Okay for Now

by Gary D. Schmidt

2011 National Book Award Finalist

As a fourteen-year-old who just moved to a new town, with no friends and a louse for an older brother, Doug Swieteck has all the stats stacked against him. So begins a coming-of-age masterwork full of equal parts comedy and tragedy from Newbery Honor winner Gary D. Schmidt. As Doug struggles to be more than the “skinny thug” that his teachers and the police think him to be, he finds an unlikely ally in Lil Spicer—a fiery young lady who “smelled like daisies would smell if they were growing in a big field under a clearing sky after a rain.” In Lil, Doug finds the strength to endure an abusive father, the suspicions of a whole town, and the return of his oldest brother, forever scarred, from Vietnam. Together, they find a safe haven in the local library, inspiration in learning about the plates of John James Audubon’s birds, and a hilarious adventure on a Broadway stage. In this stunning novel, Schmidt expertly weaves multiple themes of loss and recovery in a story teeming with distinctive, unusual characters and invaluable lessons about love, creativity, and survival.

Genres: Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Middle Grade, Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Coming Of Age, Historical

368 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 5, 2011

About the author

Gary D. Schmidt is an American children's writer of nonfiction books and young adult novels, including two Newbery Honor books. He lives on a farm in Alto, Michigan,with his wife and six children, where he splits wood, plants gardens, writes, feeds the wild cats that drop by and wishes that sometimes the sea breeze came that far inland. He is a Professor of English at Calvin College.

Reviews

[Emily May · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favourite books are always those that prove me wrong, that break my own rules. I used to say I didn't like the traditional or "high" fantasy genre, and then Megan Whalen Turner and Melina Marchetta proved that I had actually just not found the right brand of traditional fantasy to suit me. As a rule, I tend to avoid like the plague young adult books that are about dealing with the death of a loved one or teenage pregnancy... but Please Ignore Vera Dietz and How to Save a Life proved that I just needed to find the novels that dealt with it in a way I could appreciate. And then there are those young adult books with protagonists who deal with their problematic lives through creativity: art, music, literature... etc. I often find in these kind of stories something horribly cheesy and cliche, so when Mr Schmidt came along with this book and The Wednesday Wars and introduced me to two characters who find comfort in drawing pictures of birds and Shakespeare... I should have hated it.

But Schmidt somehow manages to handle his characters so expertly that it's okay. No, more than that, it's bloody brilliant. In this book, Doug Swieteck - a character we first meet in The Wednesday Wars - comes back to tell his own story, one which is far more painful and sad than Holling's. At first it seems like the entire world is out to get Doug, his family have had to move to a small crappy house in a small crappy town, his father is abusive, his brother is a bully, everything good that comes into his life is eventually taken from him. Not only that, but Doug has a few secret problems that it is becoming increasingly difficult for him to hide. And I'm sure that so far it sounds like every typical teen "issue book" filled with the usual melodrama. But no.

Because people are not what they seem and even the worst have the capacity for good and change. What I love most is the way Schmidt makes every character count, he introduces many people into this story and you will find yourself forming opinions of them straight away, only to discover that they are way more multidimensional than that. The author throws up constant surprises and when you think you've finally figured out what kind of novel you are reading and what sort of story this is supposed to be, it turns out you're wrong. Every single character in this novel gets the chance to be a person not just an archetype, they are made up of good and bad, they all have faults and they all have positive qualities also. To build so many complex individuals into your story must be challenging and this novel has firmly cemented Mr Schmidt into one of my favourite authors of all time.

I said at the beginning of this review that some of my favourite books are the ones that challenge and break the rules I have made for myself about what I like to read, and I think I'm starting to get some idea of what makes these rule-breakers so special: it is because that, even though they fall into the category I typically don't like, they are actually so much more than that. And it is mostly to do with the characters. To simplify Marchetta's Lumatere series by calling it merely "traditional fantasy" is unforgivable when I think about the richness of the world she has created and the range of personalities in it. Same with Please Ignore Vera Dietz and How to Save a Life, they are not simply about death and teen pregnancy, they are about colourful characters that are so well-crafted they feel real. And Okay for Now is the same.

