Welcome to Quill Quotes Book Club’s discussion of Just Out of Jupiter’s Reach by Nnedi Okorafor. We hope you enjoyed the book. Note that this discussion covers the full book and will contain spoilers, so if you haven’t finished reading yet you may want to go back to The Far Reaches Collection Summary Page for the other book discussions.
Brooke’s Thoughts
This is my least favorite of the collection so far. It felt more fantasy than sci-fi to me, mostly because there wasn’t much detail about how the ships worked. I get that can be hard to do in a short story though but the story felt very disjointed as well. I didn’t really get the point of the crab being eaten and I also didn’t get the reveal about how she got her name. There’s probably some deeper meaning to the story about transitioning in life and being true to yourself but it wasn’t obvious to me.
“Sometimes, talking ruins the moment.”
– Nnedi Okorafor, Just Out of Jupiter’s Reach
Kevin’s Thoughts
I enjoyed this one a lot more than Brooke. It might be my 2nd favorite of the collection so far! I agree with her that this one has more fantasy elements, but I didn’t mind. Organic ships are a pretty cool concept and I liked the pairing with specific individuals’ DNA. The point I took away is that being alone helps you better understand yourself but comes at the cost of your relationships and social skills. Taking a while to yourself can be a good idea but 10 years alone in space with only a 7-day meetup halfway through is probably pushing it.
“When you have to earn it, it’s actually not at all like winning the lottery.”
– Nnedi Okorafor, Just Out of Jupiter’s Reach
Just Out of Jupiter’s Reach Discussion Prompts/Questions
Feel free to comment whatever thoughts and questions you have! But if you aren’t sure where to start, consider some of the prompts/questions below:
- Were you surprised by the ending? What do you think the point of the story is?
- Would you be able to travel solo for 10 years for 20 million dollars?
- What do you think your ship would be like?
- Did you read or listen to the book? Did you like the narrator?
- Share a favorite quote!
Commenting
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We hope you enjoy this discussion and join us again next week!
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