Review of Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt

Schmidt, Gary D.  Orbiting Jupiter.  Clarion, 2015.

Life has not been easy for fourteen-year-old Joseph Brook.  He has endured abuse by his alcoholic father, a placing in a group home setting, life at a juvenile detention center, and worse of all, incarceration in a high-security prison, where other inmates abused him.  As a last resort, a social worker places him with the Hurd family, who lives on a farm in Maine.  Joseph joins twelve-year-old Jack, who had been adopted by the Hurds some years previously. 

Because of what Joseph has been through, he some strange idiosyncrasies.  He won’t wear anything orange, let anyone stand behind him, let anyone touch him, go into rooms that are too small, or eat canned peaches.  And one more thing--he’s a father to a baby girl who is named Jupiter, and more than anything else in the world, he wants to find her.

Joseph has to keep overcoming obstacles and fighting back but has finally reached a point where two loving adults and a boy who “has his back” believe in him and provide a nurturing environment.  Just when things start to turn the corner, Joseph has to face his past and figure out how to protect his future.

I love male protagonists, and this novel has two outstanding ones in Jack and Joseph.  Our narrator, Jack, tells the story as only a young boy could.   He and the rest of his family are accepting, loving, down-to-earth people who truly care for Joseph.  They welcome Joseph into their family with open arms and provide the kind of family life that he has always needed.  Even when situations become rough, the family continues to lift him up.

Although Joseph has had a hard life, he has a huge heart and is unusually forgiving.  He is intelligent, has a natural ability for mathematics, and is athletically inclined.  It is through Jack’s eyes that readers learn about Joseph’s past and realize that he is wise far beyond his fourteen years.

Orbiting Jupiter is not all serious. From day one, Joseph is expected to do chores around the farm just like Jack and his dad.  Joseph learns you can tell a lot about a person the way cows acts around him.  The Hurd family cows, especially Rosie, take a shine to Joseph, but he learns that milking a cow is not as easy as it looks!

Gary Schmidt has written an endearing novel about acceptance, healing, and the ability to overcome life’s obstacles.  Make sure you have a box of tissues when you read it!  Although I highly recommend it for middle school and public libraries, older readers will also enjoy it.  I give it five out of five fleur de lis!

 

Review of Ultraviolet by R.J. Anderson

Anderson, R.J.  Ultraviolet.  Carolrhoda Lab, 2011.
Sixteen-year-old Allison Jeffries has tasted and seen letters, words, and emotions her whole life.  Her own mother is afraid of her daughter’s unusual abilities, so Allison has pretended that she is normal.  But she thinks she just might be crazy!

After an altercation with Tori, a long-time classmate, Tori goes missing and is feared dead.  The incident causes Allison to have, supposedly, a nervous breakdown, which sends her to a psychiatric hospital.  Tori has disappeared, and Allison is being blamed for her murder.

Allison longs to go home to her family and her music, but Dr. Minta, her psychiatrist feels that she isn’t ready.  Dr. Sebastian Faraday, a graduate student in neuropsychology from the University of South Africa, shows up at the hospital and recruits Allison to be part of his study.  He discovers some amazing and secret qualities about her, and tells her he believes she had nothing to do with Tori’s disappearance.  However, Dr. Faraday is hiding secrets of his own!

When Dr. Faraday is thrown out of the hospital on fraud charges, Allison feels like she has lost her only friend and confidant.  She is determined to get to the bottom of what has happened and also solve the mystery of Tori’s disappearance.  What happens is an adventure that is so surprising that even Allison has trouble believing it, herself!

Ultraviolet is a book that really fooled me!  When I started reading it, I thought it was about a girl who had psychiatric problems and, possibly, some psychic abilities.  However, upon further reading, it turns out to be about a girl who has some unusual neurological conditions involving color, taste, sounds, and emotions.  In addition, add into the plot some surprising extraterrestrial characters and elements, which were really unexpected!

The way that flashbacks were worked into the plot was an extremely smart idea.  It gives the reader the back story and history between Tori and Allison and the reason for their acrid relationship.  As the narrator, Allison is able to fill in the gaps between what she knows and what she eventually comes to remember.  The minor characters in the Pine Hills Psychiatric Center make the scenes in the hospital interesting and provide insight into the daily workings of the facility.  I really like Sanjay, who is a patient due to his paranoia about aliens.  His candid comments are extremely funny!

R.J. Anderson has done an enormous amount of research into the fields of synesthesia and tetrachromacy.  It is truly an interesting concept on which to base a fiction book!

Fans of science fiction will enjoy this book!  I recommend it for middle school, high school, and public libraries.


 

Review of Boy 21 by Matthew Quick.

Boy 21 by Matthew Quick.  Little, 2012.

High school senior Finley McManus lives with his dad and disabled grandfather in Bellmont, PA, which is a suburb of Philadephia.  Bellmont is not a great place to live; residents must deal with violence, racial tension, drugs, and the Irish mob.  Finley wants to get out of Bellmont, and he figures the only way this could happen would be if his girlfriend, Erin Quinn, receives a college basketball scholarship.  Finley, who wears number  21, on his basketball jersey, works hard to perfect his playing skills and loves the game, but he will never be as good as Erin. 

Russ Washington, whose parents were murdered, has come to Bellmont to live with his grandparents.  Before his parents were murdered, Russ was a brilliant student and star point guard, being recruited by dozens of colleges.   The trauma of the murder has changed him, and he is having problems coping.

Coach Wilkins, who coaches the Bellmont High School basketball team, secretly asks Finley to befriend and keep an eye on Russ.  Although Finley is worried that Russ could take his spot on the team, he agrees to help his coach.  Finley discovers that Russ is extremely unusual, and their relationship turns out to be a turning point in both of their lives.

I read Boy 21 as an ARC awhile ago, and I can’t stop thinking about it.  I loved everything about this book—it was awesome!  It has so much in it—humor, romance, sports, and a great plot line!  When Boy 21, aka Russ, was introduced, I was laughing out loud at his “antics”.  Boy 21 tells Finley that he is waiting for his extra-terrestrial family to pick him up, and that he was sent to earth to study human emotions!  The things that Boy 21 does and says and Finley’s reactions are priceless!  The characters in the book are so likable and real!  I especially like the cafeteria scene where Boy 21 claims, “We are not rabbits!”  I loved this character.  Even when he wants to play basketball again, he purposely messes up because he doesn't want to take Finley's starting position away from him.

The two boys are foils for one another.  Finley is the only white player on an all-black basketball team; conversely, Russ has been the only black member of an all-white team!  Both boys sport the number 21 on their jerseys; both have had tragic events happen to them in their young lives.  Each uses basketball and friendship to each other as coping mechanisms to deal with their respective tragic situations. 

Coach Wilkins, at first, comes across as having a caring and compassionate attitude.  However, as the story progresses, it turns out that he has ulterior motives.  He takes advantage of Finley’s loyalty to him and to the team when he pushes Finley to get Russ back on the basketball court.  Erin, Finley’s girlfriend, respects that Finley doesn’t want to give Russ’s secret away, even to her.  Without giving anything away, I will say that I was mad and upset at the situation that happened to her.

Readers don’t have to be basketball fans to enjoy this book; it has something for everyone!  I highly recommend it for junior high, high school, and public libraries!

 **Reviewer’s note:  The copy reviewed was an ARC received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.