Twenty-four tales set in diverse locations are accompanied by critical and autobiographical commentary.

What if buying a spaceship to Mars was like buying a plane ticket to Oregon? Today, traveling to other States, and countries, is easy. But for every city and civilization, there is the story of those who first settled there. Set in an alternate timeline, Mother Jupiter gives you a glimpse of what it would be like if you were asked to join the crew to colonize a planet in our solar system. What if you lived on the red dust of Mars, or opposite that on the blue waters of Neptune? Join Judah and Herschel, Dr. Hanson, Leo, Major Klinge, and others as they venture to these planets and break down the barriers between Earth and its neighbors. After all, it might be you next.

A “wickedly funny” (Newsweek) collection of ten short stories from Nobel Prize–winning author Alice Munro, “one of the most eloquent and gifted writers of contemporary fiction” (Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times). “Each of her collections demonstrates such linguistic skill, delicacy of vision, and . . . moral strength and clarity.”—Chicago Tribune A woman haunted by dreams of her dead mother. An adulterous couple stepping over the line where the initial excitement ends and the pain begins. A widow visiting a Scottish village in search of her husband’s past—and instead discovering unsetting truths about a total stranger. The miraculously accomplished stories in this collection not only astonish and delight, but also convey the unspoken mysteries at the heart of all human experience. The mastery—the almost numinous ability to say the unsayable—makes Friend of My Youth a genuine literary event.

Lucky Starr and Bigman Jones journey to the remote moons of Jupiter to find the spy who is leaking the vital secrets of the hyperatomic engines of a prototype spaceship to the enemy Sirians

The two-time Newbery Honor winner Gary D. Schmidt delivers the shattering story of Joseph, a father at thirteen, who has never seen his daughter, Jupiter. After spending time in a juvenile facility, he's placed with a foster family on a farm in rural Maine. Here Joseph, damaged and withdrawn, meets twelve-year-old Jack, who narrates the account of the troubled, passionate teen who wants to find his baby at any cost. In this riveting novel, two boys discover the true meaning of family and the sacrifices it requires.

Don't Call Me Jupiter is a true-story memoir about an All-American family that becomes all hippied out. It's about the pros and cons that kids growing up in hippie environments encountered and how their early experiences continue to shape them later in life. This "First Family" story begins in 1961 in Cincinnati, Ohio with Dr. Sabin as they're selected to demonstrate the oral vaccine for polio. They are the paragon of midwestern, conservative, white-bread, Catholic idealism. And yet, led by an eccentric mother, the Martha Stewart of hippies, the family transforms into a clan of liberal, pot-smoking, psychedelic-bus-tripping, nature-loving California free spirits. Told through the wide-eyes of a middle child; a reluctant hippie kid who loves his family as much as he is embarrassed by them, this is a hilarious book about abandonment. Climb aboard their magic yellow bus for an unforgettable ride with colorful characters caught in situations that will make you laugh, cry, and cringe. Don't Call me Jupiter is a page-turning ride down memory lane when many parents went in search of themselves and lost their children along the way. "Growing up in this era was groovy and far out. We believed in the power of the people. We felt we could save the whales and make the world a better place. But there was bad craziness too."The '60s were a pivotal time. It revolutionized the way people looked at the world and their place in it. People challenged tradition, experimented with new lifestyles - and drugs. The very definition of family was stretched. Many people share unforgettable memories connected to the hippie movement and want to know how it's affecting them today. What was gained? What was lost? Are any of our adult disorders and anxiety tied to our unusual childhoods? This book presents a strong case in favor of the "fuck yea - of course it does!"In this first book of three in the series, you'll get an intimate understanding of the main characters, the changes they embrace, and how it affects their decisions and behaviors. Years later, this disbanded group is forced back together to deal with a family crisis. Similar memories about surviving dysfunctional families include: Running with Scissors, The Glass Castle, Let's Pretend this Never Happened, The Liar's Club, This Boy's Life, and A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. It's like a 70's version of Shameless but with less booze, more weed, and way more hallucinogenics. This book needs to be read because it expands our understanding of the hippie movement and its continuing impact on society. Don't Call Me Jupiter provides an accurate, visceral, entertaining, real-life perspective into the ups and downs of surviving a hippie childhood.