TEARS OUT. 
it's 2 am and i dont know exactly how to do anything but crying. this book-i just have no words to type to show how this book made me feel. im sorry, im just incapable of doing a lot of arranging some good words into review right now but i assure you, to read, this book.

madreadz⟢

This book broke me into pieces. I could just tell that I was in it for the angst with each flip of a page but yet I couldn’t stop myself from reading, edging me closer to the inevitable heartache—and comfort it would cause me. It was so beautifully and humbly told; how stellar the transitions were, evoking such poignant sentiments within me I didn’t know I had for these characters. Precious, precious main characters who loved so fiercely. Who needs an “I love you” when you can have a “I have your back.” Worth a second read, and maybe, definitely even more.

Redwineandbookplease

I’m not okay. This book broke my heart but Then put it back together

The two-time Newbery Honor winner Gary D. Schmidt delivers the shattering story of Joseph, a father at thirteen, who has never seen his daughter, Jupiter. After spending time in a juvenile facility, he’s placed with a foster family on a farm in rural Maine. Here Joseph, damaged and withdrawn, meets twelve-year-old Jack, who narrates the account of the troubled, passionate teen who wants to find his baby at any cost. In this riveting novel, two boys discover the true meaning of family and the sacrifices it requires.

Sade A

❤

  


  
    "Jupiter. I promise i'll always know where you are"
  

This book was such a heartbreaking and glorious novel. Short but packed a gut wrenching punch. I loved how this author was able to bring to life the love, despair, hope, budding friendship of Joseph and Jack.
I feel when you read books like this, the hope is that it touches you to be even more consciously kinder to children and generally people around us who are "down on their luck" for lack of a better term.
This was such a beautiful read, and i'm so glad i finally read this book.

❤❤
With the seriousness of the theme of this book in mind, i'm going to go close off this review with something that has niggled me about how people percieve YA.

There is this rather, as far as i'm concerned, puzzling view that YA cannot have heavy themes or violence cannot or should not be found in YA.
I forget the name of the book but this is an interaction with an author and a reader:

Reader: Is this a YA book? If not what ages is this rated for and why?

Author: Hi there! This is an adult fantasy book, not YA. {name of book redacted} deals with a lot of dark, troubling topics and has a "soft", fade-to-black sex scence. However, if you're into books about war and prophecy, the book will be appropraite for you.

Everything is supposed to be preppy and fun. Bad things are supposed to be glossed over or only happen when Adults are in the picture or to Adults.
I'm personally of the opinion that this view is myopic because i seriously think this idea of 
  "happy, let nothing horrible be seen in the pages of a YA novel"
 only caters to a certain demographic and or race of people in this world. And please be clear that i'm not talking about gratitous violence just filling the pages of books in this genre. 

However much you don't like it, however much you wish Young Adult to be "clean" and free of "dark, troubling topics" , whether it be senseless violence, rape, drugs, poverty or whatever depressing socio economic thing you can think of, you aren't immune to tragedy and bad things just cos you're a certain age. 
Adults will try to shield you which is great, but a lot of people do not have that luxury and i think it's time people stop acting like YA is supposed to ONLY be about 
  "the chosen one and finding true love tropes" 
, that YA cannot tackle these often difficult topics in ways that are sensitive, kind, loving and you know what? where necessary, in unflinchingly raw ways. That this mess that life shifts to us sometimes, cannot be the reality of Young Adults whether it be captured in fantasy or literary fiction.

Anyways, this book is a absolutely great and really one of the best i've read this year.

Jack, 12, tells the gripping story of Joseph, 14, who joins his family as a foster child. Damaged in prison, Joseph wants nothing more than to find his baby daughter, Jupiter, whom he has never seen. When Joseph has begun to believe he ll have a future, he is confronted by demons from his past that force a tragic sacrifice."

Jeannette Ordas

Can't sleep? Well, let's read another book! This one is a tear jerker, tough and charming. Loved it. 4.5 stars.

albeit short and simply written, the message behind the story is lovely. my only gripe with this is how it had to end, but nonetheless, a pretty decent read.

casey

daisy

where the hell are they ☹️ 
oh my god
i cannot.

Only 183 pages but absolutely an incredible read. Insanely powerful about second chances, like the cover says. 

Lauren Dale

Elissa Bowe LeBeau

This book will break my heart every single time, and I will love it every single time.

Heather

2 Stars ⭐️
I don’t know, guys. For being such a short book, it felt really slow. The plot didn’t really happen until maybe 65%. I think it had more potential than what was given. The ending made me give it 2 stars instead of 1. Just not for me.

jess

Oh man, this book hurt more than I was expecting it to. A twelve-year-old named Jack narrates, but the story is really about a barely fourteen-year-old kid named Joseph, Jack's foster brother and the father of a baby girl named Jupiter. 

The setting of the story - a rural town in the dead of winter - really lent itself to the mood. It's just peaceful enough to let everyone breathe, but the hurt can and will come through, and when it does, it's brutal. (view spoiler)[Through the course of the story, we find out that Joseph's father was abusive; that many of the adults in Joseph's life strongly dislike and distrust him, and that Madeline, Jupiter's mother, died in childbirth at thirteen. So this isn't an easy read.  (hide spoiler)]
Other fourteen-year-olds in children's books are fighting monsters and singing in musicals. Joseph's implied to have PTSD; his biggest motivation is to find his child. Even though he doesn't see himself as a child, he is, and everyone else sees him as such. 

