Okay for Now: A National Book Award Winner

By the time I finished Okay for Now, I had read almost forty books this year. And while a large number of them were geared towards teens, especially boys. On my list this year there is James Dashner's gripping taleThe Maze Runner, where Lord of the Flies meets Lost. In fantasy, I read Brandon Mull's A World Without Heroes and Brandon Sanderson's The Rithmatist, both excellent in their own right. Robison Wells' Variant kept me turning pages late into the night, as did David Farland's Nightingale.Of all of them, though, none was more satisfying, fulfilling and memorable than Gary Schmidt's follow-up to The Wednesday Wars. Picking up right after the end of the adventures of Holling Hoodhood in The Wednesday Wars, Okay For Now takes the perspective of Doug Swieteck, Hoodhood's friend and little brother to Hoodhood's bully. When a job change takes them to "stupid Marysville," Doug finds himself an unlikely friend in the Hermione-like Lil Spicer, daughter of the local deli owner. Over the course of his eight-grade year, Doug will overcome prejudices, his own shortcomings, make new friends and mentors, and learn that his destiny is in his own hands.That all sounds so stereotypical and mundane, like what could be written on the back of almost any young adult novel. Believe me, then, when I say that there's nothing stereotypical or mundane about Doug's story. As he would say, "I'm not lying." Schmidt has a talent for making scenes equally humorous and tragic, and he cleverly and subtly uses language to show and tell who and what is on the up and up with Doug and what is not."You know how that feels?" is a common phrase, something of a stage aside when Doug wants to accentuate his response to the situation, whether negative or positive. I found it clever that Doug would change then names of things subtly and without comment as their standing would change. For example, Christopher, Doug's brother and the bully from The Wednesday Wars begins the book as "my brother," but after an act of redemption becomes Christopher. Other labels that Doug uses with derision early in the book change, in connotation, as events unfold. In addition, Schmidt uses the imagery of art and Audubon's collection of bird paintings to bring out and describe Doug's experiences and growth.It's beautiful.Another reason I loved--yes, I loved it--Okay For Now is for its unique and deep demonstration of the bonds between males, the things that strengthen them, as well as the things that weaken them. Looking at both of the books, it's not hard to wonder if Schmidt has a soft spot in his heart for mothers and high standards for fathers, standards that he doesn't always think men meet. Though the novels are certainly full of traditional families with loving and honorable fathers--the book takes place in the late 1960s, so the traditional family is certainly still at the forefront in society--both the Hoodhood and Swieteck families are headed by less than satisfactory fathers at the outset, causing a major source of conflict for both Doug and Holling.Not only is his relationship with his father, and how his father's relationship with his mother, a major focus of the story, but so are the relationships between Doug and his brothers, including Christopher who I mentioned earlier, and Lucas who comes home from Vietnam. Also important to Doug's progress are relationships he develops with various other adults in the community, including teachers, librarians, and one eccentric playwright.Okay for Now is a beautiful story about a boy, and it's a story that will resonate with anyone, whether they remember what it was like to be 15 or not. With my own eight grade year now nearly two decades in the rear view mirror, reading Okay for Now took me back, reminding me of the growth and awkwardness of that tumultuous year and inspiring me to be more careful in my relationships.The year's not over yet, but Okay for Now will probably go down as the best book I will read this year, if not in the last several years. And I'm not lying. It's terrific, and I hope you will read it.

Okay for Now is part of a unique group of books that get by without having a climax. These books do this by engrossing the reader in the lives of the main character and making you feel like you are living with them and that they are your friends. It's a difficult art form to master, but Gary D. Schmidt has now accomplished it twice, with The Wednesday Wars and Okay for Now.The characters in this book are vivid and realistic, and the plot is believable the throughout the entire story. There is excellent character development, and Doug's quest to complete the book of birds comes to a satisfying conclusion. There are dark parts and there are light parts, and they are weaved together nicely to create an engrossing experience. Well done, Mr. Schmidt. Well done.Another good thing about this book is that it will please fans of The Wednesday Wars (Such as myself) while no prior knowledge about Doug is needed for the story to make sense. It's just as fresh and original as its predecessor.Although this didn't bother me, Doug had a very unique way of talking. He uses lots of run on sentences and repeats phrases such as "You know how that feels?" or "I'm not lying." plenty of times throughout the novel. This may annoy some readers. Also at risk of alienation are Red Sox fans, as Doug is a die hard Yankee fan and looks up to Yankee great Joe Pepitone. There is also a trivia contest in the middle of the novel about Yankee baseball that some Red Sox fans might want to skip over.In conclusion, if you are bothered by little things like catch phrases or purposeful run-on sentences, this book is not for you. This book may be hard to read sometimes if you hate the Yankees. But if you can look past all that, you will find a wonderful story underneath, filled with adventure, feeling, and a great morale.

I had to read this book as an education student in my college Children's LIterature class. My professor told me that after she read this book she became convinced that every student, teacher, and administrator should have to read this book and when I finished it I couldn't have agreed more. I have since read it aloud to two of 7th grade Reading classes over a two month period and they both loved it! It also brought up some great discussions about how we view others, the culture around the Vietnam War, and how we can make connections from the world to our lives and books.Doug seems like your typical rough and tough kid from a rough and tough family, so you know he has no chance at having many options or chances in life, especially when he has just moved to a new town. But when a confident, "snotty" girl offers him a job as her dad's grocery delivery boy, Doug begins to see a few opportunities arise that he never thought he could see. However, school continues to always "suck" except for the weird science teacher, who is able to get Doug to reveal a secret that has held him back in school for a very long time (this is something the students and I never guessed until it was revealed). Very slowly we start to see changes in both Doug and his family while several bumps seem to threaten each opportunity and change that Doug is given. The end is satisfying (though a touch sad) and a book that is great for all ages middle school and up.

Livro excelente.

El libro es una pasada, engancha mucho y la historia es preciosa. Venía en perfecto estado. Es exactamente lo que he pedido.

I absolutely loved this book! I would love to see it become a movie one day. Thank you to the author for the laughs and tears. :)

I really enjoyed this book. The story is told from the perspective of Doug who is dealing with a drunk and abusive father. There are many references to art in this book and I think it would be a great read aloud for students in grades 5-8. I plan to read it to my grade 7s this year.

All in all, I liked this book very much. Even though the story line is often predictable, it did not bother me at all, I still the protagonist's coming of age. What did irritate me, though only few times, are sudden changes in character development with lack of transition. However, I liked the story so much, that I'm willing to still rate it with the highest.The story is told from the protagonist Doug's view, the youngest son of a five-person family. He has a loving mother, an abusive father, an older bullying brother Christopher and another brother who's fighting in the Vietnam War. When his family had to move again because his father lost his job, Doug founds himself in the small town Marysville, which he dislikes immediately. The townspeople and even the teachers view Doug in the light of his brother's actions, without a chance to prove himself. Therefor it seems easier for him to simply come up to their expectations instead of proving them the contrary, - until he found his passion for art and life itself.I liked that the book had pictures of Audubon plates that Doug loves so much, they helped a lot when the paintings are being described. I also liked Doug's references to them, how his interpretation of the pictures alters with the change of his attitude towards life in Marysville. Some of Doug's regular phrases also change their inherent meaning over time, which is very interesting to observe.