This book is about a lot of things. It is about small town gossip and how you can be ostracised because of the mistakes and failures of those close to you. It's about learning to see the world in a new way - which sounds totally trite but, trust me, it works. It really works! I think that is this book's real triumph: Schmidt takes a few simple and overdone ideas, mixes them up a bit, and churns out something completely original. And isn't that the best kind of story?

[Tatiana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't think I've cried this much over a book since Mockingjay. Okay for Now must be one of the most bitter-sweet stories out there. Exhilarating is probably the best word to describe it.

If you've read The Wednesday Wars, you already know the main character of this novel - Doug Swieteck. While this companion novel follows the formula and themes of The Wednesday Wars, Doug's story is a heavier one. Holling's problems are nothing compared to Doug's. His father is quick with his hands, his elder brother is a bully, his mother is powerless, he himself is defined by what his family is and can't seem to break away from the image everyone has of him.

But, thankfully, there are new people in Doug's life who expect the best of him, who give him a fair chance at succeeding in life, who empower him to become the best person he can be and he, in turn, empowers others.

It is amazing how complex and multi-layered Schmidt's characters are. You think of them in one way and then there comes a moment when they reveal another side of themselves, and suddenly a bully is a loyal brother, a prejudiced school principal is the best supporter... I love it that everyone in this book has redeeming qualities that are ready to be expressed, if only you give a person a chance.

The book took me on an emotional roller-coaster ride. It made me cry my eyes out in sorrow one moment and grin (and again, cry) in delight and of pride the next. Schmidt has a wonderful way with words and a skill of showing and not telling, when by saying nothing, he says it all.

I have no doubt Okay for Now will be a serious Newbery contender in 2011 and, dare I say, it is even superior to The Wednesday Wars. The book is not out until April of the next year, but it is so worth waiting for. Too bad this cover doesn't do this terrific book justice.

[Alienor ✘ French Frowner ✘ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Actual rating : 4.5 stars

There is something to be said for a book which manages to make me tear out on page 3 over a jacket, don't you think?

Indeed Okay for Now is a beautiful coming of age story which is every bit as powerful as what I expect from my favorite authors in the YA realistic genre, such as A.S. King, Melina Marchetta or Hannah Moskowitz.



What you need to know is that every character, even the weirdest of all, rings true, and above that, evolves throughout the story. Be prepared for this uncomfortable moment when you realize that no matter what you thought you knew, you were wrong. That no matter what you thought you felt, you'd change your mind. And let me tell you, here lies the absolute beauty of this novel, because isn't it often the same in real life? How many times did you presume something only to readjust your opinion after?

"Shut up. It's not like you - "
"Like I what? Like I what, Douggo? Do you ever wonder what it's like to be so angry that you... And then something happens, and after that, everyone figures that's what you're like, and that's what you're always going to be, and so you just decide to be it? But the whole time you're thinking, Am I going to be like him? Or am I already like him?"

How to emancipate from our family? How to express ourselves? How to break the cycle of abuse?

By no means there's a right answer to these questions, and I really appreciated that Gary D. Schmidt never attempted to drown the readers in pompous speeches and oh-so-meaningful conversations that always scream fake to me. In the contrary, Doug's family's journey is a long one, sometimes desperate, sometimes hopeful, and it was perfect as it was.

"But in The Dump, Angry Quiet was an old friend, and he moved in again. No one talked because we all wanted to scream."

As for Doug, his way of dealing with his issues is not something I would have expected to enjoy. I mean, birds. Can you see me frowning? I won't lie, I was skeptical at first : a teenager who draws birds to escape his shitty life? *in a hight pitched voice* Yeah, riiight. However, I am not one who doesn't know when to acknowledge her defeat, and defeat it is. I was WRONG. Yes, this kind of storyline can interest me, and even more, pull at my heart strings - wow. Now that was completely unexpected.

