Oh how I love Finding Jupiter. It is the novel equivalent to the 1995 classic movie Love Jones for teens. I NEEDED this book as a hope-filled teen. Orion and Ray (Jupiter) gave me “Real Love” by Mary J Blige meets “Ribbon in the Sky” by Stevie Wonder set in a southern Memphis full of history. Also, we get to see how two different family dynamics deal with hardship and its resolve. This book was beautifully constructed for hearts everywhere!

This book is a coming of age love story realistically told through the eyes of the hero and heroine. The first two chapters can be a little confusing keeping track of characters but it is worth it to continue. It is a page turner hard to put down with all the twists and turns. This book would make a great addition to any high school library. Thank you to NetGalley for the access

I DNF'd this book at 15.4%! I wanted so badly to love this story, but I just couldn't stay engaged in the story. I don't think it's the book, the writing, or the author. I think it's just not for me right now and that's okay. This book has so many great reviews, so again I think it's just not meant for me at this moment. I only gave a 1 star because Netgalley requires ima star review, otherwise I would have left it alone. I don't feel it's fair to give stars for a book I didn't finish.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

All 5 stars have aligned for Finding Jupiter! Kelis Rowe has just changed the game of young adult for the teen black reader who doesn't see their love story. I absolutely adored this book and will be spreading the news far and wide.

The first thing that attracted me was the beautiful cover! Whoever illustrated this must have been impressed with themself after this because they did their thang. Second, the narrators of the audio book captivated me. They brought the words to life and helped to set the story. Lasly, the story was beautiful.

This is the epic old love story of boy meets girl, girl tries to resist boy, boy makes it impossible and you the reader are also left renderless. Yes hear me clearly, you will be defenseless against cinnamon roll Orion. He and Ray had me cheesing the entire book and now my face hurts. Rowe depicted what it was like to be young and in puppy love with butterflies and a bundle of nerves.

I appreciated that not only were their parents present in their lives but they were heavily involved and present. It was heartbreaking to see how their storylines interconnected but nice to see how everyone handled the fallout. This is not just Ray and Orion's story but the story of their family and building relationships that have been long ago broken.

Finding Jupiter spoke my language with the music, the skating and the poetry. I appreciate NetGalley and Random House Children's for giving me the opportunity to receive an arc in exchange for a honest review.

#BlackRomance is a thing! & Rowe shows us that. Ray thinks that meeting Orion she'll have a quick summer fling & ship back off to boarding school. Little does sis know, her whole world & the things she thinks she knows are about to explode. Falling in love has always been a liability for Ray. Hell look at what happened to her mama. So, why would she even toy with the idea? But, Orion walks & his dreamy persona captivates her. Both soon fall head over hills & sometimes love can be complicated. Will their newly budding love survive the secrets from the past that come back to haunt them? You'll have to read the title to find out.

*I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.*

The perfect light, easy, fun summer romance with all the feels and some really lovely writing. One of my favorite quotes: "nothing is its own kind of pain, you know?"

Finding Jupiter is an emotionally-intense Novel- In-Verse. When Orion spots Jupiter at the roller skating rink, it is love at first sight. At least for him that is...Jupiter is unsure about this somewhat socially inept boy who clearly has stars in his eyes everytime he sees her. After a while their relationship begins to bloom into something truly beautiful, but family secrets and a complicated past threaten to ruin everything. This was a powerful coming-of-age tale about grief and (more importantly) healing.

This was a very sweet YA coming of age romance! I enjoyed both Ray and Orion as main protagonists, especially Orion. He was such a sensitive sweet boy and you don’t see that often in books. I also really like the found poetry throughout the book as I had never even heard of it before reading about it. Although I enjoyed the characters separately I felt their romance was a bit lacklaster and too rushed. I think if there was a bit more build up and tension between the two characters it would have felt more rounded. Overall a great debut!

A first love story marred by grief and growth in Finding Jupiter.
🛼
Meet Ray: a girl who shares her birthday with the death of her father who died when she was born. On her birthday she heads to the roller rink in Memphis where she meets Orion: a swimmer who is mourning the loss of his sister until he meets Ray and they fall in love.
🛼
Told through a mix of lyrics, poetry and prose this YA novel is about finding yourself, finding love and Finding Jupiter. This book released last week. Grab it now!

