Planet Jupiter by Jane Kurtz - OPTIONAL

Kurtz, Jane. Planet Jupiter, 278 pages. Harper Collins, 2017. $16.99.

Language: G; Mature Content: G; Violence: G. 

Jupiter and her family have always travelled from place to place living in their van and making money playing music. But the family van breaks down and their lives drastically change, which Jupiter is less than thrilled about. They leave behind Jupiter’s brother, and rent a house in Portland. Jupiter is extremely upset with not being on the road and in a situation which includes living with Edom, her cousin who was recently adopted from Ethiopia. 

This book explored some interesting themes like stereotypes or ideas people have about different countries, non-traditional families and unconventional living situations. I really liked how Edom was not afraid to tell Jupiter when she was relying on misinformation or biases about Ethiopia. Overall this story was interesting but didn’t blow me away. Jupiter was so self-centered she was hard to like as a character, though she was granted some growth of character towards the end of the book, which helped. 

EL-OPTIONAL. Reviewer: JQ