FINDING JUPITER by KELIS ROWE
A REVIEW by ALEXA DUNCAN
Finding Jupiter by Kelis Rowe is a moving story of young Black love that doesn’t shy away from difficult subject matters. The book–told in two perspectives–follows Ray and Orion, two teens who meet at a skating rink and almost instantly fall in love. Orion does, at least. Ray is a little more hesitant. She doesn’t believe in love–not after her father died before she was born. Orion is the exact opposite. Head over heels for Ray, he decides he’ll do whatever it takes to win her over…That is, until a long-buried family secret threatens to tear them apart.
I liked a lot about Finding Jupiter, but what I liked the most, perhaps, was Orion himself. He’s a great character–sensitive and kind and unafraid to feel his feelings–and a great role model for teenage boys. He truly wears his heart on his sleeve and doesn’t care who knows it. I loved getting to know him throughout the novel. He’s a swimmer, he has great parents, and perhaps most importantly, he has two cats. Good for him.
I also liked a lot about Ray, our other main character, but for completely different rea
sons. She almost takes the place of the “boy” in a traditional love story. She’s closed off and resistant to love. Initially, she wants nothing to do with Orion’s feelings and only wants to hook up with him instead. Orion doesn’t know how to handle this, so he simply runs away from her. These early interactions between them really solidified their relationship dynamics and I liked how opposite they were. Furthermore, one of Ray’s hobbies is writing poetry. I loved how the book did a little mixed media with her poems. There were pages from The Great Gatsby and Their Eyes Were Watching God and Ray makes poems from the words she finds among the pages. She also draws pictures to go with them, and they are also included in the novel.
The writing is good here. More conversational than flowery, which I always appreciate. Sometimes I did have an issue with telling Ray and Orion apart, but that could simply be because I wasn’t giving the novel my full attention. If I had one gripe about this novel, it would be the ending. Given the “family secret” aspect and how serious it was, I felt it wrapped up a little too quickly. It felt rushed, as if the author ran out of story and wanted to hurry up and finish the book.
Nevertheless, I enjoyed this novel and recommend it to anyone looking for a tender love story with a sprinkle of angst along the way.
You can check out Finding Jupiter at the Oreana Library today!