Middle schoolers and sex - not a good mix

Orbiting Jupiter

By: Gary D. Schmidt

Genre: Juvenile Fiction

Pages: 192

Published: 2015

Read: February

3.5 out of 5

I have mixed feelings about this book. It is a well-written powerful story, but I feel that the characters should have been in high school and the book geared towards the older teens. I understand that middle schoolers may be sexually active and could possibly parent a child, however it is way more common for high school teens. However, maybe that was Schmidt’s point – too many adults don’t realize that teens are becoming sexually active at younger ages – authors need to write books to warn them on the difficulty’s they may face. Anyone who reads this book should be aware it is depressing and although it ends on a hopeful note there is a lot of tragic events throughout entire novel.  As a teen librarian, I am not sure to whom I recommend it.