Finding Orion

The acclaimed author of Ms. Bixby’s Last Day and Posted returns with an unforgettable tale of love and laughter, of fathers and sons, of what family truly means, and of the ways in which we sometimes need to lose something in order to find ourselves. Celebrate dads and Father's Day year-round with this warm and witty novel for tweens.

Rion Kwirk comes from a rather odd family. His mother named him and his sisters after her favorite constellations, and his father makes funky-flavored jellybeans for a living. One sister acts as if she’s always on stage, and the other is a walking dictionary. But no one in the family is more odd than Rion’s grandfather, Papa Kwirk.

He’s the kind of guy who shows up on his motorcycle only on holidays handing out crossbows and stuffed squirrels as presents. Rion has always been fascinated by Papa Kwirk, especially as his son—Rion’s father—is the complete opposite. Where Dad is predictable, nerdy, and reassuringly boring, Papa Kwirk is mysterious, dangerous, and cool.

Which is why, when Rion and his family learn of Papa Kwirk’s death and pile into the car to attend his funeral and pay their respects, Rion can’t help but feel that that’s not the end of his story. That there’s so much more to Papa Kwirk to discover.

He doesn’t know how right he is.

A Hilarious and Heartfelt Adventure: When a singing clown delivers the worst possible news, Rion Kwirk discovers his grandfather’s story is far from over. An Unforgettable Scavenger Hunt: Papa Kwirk is gone, but he’s left behind a trail of bizarre clues that will lead his family to the truth—and to each other. Generations of Family Secrets: Rion always saw his dad as nerdy and predictable. Now he’ll uncover the complicated history between the father he has and the grandfather he’s lost. Dealing with Loss, Finding Yourself: A poignant and funny story about grief, love, and laughter that proves sometimes you have to lose something to find out who you really are.