While teenage pregnancy and fatherhood - especially from thirteen-year-olds in a middle grade book seems like it's too much, I feel like it was done well. It's not explicit, and I feel like difficult subjects are necessary for children's books. When I picked it up I was actually expecting it to be more mature than it was, but it was an interesting look at the subject. 

About the ending: (view spoiler)[The ending is absolutely devastating, but at least Joseph got to see pictures of Jupiter before he died. The heartbreak is that Joseph's father absolutely got what he deserved, but Joseph's death is doubly tragic: not only will a kid never get to grow up, he doesn't live to see his daughter grow up, and she is now orphaned. I'm so glad that Jack's family adopted Jupiter. (hide spoiler)]

Sandra Tammaru

So simple yet so deep! A heartbreaking discovery of the meaning of family! So short yet so full of meaning!

amanda schlicht 

isareads

This has been on my tbr for so long and I regret not reading it the first time I saw this book. It was good.

Trinity Halsey

Get a tissue box and book your therapy appointment ahead of time.

You'll need it.

It's amazing, but it's very tragic with a bitter-sweet ending. 

Liz Rodriguez

A heartbreaking story, narrated by twelve-year-old Jack, whose family is caring for fourteen-year-old Joseph. Joseph is misunderstood. He was incarcerated for trying to kill a teacher. Or so the rumours say. But Jack and his family see something others in town don’t want to. What's more, Joseph has a daughter he’s never seen. The two boys go on a journey through the bitter Maine winter to help Joseph find his baby - no matter the cost.

super cute book. love that it was a quick read but still had a full story.

angie

Kat A

** spoiler alert **
           4.5 stars. Super short and fast read. The writing is extremely good and the winter scenery (including the barn, the town, the boys' bedroom) is so easy to picture. I usually have a hard time keeping characters straight but no issues with this book - every character was unique. The ending is gut wrenching but bittersweet.

Krystal 

Read on Audible. I cried so so much at the end of this book. It really makes you feel the feels!

Stefanie Sugia

"Because he loved her.
He loved her.
He had never known love before.
He had never known how much it could fill him.
He had never known anything, he thought."I decided to start reading this book on my short trip out of town because I needed something short. Although lengthwise this book is fairly short, it actually took me quite a while to finish it. Probably because it's a really sad and depressing book despite it being a middle-grade story. The book is narrated by 12-year-old Jack, and he takes us through his friendship with Joseph that started off really cold at the beginning, but gradually grows closer as time went by. The story itself is actually really simple, there's not a lot of conflict going on in it either. But somehow the simplicity in which Gary D. Schmidt delivered the story successfully played with my emotions. He was able to make a simple gesture into something extremely heartwarming and touching. I won't explain thoroughly what the whole plot is because there's really not much to tell without spoiling too much. The ending caught me by surprise; I really was not expecting the story to turn out that way. Again, I won't spoil anything, but the ending is both heartbreaking yet relieving for me."Maybe angels aren't always meant to stop bad things."
"So what good are they?"
"To be with us when bad things happen."I can't help but love Jack's character in this book, I think he's a really sweet and loving kid. Despite what other people said about Joseph, Jack is persistent in being his friend and always had his back. Jack is willing to do anything to help Joseph, and I think that's a really beautiful portrayal of friendship. Joseph on the other hand, is a much more complicated character. He was raised in an abusive family and never knew what love feels like until he met the girl he loves. I love seeing how Joseph's character transformed throughout the story; how the love he received from Jack's family has changed him from the inside—turning him into a compassionate person."Being responsible," Mr. Canton said, "means being ready to do what you're supposed to be doing, even if no one is watching or making you do it."This book was bittersweet from beginning to end. There were a lot of heartbreaking moments but also heartwarming ones. Seeing Jack's family made me believe that there are still people out there who are pure at heart and genuinely wants to help others without expecting anything back. And this story also showed me what friendship truly means and what it means to have someone's back. This book didn't made me cry like it did with a lot of other readers, but I have to admit Gary D. Schmidt's writing really tugged at my heartstrings."Christmas is the season for miracles, you know. Sometimes they come big and loud, I guess—but I've never seen one of those. I think probably most miracles are a lot smaller, and sort of still, and so quiet, you could miss them.
I didn't miss this one.
When my father put his hand on Joseph's back, Joseph didn't even flinch."

Read the full review here:
http://www.thebookielooker.com/2016/0...

Kylie Robinson

Tatiana Alvarez 

One of my students recommended this book to me. She is not a reader so I definitely wanted to see what the hype was about. I'm all for any book that gets my students reading.

This was definitely a fast read. Very sad and definitely a middle school read. If I were a 14 year old kid, I would definitely would have loved this book and probably cried. I really did not have any a strong connection with the storyline, but appreciated the appeal.

***Contains Spoilers***

The story is about Joseph, though told through the lens of Jack. Joseph is in foster care because his father verbally and physically abuses him, but also he is a father at 14. His "girlfriend" Maddie gives birth to a baby girl named Jupiter, but due to complications during the birth, she ends up dying. Joseph is forced to give up his parental rights and never gets to meet his baby.

Joseph eventually ends up with Jack and his family, but the story continues to be sad. He gets beat up, his dad harasses him, and eventually pulls a gun on him, and he is still unable to see his baby girl. If this is not sad enough, Joseph ends up dying because his father kidnaps him and they get into a wreck. The pickup falls into a lake and two days later, Jack's dad carries his body out.

So, yeah, sad.

Another kick to the chest is that Jack's family adopts Jupiter in the end.

Overall, cute book, but definitely best for middle schoolers.

Orbiting Jupiter

Reviews

Highlights