Orbiting Jupiter

By: Gary D. Schmidt

Narrated by: Christopher Gebauer

The two-time Newbery Honor winner Gary D. Schmidt delivers the shattering story of Joseph, a father at 13, 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 Here Joseph, damaged and withdrawn, meets 12-year-old Jack, who narrates the account of the troubled, passionate teen who wants to find his baby at any cost.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.

©2015 Gary D. Schmidt (P)2015 Recorded Books

Crushingly beautiful

Among other things, I am an 8th grade teacher and former foster parent. This book is devastatingly realistic; I felt gutted at the end; wrenched by feelings in the way that only a master storyteller can evoke. I wish every student (and every adult) could read this book and understand that Joseph is sitting in our classroom every day.

Brought up so many emotions I never knew I had

I had read this in middle school but never fully grasped at what the story was about. Reading it again and a whole new world of emotions and controversy was open to me. My eyes were opened from this book and I am so happy that I read it.

Character development was superb.

The narrator is fantastic! He really captured me and I don’t know if I would have liked it as much as I do without him, he really pulled me in. He is a wonderful story teller, very much like listening to David Sedaris. It is a beautiful story about kindness, family, love, hope and loss.

Devastingly Beautiful

Orbiting Jupiter is like nothing I've ever read before. The author writes in such a way that you find yourself mesmerized, flowing along with the story like on a calm river. The characters are so relatable that you feel like you know them intimately, almost from the beginning of the book, yet Schmidt gives little to no background on them. You simply find you understand them based on their actions alone. Orbiting Jupiter is a quick read, but it will leave you feeling as though you've spent a lifetime with the characters in it. I highly, highly recommend it.

Where fear and pain turns to friendship and love

I could not put the book down! The narrator, Christopher Gebauer read with such emotion as he unfolded the story around Jack and Joseph. I felt I was there with the teenager, in their classroom, in the barn and walking home in the below zero degree weather. I was moved by the characters and by the 'voice' the narrator gave them. Loved it!