Jupiter Rising

June 1, 2024
Having lost one beloved foster sibling in Orbiting Jupiter (2015), Jack Hurd faces the devastating prospect of losing another in this equally intense companion volume. Schmidt packs his story with seemingly tough but emotionally vulnerable males circling orphaned Jupiter, who is 3 years old and a charismatic scene stealer. Eighth grader Jack, her foster brother, is positively head over heels, but so (startlingly) is his cross-country running mentor and erstwhile tormentor, Jay Perkins. Then Jupiter's birth mom's parents suddenly show up with a custody claim just as her formal adoption is about to go through. Even her thoroughly unlikable, domineering grandfather turns out to be harboring a deep-seated grief that shows itself when tragedy seems about to strike that troubled family once again. Despite his first-person narration's straightforward tone, Jack is anything but reserved in his feelings, and whether moved by rage, pain, or (most often) joy, he's constantly breaking into tears. Readers' eyes aren't likely to stay dry, either, considering the sharply felt emotional stakes and the growing tension as the legal claim heads to a hearing, while Jack's small town loyally rallies around him and his loving foster family. The outcome remains in doubt until a final, powerful release. The cast presents white; returning fans will welcome back several characters from previous outings, most notably Coach Swieteck, a hard-nosed, amputee war veteran. Lachrymose but brimming also with love and heart. (Fiction. 12-16)

COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from June 1, 2024
Grades 6-9 *Starred Review* In this companion book to Schmidt's Orbiting Jupiter (2015), Jack is still grieving for Joseph, his older foster brother. Joseph's three-year-old daughter, Jupiter, is about to be adopted by Jack's foster parents when her maternal grandparents decide to adopt her themselves. But if they take Jupiter, how can Jack keep his promise to his brother to ""always know where she is"? A judge ponders the adoption case while the emotional tension within Jack builds throughout the narrative, clarifying what really matters to him, as well as which people in his life recognize his loyalty, courage, caring, and clarity of mind. Meanwhile, Jack's commitment to become a runner leads to one vital friendship, sometimes overshadowed by two despicable enemies among the track-team members. The relationship between Jack and his father is particularly well drawn, and Jack's close, playful rapport with Jupiter is both amusing and irresistibly touching. One of the happiest three-year-old characters in children's fiction, Jupiter is both believable and indispensable to the story. Schmidt writes from the heart in this moving novel, which deals with people facing what they dread and shows how a small community sometimes quietly protects its members as they face inevitable changes. A rewarding reading experience.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

November 1, 2024
In this companion to Orbiting Jupiter (rev. 11/15), eighth grader Jackson Hurd is mourning the loss of Joseph, his "foster brother, sort of," and cherishes his role as brother to Joseph's now-orphaned daughter. Jack adores three-year-old Jupiter and can't wait to watch her grow up and do things for the first time -- read a book, ride a horse on his family's farm, catch lightning bugs, and "look up into the winter sky and pick out the planet Jupiter rising brighter than any star." There's a lustrousness to Schmidt's simply worded first-person narrative, especially evident in passages about the beauty of Maine. "The clouds broke and the full moon threw everything it had at our house. It beamed into the window and flooded us with silver light so bright that my mother gasped." Schmidt also creates a cast of memorable secondary characters -- running buddy Jay Perkins pushing for more, ornery Coach Swieteck dispensing tough love from his wheelchair, even Judge Benedict encouraging Jack to begin "thinking like a judge." They all help Jack deal with news he finds devastating: Jupiter's maternal grandparents are demanding custody. Readers will tread warily through the heart-wrenching, tear-jerking final pages. In this spare novel, Schmidt has created a big world with characters to care about, cry for, and remember. Dean Schneider

(Copyright 2024 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

November 2, 2024

Gr 7-10-Eighth grader Jack Hurd is familiar when it comes to loss. This companion to Orbiting Jupiter opens with Jack losing his cherished horse, a couple years after the death of his foster brother, Joseph. To make matters worse, Jack's PE coach sets Jack up to train for cross-country with Jay Perkins, a bully who once ganged up on Joseph in the locker room with his two friends. The light that eases all of this pain is Jupiter, Jack's foster sister and Joseph's daughter. Before Jack's family can legally adopt Jupiter, her grandparents, who have never spent any time with Jupiter, come forward and want custody. They are mourning a loss of their own, their daughter Madeleine, Jupiter's mom. Jack's world comes crashing down as he fears he will break the one promise he made to Joseph: that he will always know where Jupiter is. This is a beautiful, poignant tale about love, loss, and fighting for what matters. Jack is a well-written protagonist, whose relationships with Jupiter and Jay are the standouts of the novel. Although the writing style is spare, the emotions in each situation are not minimized. Tissues might be needed for this one. VERDICT A book that begs to be read in one sitting.-Amanda Harding

Copyright 2024 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2024
In this companion to Orbiting Jupiter (rev. 11/15), eighth grader Jackson Hurd is mourning the loss of Joseph, his "foster brother, sort of," and cherishes his role as brother to Joseph's now-orphaned daughter. Jack adores three-year-old Jupiter and can't wait to watch her grow up and do things for the first time -- read a book, ride a horse on his family's farm, catch lightning bugs, and "look up into the winter sky and pick out the planet Jupiter rising brighter than any star." There's a lustrousness to Schmidt's simply worded first-person narrative, especially evident in passages about the beauty of Maine. "The clouds broke and the full moon threw everything it had at our house. It beamed into the window and flooded us with silver light so bright that my mother gasped." Schmidt also creates a cast of memorable secondary characters -- running buddy Jay Perkins pushing for more, ornery Coach Swieteck dispensing tough love from his wheelchair, even Judge Benedict encouraging Jack to begin "thinking like a judge." They all help Jack deal with news he finds devastating: Jupiter's maternal grandparents are demanding custody. Readers will tread warily through the heart-wrenching, tear-jerking final pages. In this spare novel, Schmidt has created a big world with characters to care about, cry for, and remember.

(Copyright 2024 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)