For some unknown-to-me reason, I had Gary
Paulsen mixed up with Gary Schmidt. Not anymore. Paulsen writes fabulous
coming-of-age-out-in-the-wilderness books that I love. Schmidt writes stuff
like Okay for Now and The Wednesday Wars. Totally different writing
genres, styles, and more. I dunno, maybe it was the Gary thing. Orbiting
Jupiter helped clarify things in my confused mind.
The cover photo of a teen walking away from
the camera into dense fog with arms flying tilted through the air seemed
intriguing at first. Now I get it: it is the perfect photo for this book.
Disequilibrium seems to follow Jack after a new foster brother Joseph arrives
at his family’s farm. Joseph enters the story surly and difficult,
unapproachable and stand-offish. Jack tries and tries but can’t figure out how
to get into Joseph’s vision of living. So Jack just waits. They ride the school
bus together until some bully of a schoolmate lays down some smack about
Joseph’s past (something about trying to kill a teacher). Joseph decides to
walk to school in the frozen winter climate, and younger Jack follows suit. On
the farm, Jack watches Joseph slowly acquire milking skills under Jack’s dads’
tutelage. But it is Joseph’s frequent nightmares and sleep-talking that most
confuses Jack. Jack knows only a little about his new bunkmates’ history, and
Joseph sure isn’t offering any stories to anyone. Heck, Joseph hardly ever
smiles. In time, Jack figures out who Joseph calls out to in his sleep and who
he longingly looks out the window for. It is a story worth reading, especially
since that person is not who you think it is.
Schmidt builds his characters in fabulous
ways, and I found myself visualizing the scenes frequently. This is a solid
read, and I look forward to reading more from this popular author. However Orbiting
Jupiter for sure stands alone.
