Orbiting Jupiter [Paperback]

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 Here Joseph, damaged and withdrawn, meets twelve-year-old Jack, who narrates the account of the troubled, passionate teen who wants to find his baby at any cost.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.

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.

#9 Autumn 2015 Kids’ Indie Next list *

"The ending is bittersweet but as satisfying as a two-box-of-tissues tearjerker can possibly be (in the realm of juvenile fiction, Schmidt is the master of the emotional gut-punch)."
—Horn Book

"Schmidt writes with an elegant simplicity in this paean to the power of love...Readers will not soon forget either Joseph Brook or this spare novel written with love and grace."
—Kirkus, starred review

* "Told in Jack's spare, direct first-person voice, this story's style demonstrates the beautify of simplicity as it delineates the lives of its characters, each as superbly realized as the tumultuous New England setting."
—Booklist, starred review

* "The matter-of-fact narrative voice ensures that the tragic plot never overhwlms this wrenching tale of growth and loss."
—School Library Journal, starred review

* "A powerful story about second chances, all l0