Disclosure: I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions stated below are 100% my own.
Now that I've gotten that out of the way, I just want to say that I LOVED Jupiter Storm!! This is a middle-grade fantasy book about a 10-year old named Jacquelyn Marie aka Jackie. She is the second oldest of 5 kids and the only girl. Her greatest strengths are her maturity and the fact that she is good at being in charge of things. From her 4 brothers to taking garden her family's garden, Jackie runs a tight ship.
At least she does until she finds what she initially thought was a chrysalis in one of her snapdragon plants. Jackie soon realizes that what she thought was butterfly egg is something she couldn't have imagined even her wildest dreams. When the egg hatches, Jackie finds herself doing whatever it takes to protect from being discovered by her family Jupiter Storm even if it means keeping secrets.
I really adored that this was a fantasy book with a Black girl as the main character. Even more, I loved that Jackie doesn't come from the stereotypical Black family. They don't live in the hood, nobody is doing drugs and she doesn't speak ebonics. I'm a firm believer that our children need to read books with characters of color that transcend the current stereotypes that are already prominent in our society.
Also, there are no gender roles in this book. In chapter, we see her mom fixing a broken sink pipe while her dad does the grocery shopping. I thought was a great example to show kids that there's no such thing as a man's or woman's job. I loved that Jackie's mom did car line, but she was also good with tools which often times a skill that many think only a man can possess.
I'm a reader who loves details, so I loved how detailed this story was. I could actually picture what Jupiter Storm looked like and see this story unfold in my head. I loved how this story built up to the action over time. There is a part towards the end of this story where things got a pick emotional. I'm not sure if my hormones are still out wack from having kids, but I did find myself tearing up.
Dumas did such a great job of creating characters and a story that is so easy to get emotionally attached to. I think above everything, I loved that this story was strong enough to get me emotionally invested as an adult reader. My heart literally ached for Jackie and Jupiter.
If I have to pick one thing to dislike about this book, it would be the fact that it's not written in first-person. And honestly, that's only because I do prefer first person point of view the most. I feel like as a reader, I can go deeper into the characters' thoughts and connect with them better. However, for this story, I'm not entirely sure if first-person would have been right for it. So, I'm happy with it as is.
I am definitely excited that this isn't the last we will see of Jackie, Jupiter and their family. I can't wait for book 2 to drop this March. I highly recommend this book, especially for young girls of color.