And do you know what was even more unexpected? Me going back to the drawings introducing every chapter to look at them closely, to try to analyze how Doug was forming that wing, that beak, even if I can't draw for the life of me (really, my students make fun of me when I sketch a man on the board. I'm that bad). But you know what? Doug made me care. About birds.



In all honesty, I thought that the way Doug's story was written, dismissing graphic descriptions in favor of suggestions, gave it so much more power. So much more emotion. Glued to the pages, I couldn't breathe at times, I have to admit. As Doug, I felt suffocated, stuck in the spirals of abuse. Not to mention these little sentences repeated along the way that either broke my heart or made me smile so, so big.

"You know what that feels like?"

Do you? Doug's voice felt so real that my heart was in my throat at the first sign of heartbreak. And oh boy. Does it contains heartbreak. I'm warning you here, the whole story can be read as a shout at the readers, as SOS calls nobody's been listening to. It hurts. I won't lie. I broke out in tears. Several times.

However, I wouldn't want you to think that the sadness overtakes everything - it doesn't. Clear the layers of hopelessness, and you'll be amazed to see how much life can surprise you. Beyond the reality of how hard it is to live when trapped in a cycle of spite and anger, Okay for Now offers us so much hope - it's truly beautiful.

"Maybe the Snowy Heron is going to come off pretty badly when the planes come together. Maybe. But he's still proud and beautiful. His head is high, and he's got this sharp beak that's facing out to the world.
He's okay for now."

For more of my reviews, please visit:

[karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

oh, wow.

ariel is going to be so cross with me - this betrayal is worse than my love of graceling. but it has to be said: i liked this book even better than the wednesday wars.

i gave them both 4 stars because i'm nutty like that, but i feel more for this character than for goody-gumdrops holling, even though i did love the wednesday wars a lot.

doug's obstacles are just so much greater than having to wear feathers on his b*tt, and while he remains eerily good-natured throughout his struggles, he does occasionally lash out in a way that feels realistic, even though considering how much he has had to endure, you would expect his reactions to be even stronger and more dramatic.

but this is not that kind of book.

despite the stakes being raised much higher in this one, the bottom line is still the same: people have something to offer, even people who seem completely inflexible, and everyone can be useful if you take the time to figure out where they are coming from and get past their prejudices or their seeming indifference or surface-meanness. it is about helping people and being helped in turn, but it isn't some feel-gooderie karma-novel. yes, it is about the importance of taking into consideration where people are coming from before you judge them or write them off, but it definitely isn't all sweetness and light.

this book, like the first, is full of inspirational-type adults. it is bursting with that small-town "it takes a village" mentality that is largely absent from modern life and storytelling. and it feels good. but it also touches on the other half of small-town living - how quickly gossip spreads and public opinion can turn the tide and treat even a kid with a cold shoulder when the gossip flows against his family.

also like wwars, it is about a kid learning about something and using it to see the world in a new way. with wwars, it was shakespeare, with this one, it is through art. which sounds facile, but schmidt really pulls it off.

a good deal of this book hinges on the problematic nature of perception, and how frustrating it is to be judged by the actions of one's family. doug comes from an abusive home, and this book has one of the most shocking acts of cruelty i have ever read, which i did not see coming at all. he has two brothers, one of whom is perceived as a hooligan, and accused of all manner of nefarious acts. the other has gone off to the vietnam war, and comes back greatly changed. his father has "fast hands," and regularly steals the few things doug treasures. compound that with having to move to a shabby house in a new town, and a serious academic liability, and it would be completely understandable if he became hard and cruel, or alternately retreated into himself and became a cowering mess. but he is neither. some people, when faced with early childhood trauma, emerge, not unscathed, but tempered by what they have had to endure and become devoted to righting injustices to shake off their feeling of powerlessness.

