“You know how teachers are. If they get you to take out a book they love too, they're yours for life.” - Gary D. Schmidt

Orbiting Jupiter took our middle school by storm this year, as a recommendation to the ESL teacher meant that all students in ESL were suddenly reading it. Rightfully so, the students and teacher cried and mourned together as they read the book in its entirety. Gary Schmidt's novel is moving right from the start. The novel centers around the story of Joseph, a thirteen year old boy who is placed in foster care with a family in rural Maine after finishing serving his time in a juvenile detention center. Determined to meet his daughter (yes, Joseph is also a father), Joseph has the daunting tasks of navigating a new school, overcoming the trauma of the time he has served (for reasons I'll let the book tell you) and working to find a way to meet his daughter. All of this is told through the eyes of his foster brother, Jack, who isn't sure what to make of the short-on-words, Joseph. This book is sad. It's terribly, terribly sad. But it must be read because what it does, it does so well. Schmidt has written a heartbreaking masterpiece.

With violent moments, references to sex (there's a baby so...obviously), and heartbreaking sadness, this novel isn't for the faint of heart. Still, I'd recommend it for students above the 6th grade. If you're a teacher, this is probably the kind of book that you want to let families know in advance you're reading together. But read it, please, because it leaves a lasting impression well beyond the novel's pages.