REVIEW: "Chasing Jupiter" by Rachel Coker

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About the Book:

✦ Title: Chasing Jupiter

✦ Author: Rachel Coker


✦ Genre: Christian fiction set in the 1960s (with lighter romance)


✦ Series: No, seems to be a standalone novel


✦ Recommend for: ages 14+


My Personal Rating

4.5 ⭐️

📖 Synopsis

Scarlett Blaine's life in 1960s Georgia isn't always easy, especially given her parents' financial struggles and the fights surrounding her sister Juli's hippie lifestyle. Then there's her brother, Cliff. While Scarlett loves him more than anything, there's no denying his unique behavior leaves Cliff misunderstood and left out. So when he wishes for a rocket to Jupiter, Scarlett agrees to make it happen, no matter how crazy the idea might be. Raising the rocket money means baking pies, and the farmer's son, Frank, agrees to provide the peaches if Scarlett will help him talk to Juli. The problem is, Scarlett really enjoys her time with Frank, and finds herself wondering if, someday, they could be more than friends. Just as she thinks everything might be going her way, Cliff suffers an accident that not only affects the rocket plans, but shakes Scarlett's view of God. As the summer comes to an end, Scarlett must find a way to regain what she's lost, but also fulfill a promise to launch her brother's dream.

💭 My thoughts

This was such a pleasant surprise! I picked it up because recently I've been enjoying books set in the 60s and 70s, and it sounded like a tearjerker (I like those). I ended up loving so many elements of this story!

It was quite well-done, and the writing style made me feel immersed in the story. I enjoyed the setting of 1960s Georgia summer so much, and the characters were fleshed out well for a shorter novel (only about 215 pages), lovable (well, most of them anyway) and easy to connect to. {random side-note- I loved that Cliff was so interested in the Spanish language and culture; as an avid Spanish learner myself, I found those parts highly amusing and fun}.

This story is a bittersweet one, without a perfect, tied with a bow ending. But I'm finding more and more that those are the types of books I love the most-- it was realistic, tugged on my heartstrings, and had a message of having hope when life is hard.

I don't have too many more thoughts on this one. All in all, I really enjoyed it, read it in a single night, and honestly, will probably buy a copy for my shelves and reread it next summer. I would highly recommend if you enjoy heartfelt Christian young adult stories with an emphasis on family, a very sweet romance, and a beautifully bittersweet ending.

⚠️ Content

No language other than darn, shoot, an unfinished "what in the..." phrases like heaven knows, and curses aid but unwritten; it's implied (at least this is how I took it) that a certain character drinks and/or is on drugs for a time; a character runs away; characters smoke; many mentions of hippies and their lifestyle; a side character grieves over the loss of a loved one; family tension and conflict; severe injury and blood (semi-descriptive); a chicken is nearly killed for dinner; kisses (barely detailed); a mention of a mental facility; a mention of mental sickness a character (not Cliff) has, and symptoms of it shown.

*Note- Scarlett’s younger brother, Cliff, is portrayed as developmentally different (he has recognizable traits of autism, though the book never labels him as such) and it is mentioned that some people think he's "stupid" or "weird". :(

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Bookishly yours, 


Lottie M

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