CW: grief, death

I had such a good time reading this book! I live an hour from Memphis, so being somewhat familiar with the setting just added to the experience. Seeing the pyramid, walking down Beale, seeing the bridge, & the mentions of Riverside Drive. I just loved it!

Apart from the setting, this story was beautiful. We follow Ray and Orion as they meet and fall in love over the summer! It also explores grief as both have lost someone. Ray lost her dad the night she was born & Orion lost his sister when they were kids. The journey these two go on as they confront their past together was fantastic. I loved that they talked things out & told each other how they were feeling. It could have so easily fallen into the miscommunication trope but easily side stepped that! Also, Orion is the sweetest, most sensitive man (& I loved seeing that!)

This book was tremendously sweet. I found myself smiling at parts of the story. I truly wish that more young men are able to freely express their emotions the way they Orion does. I gotta admit I thought this book was headed to an obvious conclusion, so I appreciated the slight twist in that narrative. I truly loved this development, and I think it’s perfect for anyone who believes in the purity of love.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

What a beautiful book about young love! Half of me wanted an epilogue where they were 80 with tons of grandchildren around and the other half wanted them reflecting on how much they had learned about love and life that summer after they split up.

Ray and Orion meet at the skating rink and there's an instant attraction. Orion is heading off to Howard in a few weeks while Ray is going back to boarding school in Rhode Island so they're determined to spend as much time as possible together getting to know each other.

This was a cute love story if you don't mind the characters falling hard and fast. I thought .they had great chemistry together that really carried this book. I liked that Orion was the softer one while Ray was afraid of showing her emotions. I'm seeing more of that lately and it's a nice change. I liked how she weaved in Ray's blackout poetry

I didn't like how there was this constant pushing them as old souls which I find overprevalent in YA. Pop culture is tough to include in books at at time this felt bogged down by it. Especially since so many songs were older songs the teens wouldn't even be familiar with. The most current ones I could recall were Beyonce and Drake ones that were still from like 10 years back. And Ray prefers cds to Spotify playlists and that aspect felt very dated too. Especially when she whipped out a Sade cd for them to have sex to. Do the teens even know who Sade is? That along with other pop culture references at times made this story felt written during my high school years instead of a debut published this year.

There's a mystery aspect here surrounding Ray's father which I liked but it could've been better paced because it took a backseat to them loving on each other for awhile before starting back up. But it did keep me engaged with the story and elevate it. I also liked how the reveal and fallout was written. I liked the message about communication and healing in this book. It tackles two very different situations with grief and loss. Ray is dealing with grief over her father's death but he died the day she was born so she never got to meet him and actually form a relationship. And I haven't seen that type of relationship explored in books often.

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Finding Jupiter is a perfect summer love read with two leads you can’t help but immediately fall for. I loved watching Ray and Orion fall for each other and navigate learning about family secrets and the grief they’ve both experienced. The exploration of love for family and romantic love all came together in this beautiful, hopeful book. I can’t wait to read more from Kelis Rowe!

Thank you to Net Galley and Random House for allowing me to give my honest review on Finding Jupiter

Ray and Orion meet on Ray's Birthday at a skating rink and they knew it was love at first sight! Ray and Orion share a lot of things especially when it came to grief as they both lost someone close and they deal with it together as their tragedy happen around the same time.

Ray and Orion learn about first love and first everything together during their time in the summer before she returns to High School and He goes to college. But family secrets almost tear them apart.

Great YA book as it talks about love, grief and finding yourself.

Thank you to Crown Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for the eARC to read and review!

"Finding Jupiter" is one of the best YA contemporary romances I’ve ever read. I was so impressed by this sweet and heartwarming, black love story. It was a uniquely told story of star-crossed lovers with all the Romeo and Juliet vibes without being obvious or overshadowing the characters and plot.

Orion is a swimmer with Olympic potential. He is also kind, romantic, and charming. He wears his heart on his sleeves even though his dad wishes he wasn’t so sensitive. The first time he sees Ray performing a routine on the skating rink with her friends, it’s love at first sight.

At an early age, Orion was diagnosed with sensory processing disorder (SPD), “a condition in which the brain has trouble receiving and responding to information that comes in through the senses.” His SPD ties tightly linked into his character and how he connects with others. You can see this in his sometimes tense relationship with his dad, the solace Orion finds underwater, certain compulsive routines, and his interactions with Ray.

