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Mr. Canton
Mrs. Stroud is a social worker, employed by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), assigned to eighth-grader Joseph Brook’s case after the rich parents of Joseph’s girlfriend, Madeleine Joyce, take out an injunction against him. After Madeleine dies giving birth to her and Joseph’s baby, Jupiter, Mrs. Stroud gives Joseph a photo of the baby (which she isn’t supposed to do) but encourages him to sign away his parental rights because he’s too young and irresponsible to raise a child. After Joseph is repeatedly assaulted at a juvenile facility called Stone Mountain, Mrs. Stroud appeals to former foster parents Mr. Hurd and Mrs. Hurd to take him in. Though sympathetic to Joseph and respectful to the Hurds, Mrs. Stroud has a cautious, institutional approach to her work and encourages the Hurds not to get too emotionally involved in Joseph’s case.
Mrs. Stroud Quotes in Orbiting Jupiter
The Orbiting Jupiter quotes below are all either spoken by Mrs. Stroud or refer to Mrs. Stroud. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 1 Quotes
They sent Joseph to Stone Mountain, even though he did what he did because the kid gave him something bad and he swallowed it. But that didn’t matter. They sent him to Stone Mountain anyway.
He won’t talk about what happened to him there. But since he left Stone Mountain, he won’t wear anything orange.
He won’t let anyone stand behind him.
He won’t let anyone touch him.
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In this passage, Orbiting Jupiter’s narrator, 12-year-old Jack Hurd, is summarizing what Maine social worker Mrs. Stroud has told him and his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Hurd, about Joseph Brook, the 14-year-old boy that the Hurds may foster. According to Mrs. Stroud, Joseph was sent to a high-security juvenile facility because he tried to kill a teacher after another boy gave him “something bad and [Joseph] swallowed it.” When Jack says that the authorities sent Joseph to Stone Mountain “even though he did what he did because the kid gave him something bad,” it isn’t clear whether Jack is summarizing Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut. Incidunt rerum est. Aperiam doloremque eum. Animi soluta perspiciatis. Ut minima autem. Modi omnis iure. Sint qui qui. Qui similique praesentium. Ex consequatur magnam. Aliquid iste enim. Sequi aut maxime. Adipisci voluptate et. Voluptas suscipit alias. In et eveniet. Eaque et repellend
”Do you think Joseph will fit in?” my mother asked me later.
“Rosie loves him,” I said.
I didn’t need to say anything more. You can tell all you need to know about someone from the way cows are around him.
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This conversation between Jack and his mother, Mrs. Hurd, occurs immediately after Joseph has successfully milked Rosie all by himself for the first time. When Mrs. Hurd asks whether “Joseph will fit in,” it isn’t clear exactly what she’s asking—she may simply be worried about whether Joseph will like and get along with their family, or she may have absorbed a little judgmental worry about Joseph’s character from his social worker, Mrs. Stroud. When 12-year-old Jack replies that “Rosie loves” Joseph as if that is a definitive judgment in Joseph’s favor—“all you need to know about” Joseph—his reply aligns him Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est
Chapter 4 Quotes
He was going to be a father, he said.
He was only thirteen, she said again.
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Jack is retelling in his own words Joseph’s account of how he ended up a young teenage father in foster care. In this section of Joseph’s story, Joseph is explaining how his social worker, Mrs. Stroud, came to tell him that his 13-year-old girlfriend, Madeleine, was pregnant and that she was removing him from his abusive father Mr. Brook’s household to a group home. On the ride from Mr. Brook’s house, when Joseph expresses a desire to be with Madeleine, Mrs. Stroud tells him that he can’t see Madeleine (her parents have taken out an injunction against him). When Joseph Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut. Incidunt rerum est. Aperiam doloremque eum. Animi soluta perspiciatis. Ut minima autem. Modi omnis iure. Sint q
Chapter 5 Quotes
When my father put his hand on Joseph’s back, Joseph didn’t even flinch.
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On Christmas Day, Mr. and Mrs. Hurd reveal to Joseph that they have decided to help him establish contact with his baby daughter, Jupiter. Mrs. Hurd and Joseph hug, and Mr. Hurd puts a fatherly hand on Joseph’s back—as he often does with his biological son Jack. Jack notices with surprise that Joseph doesn’t “even flinch” in response to the touch. One of the first things Joseph’s social worker Mrs. Stroud told the Hurds about Joseph was that—following a traumatic stint in a high-security juvenile facility called Stone Mountain—he wouldn’t let anyone touch him or stand behind him. Early in Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti so
Chapter 6 Quotes
You know what happened when Mr. Brook put his hand on Joseph’s back?
Joseph flinched.
