Finding Orion is an extremely well-written book with a lot to offer. The book is told from the perspective of a twelve year old boy named after the constellation Orion who feels out of place in the Kwirk family. His dad works in a Jellybean factory, his mother is allergic to almost everything and feels the need to clean tirelessly, his sister is obsessed with fencing, acting, and owns a pet snake, while his youngest sister is a walking dictionary. Because of this Rion feels his family is very different from himself and other "normal" families. Although Rion has always tried to live his own life and be normal, when a clown shows up at his doorstep to deliver the news of his grandfather's death, it ends up uncovering a deep conflict between his father and his grandfather and he discovers a lot more about his family.
One of the most prominent themes talked about and represented in the novel is bizarreness. Bizarreness is shown in many ways throughout the story by the Kwirk family with his family being much different from his friends' families. But perhaps the most bizarre of them all is Papa Kwirk, who only shows up on Christmas every year to bring odd gifts and tell exciting stories. Although the bizarreness is shown by both Rion's grandfather and his family, Rion comes to look up to Papa Kwirk's mysterious and wild lifestyle. While he often feels ashamed of his family who has a more toned-down bizarreness, which is brought on by his need to fit in at his middle school. All in all, the bizarreness of the Kwirks leads them on an adventure that helps Rion learn to appreciate his family for what they are.
The novel's main character, Rion, is a very unique and complex character for many reasons. One being that because he feels he doesn't belong in his family, he ends up talking less than everyone else, which makes him very observant. His ability to read a situation and his frequent intuitive and clever remarks that he mostly keeps to himself explain why he was chosen as the narrator of the story, and show the reader that he is a lot more like his family than he admits. Going onwards, his observant attitude proves to be very a informative and entertaining perspective, as he, more than his mother and siblings, has an interest in the odd life that Papa Kwirk lived as well as the origin of the conflict between his dad and Papa Kwirk. This interest causes him to play a key role in uncovering the mystery of his grandfather and makes him an interesting character to follow.
Although the novel is told from Rion's perspective, I think that the variety of unique attributes in the different characters makes this a story that everyone can relate to some way. Overall, this book is a funny yet moving and heartfelt novel that I would highly recommend, with characters and conflicts that I often found myself relating to.
- Kelby Svendsen
I really like the premise of this novel. I think we all have some bizarreness in our lives that can make us feel out of place. I'm also glad that the author writes such interesting and complicated characters and family dynamics. This book sounds like a compelling read. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI love how this book focuses more on family. Recently, I have been reading a lot of stories centered around romance or friendship. I rarely find myself reading books centered around family, and I think this book would be a good start. Many aspects of the novel seem relatable, and Rion sounds like an interesting character. I will make sure to check out this book sometime!
ReplyDeleteI find the bizarreness really enticing. The family dynamics, though complicated, sound exciting to read. I think it is funny how this book is still able to be relatable, even though it is unusual.
ReplyDeleteThis novel seems funny yet heartfelt. The bizarreness of Rion's family seems very interesting to read about. I have not read many books about family dynamics, so I would love to check this book out sometime.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the family's last name, Kwirk, is a phonetic play on the word quirk, as all the family members have lots of quirks. This book seems interesting as it presents the idea of how some people want to be "normal" when there is in fact no such thing. Everyone has their own idiosyncrasies.
ReplyDeleteJust like Shreyas mentioned I find the last name of Kwirk to be indicative of the family itself. It shows that family is not normal and has its quirks and odd parts. Overall I think that the theme is helped and slightly foreshadowed by the name of the protagonist's family.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a really great novel. I like that the amount of bizarre activity that goes on throughout the story makes the plot so exciting and intriguing. I'll definitely consider reading this book.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds great. I like the idea about the family being different so that the main character feels out of place. It sounds like a flip in the script
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