and that's what doug does. nothing grand, nothing precociously eye-rolling, but when mr powell, the inspirational librarian, begins to teach doug to draw, using an original of audubon's birds of america, and laments that some of the plates have been sold to help the town's finances, doug vows to get them back.

but that is only a portion of this novel, which gets bigger and bigger the more i reflect upon it.

the character of lucas was particularly well-done, and i felt for him the entire time he was on the page. just beautiful stuff. if only i could cry...

but, yeah -a great book. the ending was the only thing that prevented this from a five-star; it seemed like he wanted to throw in just one more obstacle and it felt imperfectly-done. but other than that- seriously - a phenomenal book. wow.

this was my third read for my readventurer challenge.

you ladies are so good at picking books for me!

come to my blog!

[Donalyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this in one evening, staying up until after midnight on a school night to read it. Gary Schmidt is a genius and I fell in love with Doug.

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

http://www.gerberadaisydiaries.com/20...

Consider the following: an author proposes writing a middle grade novel involving John James Audubon’s Birds of America, an emotionally abusive father, a Vietnam veteran brother, the classic novel Jane Eyre, the New York Yankees, an eccentric playwright, a business executive who is both an expert at horseshoes as he is at cultivating orchids – you would probably consider him crazy and usher him out the door. But only author Gary Schmidt could weave all the above in a story so full of heartache and hope that the obvious response would be, “why didn’t I think of that story line?”

Doug Swieteck, a minor character from Mr. Schmidt’s Newbery Honor winner The Wednesday Wars, has moved from Long Island with Holling Hoodhood’s beloved Joe Pepitone’s New York Yankees jacket, to upstate New York to face the uncertainty of his father’s hostility and being the new kid on the block. With the help of multiple friends and teachers, Doug is able to navigate the natural difficulties associated with 8th grade, the increased tension at home, with his newly developed artistic talent studying Audubon prints and the burgeoning relationship with Lil Spicer, daughter of the local grocery merchant.

This was an extraordinary book. Mr. Schmidt was a master in the layering of story lines of Doug’s life. With the introduction of each bird (you’ll notice them immediately at the beginning of each chapter), and at each obstacle that Doug encounters, it was a natural instinct to reach through the pages to give this kid a hug. Additionally, Mr. Schmidt expertly shows how important teachers are to the lives of our children and that no child is out of reach of being nurtured and taught. And without much effort, he TEACHES the reader as well – about classic literature and art and science – it was seamless.

Finally, this was a story about the rebuilding of a family, the strength of a young man, and the beauty of a friendship. Oh, and birds. Lots and lots of birds.

[Janssen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Gary Schmidt so much. I worried that this might disappoint me because I love The Wednesday Wars so so much, but this one was, dare I say, every bit as good? See my full, gushing review here: https://everyday-reading.com/okay-for...

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wrote this in August 2012: This is a very moving book by Calvin College English Professor Gary Schmidt that should be up for Printz and National Book awards. It's about the redemptive power of art in the face of trauma. It's also about the healing power of teaching, and about writing; all the characters are sharply etched, the dialogue is spot on, it's wrenchingly sad and also very funny, but is especially moving as Schmidt examines (through the teaching of an artist-librarian) the composition of some Audubon bird drawings that serve as a model for the mc to reflect on both art and life. This process of seeing and drawing in this book is especially moving, touching, at times thrilling. I have problems with a couple events I don't quite believe, but Schmidt is great after having convinced us of the power of artistic composition, that we see HIS composition, how all the parts fit, how they speak to each other. A central character here we really fall in love with, too. Great book, highly recommend.

In June 2015 I reread it with a YAL summer class, so I'll say a bit more (but maybe don't read my review until you have read the book, I'd say); in a way it's more note-taking about what the book means for me:

I forgave Schmidt the first time through for what I saw as a tiny "mistake," his having American liberal anti-war types spit on legless Chris as he returns home, saying they are happy he is disabled, having done the same to VietCong babies, and so on. I thought that was a mistake and I still do. Or, I disagree with him, having lived through that period, that this would have happened, and maybe I'm just more liberal, but I also just don't believe it. It's a small thing in the book.

