Mike Mullin, Author

Orbiting Jupiter strongly implies that Joseph was raped in juvie. I salute Schmidt for including that sentence; it's perfect in the context of his story. There has been a lot of criticism recently of the portrayal of rape in literature and television, and it's an important discussion to have. There is certainly room for books that pretend that sexual violence doesn't exist, but in the real world, the one Schmidt writes in, sadly, it does. Artists like Schmidt (or G.R.R. Martin) don't perpetuate rape culture by portraying it, they shine a light and start discussions that help to end it.

If I have one quibble, it's with the ending of the novel. I don't have any issue with books in which the protagonist dies (or is horribly maimed, as you know if you've read my work), but in this case Joseph's noble sacrifice ends the possibility of him resolving his struggle to be reunited with Jupiter on his own, and therefore comes off as something of a deus ex machina. It robs the character of his agency and the reader of the joy of witnessing his struggle and ultimate victory. It also leaves Joseph's relationship with his father fundamentally unresolved. I would have liked a longer novel that allowed us to witness the culmination of his efforts, rather than chopping it short as quickly as a car skidding off a bridge.