Jane Kurtz presents Planet Jupiter

Annie Bloom's welcomes Portland author Jane Kurtz, who will read from her middle reader novel, Planet Jupiter.

Jupiter is used to being a planet of one, and she likes it that way. But then a cousin, who Jupiter never even knew existed, comes from Ethiopia to stay for the summer, and Jupiter is put in charge of taking care of her.

Jupiter and her family have spent their lives on the road, moving from town to town in a trusty old van and earning their living by playing music for tourists. But when their van breaks down, Jupiter's mother rents an actual house in Portland for the summer so Jupiter's annoying cousin Edom, recently adopted from Ethiopia, can stay with them. Luckily, Edom doesn't want to be in Portland any more than Jupiter wants her there, and the two hatch a Grand Plan to send Edom back to her mother. In the process, Jupiter learns that community and family aren't always what you expect them to be.

A sweet, genuine story with themes of community, immigration, finances, family, and taking care of the environment that will appeal to fans of Katherine Hannigan's Ida B and Holly Goldberg Sloan's Counting by 7s.