In the improbability category I can also list a few other things, but I feel differently about them: A drunken father so cruel he has "Mama's Boy" tattooed on his son's chest; myriad improbable human turnarounds (how is it abusive Dad suddenly changes, and why, and is this consistent with what we know about him as a character and about abuse in general?), and just how is it Lil, a girl with no acting experience, gets a plumb part in a Broadway show where she plays a character from Jane Eyre much like her own story!, and how is it, when on opening night Lil goes ill, does Hero Doug get to play the part of this same girl and does it to thunderous applause? And also Joe Pepitone, Doug's 60s Yankees hero, shows up for his one performance??! Come on! How can I justify saying a book like this book is still awesome?!

I'll answer that question, and take my sweet time, thank you. I'm willing to accept such apparent narrative silliness because these moments and moves happen in the context of Doug, our narrator, reading 19th century gothic melodrama Jane Eyre, with all of its elements of romance, comedy and tragedy. The centerpiece of the book is Doug's exploring with artist-librarian Mr. Powell principles of composition in drawing through analysis and imitation of Audubon's (19th century) Birds of America, drawings of birds that apply almost equally to his (Schmidt's/Doug's) own craft of writing a somewhat comically melodramatic children's novel. Such principles include a repetition of language and images: A precise balancing of structural elements that identify it as genre; elision (leaving things out so the reader/viewer can create her own images in the text), analogical thinking (vs. "objective" analysis; both Audubon and Schmidt invite us to emotionally engage with their art, to read the world/Doug's life/our bodies/our lives through what we experience).

The analysis of each drawing (which appear at the beginning of each chapter) is often like the drawings themselves breathtaking in their details and connections to life. Very moving, almost always. Sometimes downright breathtaking. I'm not lying, as Doug says. The art and Doug's engagement with it is the centerpiece of Doug's experience, his reclamation, his turn from jerk to good, and this is the book's centerpiece for us as well, the site of Schmidt's central teaching about reading art and literature. This writing has no silliness or improbability in it whatsoever. Jane Eyre, Birds of America and Okay for Now have this in common, that they are grounded in 19th-century romanticism and are great works that honor that tradition. Or maybe call it fantasy, a hope for a world where these things may indeed happen.

So, Okay for Now operates in the context of 19th century melodrama. Doug reads emotional excess in Audubon, and I think it is there, but it is surely there in Jane Eyre, which Doug is reading in English class. The text he "writes," as first person narrator of this tale, imitates Bronte's tale in form and content and it draws on Audubon's dramatic drawings of birds. Schmidt, a medievalist in his scholarly life and a teacher still of British literature, urges us to read such texts closely, caring about the forms in which they are written, but also teaches us to read with one's life in part through these texts.

Direct addresses to the reader are a dimension of Bronte's text that deliberately invite us to imagine and live in that story--"And reader: I married him"--and Schmidt does the same with his story. "Dear reader, I kissed her. You know what that feels like?" Schmidt shows us that the best romantic tales invite us into the story. We are meant to be part of them, emotionally.

Bronte's story is less comic than Okay For Now, of course. Okay, like Eyre, has plenty of painful and melodramatic and even tragic elements, but it is balanced in Okay by the comedic on almost every page. We balance painful realism with hope throughout. This is the kid book aspect of it, too, of course, but it helps see how a British lit scholar can also be a kid book author. Just when we think Schmidt is being too harsh, too graphically bitter in his depiction of Doug's life, we are treated to something wonderful, fabulous, some moment of goodness, his mother's magical smile, just spectacular.

In the end of the book great and terrible things happen rapid-fire, as in any melodrama or comedy or fantasy, but we accept these events, we celebrate them, we laugh, we cry, because that's what happens in such books that remind us of hope and beauty as both real even in the face of real tragedies. Yes, there are fantastical elements in gothic romances, but also in children's books, and fantasy, that are essentially acts of hope. They can change us even loosely tethered to "reality," (whatever that is).