But he went into the living room with his father anyway.
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Joseph’s abusive father Mr. Brook has secured visitation rights to see Joseph while the Hurds are fostering him. When Mr. Brook puts a hand on Joseph’s back to lead him into the Hurds’ empty living room so that they can talk privately, Joseph visibly flinches but keeps going. Early in the novel, Joseph’s social worker Mrs. Stroud explained to the Hurds that due to a traumatic stay in a high-security juvenile facility, Joseph won’t let people touch him or get behind him. Yet in the previous chapter, after several months with the Hurds, Joseph hugged Mrs. Hurd and didn’t flinch Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum a
Chapter 7 Quotes
Mr. Canton had already come by, so full of himself, my mother said, all about how he knew something like this would happen, and kids who come from Stone Mountain are bound to run off, and it’s not our fault, it’s just that’s who Joseph Brook is.
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After a meeting with social worker Mrs. Stroud in which she reveals that Joseph’s daughter Jupiter is being fostered in Brunswick, Maine, Joseph runs away to try to find her. When they realize what has happened, Mr. Hurd and Jack drive out in search of Joseph, but a serious snowstorm drives them back. When they return, Mrs. Hurd informs them that Jack and Joseph’s middle school vice principal, Mr. Canton, came by and told her it “wasn’t [their] fault” that Joseph ran away because it’s “who Joseph Brook is.” Two adults at Jack and Joseph’s middle school, Mr. Canton and Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut.
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Mrs. Stroud Character Timeline in Orbiting Jupiter
The timeline below shows where the character Mrs. Stroud appears in Orbiting Jupiter. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
Social worker Mrs. Stroud tells Jack Hurd, Mr. Hurd, and Mrs. Hurd that they need certain facts before they...
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When Mrs. Stroud drops Joseph off at the Hurds’ house two days later, Jack thinks Joseph resembles an...
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Chapter 4
...pull her from Andover and send her to a school in Pennsylvania. Three months later, Mrs. Stroud , who works for the DHSS, visits Mr. Brook during school hours. She tells him...
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When Joseph gets home, Mrs. Stroud tells him about Madeleine. Joseph is shocked that he’ll be a parent. He wants to...
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...Adams Juvenile, a facility with doors that lock from the outside. A couple months later, Mrs. Stroud visits and asks that Joseph sign away his parental rights—revealing to him that Madeleine has...
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Mrs. Stroud urges Joseph to sign away his parental rights so that a loving family can adopt...
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When Mrs. Stroud visits Joseph at Stone Mountain, she asks where he was trying to escape to. Joseph...
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Chapter 5
...“we’ll help.” Jack asks what it means. Mrs. Hurd explains that they’re going to call Mrs. Stroud . Joseph hugs Mrs. Hurd as trustingly as he hugs Rosie the cow. When Mr....
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Chapter 6
...are parked out front. The boys enter the house and see Mr. Hurd, Mrs. Hurd, Mrs. Stroud , and Mr. Brook. Mr. Brook announces that he’s going to take Joseph for a...
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Mrs. Stroud apologizes to the Hurds, saying that she recommended against Mr. Brook getting visitation, but his...
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...Mr. Hurd that he has rights to his son and won’t kowtow to rich people. Mrs. Stroud ineffectually tries to quiet him. Then Mr. Brook yells that the Hurds are only fostering...
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...any officials agreeing to let Joseph see Jupiter, though the Hurds petition Joseph’s counselor and Mrs. Stroud . One afternoon, Mrs. Stroud has a meeting with Mr. Hurd, Mrs. Hurd, and Joseph...
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When Joseph joins Jack in the barn, Jack asks whether Mrs. Stroud told him anything. Joseph replies that Jupiter is in Brunswick. He asks Jack whether Brunswick...
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Chapter 7
...45 minutes, they turn around. By the time they get home, Mrs. Hurd has called Mrs. Stroud , who has notified the police. Evidently the police notified the school: Mr. Canton came...
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The next morning, Mrs. Stroud calls and says that no one has found Joseph. Jack skips school to wait at...
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Chapter 8
For a few days after Joseph gets home, Mrs. Stroud and Mr. Canton sternly lecture him. Joseph decides to start walking to school again, with...
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...weeping Coach Swieteck, Mr. Hurd, Mrs. Hurd, the librarian, the Baptist pastor from near Lewiston, Mrs. Stroud , and three of his friends from the bus as the only attendees. Reverend Ballou...
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Chapter 9
On Joseph’s 16th birthday, Mrs. Stroud drives Jupiter to the Hurds’ farm. She takes Jupiter out, and Jupiter, dark-haired and dark-eyed,...
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