Orbiting Jupiter
Orbiting Jupiter is a 2015 young adult novel by Gary D. Schmidt. It follows a Maine family who start fostering a teen father. The story is told by twelve-year-old Jack Hurd, who lives with his parents on an organic farm.
Joseph Brook arrives at the farm with a lot of pain: he has a three-month-old daughter named Jupiter he has never met, and he recently spent time in a juvenile facility after an incident with a teacher. He keeps to himself at first, and Jack and the Hurds try to help him through a cold winter. Joseph explains how he fell in love with Madeleine Joyce, how Jupiter was born, and how his parental rights were taken away.
As the family helps him, Joseph battles to see Jupiter. A new problem appears when his biological father shows up and tries to take control. After many delays, Joseph runs away to Brunswick to find Jupiter. A librarian who helps them feeds Joseph hope, but tragedy comes when his father takes him away and dies in a crash. Jupiter ends up living with the Hurds, and the family continues to support Joseph’s memory and future. The farm is based on a real Maine farm that helps foster children.
Schmidt says the story grew from listening to a narrator—Jack—who grows from a naïve 12-year-old into someone who asks hard questions.
The book earned starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Reviews. The New York Times called it warm and reassuring, though it contains tragedy. Orbiting Jupiter was longlisted for the Carnegie Medal in 2017 and won several awards, including the 2018 Young Hoosier Book Award (Middle Grade) and Bank Street College of Education’s Best Children’s Book of the Year for 2016.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 06:12 (CET).