Yep, dear reader, I wept, and in reading a children's book, and several times, though less about Doug's sad life than his encounters with beauty, which as a reader and writer and teacher of literature I found beautiful and true. This book is about what the world is like because the world is inhabited by terrible things like war that takes your brother's legs, terrible people (like Doug's Dad, and the many high school kids that bully and beat Doug up), but it is also what we hope the world can become through love and attention to beauty.

One narrative compositional balance: Throughout Doug observes that just when things are going pretty good, something bad starts to happen. But of course that means the opposite is also true in this story, and this little roller coaster ride about the ups and downs of life is ultimately structurally satisfying and beautiful. Doug's relationship with Lil is also a romance, like Jane Eyre, though also like Jane Eyre this romance has its ups and downs. Some romances are happy, some sad, though both directions can satisfy in their own ways. You think it's sappy? Well, you need to see this story just as any story in the context of principles of composition within a genre, including children's literature, and YA romance. This book teaches without being didactic, and what it teaches about genre, and historical context, is in the best sense of what it might mean to learn about the world and art and literature. It's as all good books and art are, about the importance of close and passionate reading and interpreting the world. Oh, and this is a book about Doug's becoming a reader of art and literature as we are becoming that as Schmidt teaches us to read.

Doug, in making the (okay, somewhat improbable) and "romantic" effort to restore the Audubon book to its original form, operates according to another principle of composition: The attempt to restore wholeness, which also applies to attempts to mend broken lives like Doug's. To seek beauty in whatever forms we might find it and to understand that this is an aesthetic and life goal is to live with humor and hope. To choose to be good versus choosing to be a jerk in this world is not a trivial pursuit. Goodness matters, empathy matters, as we proceed through increasing crises on this planet.

Reading and art are not trivial pursuits, either. Okay for Now teaches us to pay attention, as all great art and literature does. It teaches us to care about the ways we go about crafting our art and life in useful and meaningful ways. Finally, I think this is a classic children's/tween/YA/all ages book (like all the greats, like Wrinkle in Time--does an age category finally matter?) one of the very, very best works I have read. I'm not lying.

[Flannery · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gary Schmidt’s earlier work,The Wednesday Wars, introduced readers to Doug Swieteck as a secondary character, but Doug takes front stage in Okay For Now, its 2011 companion novel. While they are both quirky, Okay For Now is riddled with darkness that its predecessor didn’t have, and that kind of heaviness usually appeals to me, at least when it is well done. After reading both of these books, Gary Schmidt has shot himself in the foot going forward; From here on out, I’ll be expecting perfection. I know he can do it, considering both The Wednesday Wars and Okay For Now are pretty darn close to achieving that feat. Before last week, I wouldn’t have thought it possible to like the second book more than the first but here I am, telling you that I liked it just as much, if not more.

Seventh-grade Doug moves with his family to the small town of Marysville after his father loses his job. While their family may not have fit in perfectly in their prior Long Island town, it is a rough transition considering all these new people don’t yet know about the Swieteck family’s notoriety—namely Doug’s bully brother and their father’s drinking problem and fast hands. That last topic was particularly well-done in Okay For Now, disregarding a section of the ending. I felt the tension hanging in the air and feared for the characters in certain scenes. It was absolutely a book I spoke to aloud, but that’s nothing new for me. The scenes that are always the worst for me are the ones when people are doing wonderful things, inspiring things, but I know a shadow is coming because of it.

Each chapter of the book is prefaced by the inclusion of a black and white copy of a print from John James Audubon’s Birds of America. Before I started reading, I stared at each bird, analyzing what was going on in the picture and what Doug would think of it. When Doug gets to Marysville, he ends up getting a job delivering groceries to all the townspeople from the local deli (run by the father of Doug’s new crush, Lil Spicer) and he finds a copy of Audubon’s Birds of America in the empty second floor of the local library, which is only open on Saturdays. (Check out that link to see the sheer size of the book.) Over time, Doug’s fascination with the prints is encouraged by one of the librarians and the two of them have weekly discussions about the intentions of the artist and how Doug can improve his own artwork. Because Okay For Now is written in first person narrative style, Doug’s voice comes through crystal clear and just looking at the pictures added to the expectations, good and bad, of what was to come.



