“He really could have been any other eighth-grade kid at Eastham Middle School. Except he had a daughter.”
How do I even write this review?
I love books, in case you hadn’t noticed. I dedicate so much of my time to reading because I am constantly searching for those exciting stories with living, breathing characters. Yet out of all the novels I’ve read, only one I’ve ever come across has made me cry.
I sniffled at the end of Allegiant and A Monster Calls, but the book that really did it for me was The Fault in Our Stars. For the longest time, that was the only book that was able to make me cry.
Now there are two. What can I say? This book broke me. It ripped my cold, emotionless heart right in two. Schmidt delivered a powerful and original story that played on all of my emotions.
From the first chapter when Jack and his sweet farming family were introduced, to the addition of Joseph’s character, a fourteen-year-old who was in juvenile prison, I was totally absorbed in the story. My pulse raced when Joseph got in a fistfight, I was angry when teachers were unfair to him because of his background, and it warmed my heart when Jack’s family treated him so kindly.
I never stopped wanting Joseph to see his daughter, Jupiter, whom he’s never met before. It broke my heart when he told Jack about his abusive father and Maddie. With all of these emotions combined into an amazing story, no wonder it made me cry.
The writing and plot weren’t complicated and there were only about 180 pages—what I would call a ridiculously short novel. But I think some of the simplest stories can be the most effective.
Orbiting Jupiter provided an emotional punch but not in a cheap, manipulative way. It was subtle and raw. I loved Joseph and his quiet inner struggles that were so obvious. I loved Jack’s compassion and the boys’ relationship that grew into something stronger than friendship. They had each other’s back.
“I can’t see Jupiter,” Joseph said. “The moon’s too bright. And I don’t know where she is.”
No comments:
Post a Comment