Ray is a super talented poet who has walls around her heart. Seeing her mom still grieving the loss of her husband has made Ray wary of love. It’s too risky, so she just wants a summer fling before heading back to boarding school. But she never expected to feel so strongly for Orion.

I wasn’t too sure about Ray at first because internally she seemed very adamant about her dislike of love and relationships. I wish she’d been a little more upfront with Orion, especially when it was clear how open and honest he is about his thoughts and feelings. But I understand where she’s coming from and why she’s so hesitant. Not to mention meeting Orion kind of throws her off. He is everything she didn’t know she wanted or needed. That kind of powerful attraction can be scary.

In the end, I loved the buildup of their relationship. It’s a rollercoaster of emotions for all involved. And when family secrets are revealed it is a devastating, heartbreaking blow that I didn't see coming at all.

"Finding Jupiter" is a real page-turner that will captivate you. I highlighted many great quotes throughout the book. I wish there’d been an epilogue to see where the MCs are down the road since Orion is starting college in the fall and Ray is entering her senior year of high school. Their love is so true, pure, and enviable. I would love to read more about Ray and Orion.

I highly recommend this amazing story!

This is literally the sweetest YA romance novel I have ever read. We meet Ray, it’s her birthday, but the saddest thing is that she has to share that with the death of her dad she never got a chance to meet. That broke my heart, one thing I do love is how creative and strong this young woman is, I had to reel it in sometimes because there was no way she is a 17 year old young woman and THIS mature, lol. Anyway on her special day she meets Orion, who is literally the CUTEST! As soon as that happened I knew something awesome was going to come out of this book. These characters were trying to navigate their own futures, first loves, family secrets, and their own insecurities. This book was a book I couldn’t put down, especially when their family secrets came to light (so live for the drama.)

There were parts of the book I wish we got more of, I felt towards the end it felt a little rushed, and the end? I wish we had more, especially for a YA romance, I like to know what happened after the love……. Maybe I’m asking for too much but other than that I really enjoyed this book. Thanks NetGalley and the publishers for giving me an opportunity to read this book.

This was another book that served classic Black Love Story from the 90s (which is my favorite era of movies). I ate this book up within a matter of hours because I was so drawn to Jupiter and Orion’s story. I loved that it was Dual POV and I felt that I was beside them the entire time as well as the fact that there was a bit of a mystery to unravel. I was just wrapped up in the story from beginning to end and did not put down my amazon fire the entire time

Everything I hate in romance is what I love in a thriller and this had it all. I knew from the moment Ray and Orion met that there was going to be some wild card that came and tried to break them apart, that's what all good romance novels have right? But I was impressed with the way this plot line progressed. It wasn't JUST about finding someone to love. It was also about coming to terms with loss and uncertainty, accepting yourself, and learning how to navigate new beginnings. It was a quick read but it held me captive until the very last word.

Thank you NetGalley for gifting me an advance reader copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinions and review.

Recently, I have noticed a great influx of debut authors and, while enjoyable, this absolutely read like a debut novel. If possible, I would give this book 2.5/5 stars but since it was a solid debut, Rowe deserves to be rounded up to 3.
 
The language, slang, and colloquialisms made the dialogue realistic and fun to read and solidly gives you the social setting and time period where the book takes place. I enjoyed the realistic language since it felt like I was reading real conversations but will admit that the colloquialisms took me a bit out of the story, which is a personal problem but did impact my ability to read the book nonetheless. Using slang evident of a certain time period allows readers to engage with the material at time of publish but does not tend to age well in years to come. For sure this book can be read for the younger end of YA. The language was simple and easy to read which made it a quick read.
 
The events of the book were...well, pretty nuts. Rowe wrote a pretty good plot twist that was both intriguing and made me want to keep reading but was ultimately easy to figure out....even if you didn't want it to be true. The reveal was lackluster and the emotional fallout could have been more impactful. The emotions the characters portrayed were very intense for not just their age but their situation, but I don't think it was unrealistic or overly emotional as one might say teenage relationships are. Yes, it’s always a little silly when teens, or really any age group, falls in love so quickly but maybe that’s just the cynic in me. Rowe did a good job including healthy and mature communication for any age group let alone teenagers and I was impressed by the realistic emotional maturity.
 
The Pros: Realistic dialogue/language, cute ship, healthy and mature communication between characters
The Cons: wild events with lackluster plot twist reveal, read for younger end of YA