Robbin Friedman

Jack's new foster brother, Joseph, has a troubled past. The fourteen-year-old attacked a teacher, was subsequently incarcerated at a juvenile detention center, and has a baby daughter named Jupiter whom he's never seen. At school, Joseph has a rough time, with students and educators alike picking on him, but he grows to love the daily routine of farm life. As Jack (a sixth grader) and his parents gradually peel away Joseph's cold veneer, it seems as if their family may be complete. But it soon becomes clear that things will never be simple, as Joseph's single-minded desire to parent his daughter leads to strife. Then Joseph's father comes violently back into the picture, with tragic results. The ending is bittersweet but as satisfying as a two-box-of-tissues tearjerker can possibly be (in the realm of juvenile fiction, Schmidt is the master of the emotional gut-punch). The heartbreak unfolds organically and—in an impressive show of authorial restraint