My favorite book of the summer or maybe even the year. A story about a “bad boy” abandoned, abused and a father. At 14 he is in foster care and has a daughter he has never seen. the telling is spare and powerful in the voice of the foster brother. As the two boys slowly bond we learn of Joseph’s abusive father and that his deepest wish us to see his daughter, Jupiter. She was named by her young mother for the planet Jupiter which Joseph always pointed out in the night sky. the story is heartbreaking but the spirit in this abused child shines bright and reveals the heart of a warrior, a savior, a father. Realistically things do not work in Joseph’s favor but the heartbreak is tempered by the inspiration gained by a child labeled “bad.”
Reviewed by Susan Plimpton