Finding Jupiter by Kelis Rowe

This is such a beautiful portrayal of young love, about two young people, hesitant at first, but who come to realise that each other is ‘the one’. Ray is wary of relationships, having seen how love ended sadly for her mother, and spends her time creating ‘found poetry’ from the words that leap out from literary texts. Orion is a high achieving swimmer, driven by his father’s expectation of him, but clumsy when talking to girls. He has sensory processing disorder, unable to process competing sounds. But his honesty and openness about his condition, and his feelings, makes him more attractive to Ray.

Both young people are dealing with loss and grief in their lives. They are drawn to each other, unaware that their separate family secrets link them in an unexpected way. And the climax hits in a Romeo and Juliet scenario that threatens to separate them forever.

Finding Jupiter by Kelis Rowe is a wonderful new contemporary novel about Black teens, worthy of listing alongside the authors of the Blackout love stories. The novel speaks for love, trust, honesty, and communication. Kelis Rowe is clearly a rising young author to watch out for.

Themes: Black Americans, Love, Romance, Loss, Grief, Diversity.

Helen Eddy