Here are the thoughts Doug shares about the first picture he sees from the book, The Arctic Tern:

He was all alone, and he looked like he was falling out of the sky and into this cold green sea. His wings were back, his tail feathers were back, and his neck was pulled around as if he were trying to turn but couldn’t. His eye was round and bright and afraid, and his beak was open a little bit, probably because he was trying to suck in some air before he crashed into the water. The sky around him was dark, like the air was too heavy to fly in.

This bird was falling and there wasn’t a single thing in the world that cared at all.

It was the most terrifying picture I had ever seen.

The most beautiful.

I leaned down onto the glass, close to the bird. I think I started to breathe a little bit more quickly, since the glass fogged up and I had to wipe the wet away. But I couldn’t help it. Dang, he was so alone. He was so scared. (p. 19)

It’s been awhile since I’ve spent significant time with a seventh grader so I’m not sure how realistic his astute observations were, but I know how much we read our lives into everything we experience. I know that every time I hear Bach’s Suite No. 3, my entire body will relax. I know that Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber is almost unbearably sad. If you read the Wikipedia article on it, I love the story about how the famous conductor Toscanini returned the music without any notes/comments to the composer’s annoyance, but it turns out that Toscanini had memorized the entire thing.) Every time I see Kandinsky’s work, I think of college because I often used it as my desktop background. Even though Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks shows a couple late at night together as the central element of the painting, I always concentrate on the man who is alone at the counter. Anyway, while it might have been a bit overreaching to make Doug so contemplative of the artwork, I did not find his voice unbelievable. The backbone and temporal anchors that working through the prints in the Audobon book gave Okay For Now created a structure that was perfect and a steady pace.

As with a lot of middle grade books (and a lot of books in general), so much of the novel concentrated on what it means to be a good person. Some of the characters exist seemingly to provide consistent rays of hope to Doug (his mother, Mr. Ballard and Mr. Powell), while others are constant trials. Some reviewers have mentioned their problems with one character in particular, and that is Doug’s father. I want to comment on the ending of this book so just skip to the next paragraph if you don’t want to be spoiled. I didn’t have a problem with the ending of this book. Mr. Swieteck is a disgusting character and I certainly don’t believe that he would stop being so and then the entire family will forget his years of systematic abuse. The ending presents Mr. Swieteck with the platter of problems he has created, all coming back to him. He’s stolen from one son, treated another like garbage, and yet another is facing a trail and potential jail time for his father’s actions. It is entirely realistic to me that someone in that position might have a moment of clarity—What have I done to myself and my family, who all hate me? I actually like where the book leaves off that part of the story because it is in a place of optimism. For a younger audience of readers, it might be a sign of hope that people can change. The reality of the situation actually made the ending sad for me. It is just a snapshot of a calm moment and the real change, if it ever comes, will be gradual.

There is so much more to this book—Doug and Lil’s relationship, the ups and downs of the townspeople’s treatment of Doug based on local hearsay, Doug’s reading adventures through Jane Eyre, Mrs. Windermere and a theatrical debut, Doug’s brother returning from the Vietnam war, the gym teacher harassing Doug to no end and several other plot points that would be absolute spoilers if I included them. But if I went on any longer, I’d probably go on forever. And that is the best indicator of things, isn’t it? I’d recommend this to basically anyone, but specifically to librarians who want a reminder of what they can do for even one person, to teachers for the same reason, to anyone who likes to think about what the artist or author was thinking about while creating their work, and to anyone who likes to put their heart through the wringer once in a while.

Catie challenged me to read this book for our She Made Me Do It feature at our blog, The Readventurer and she unsurprisingly knew I would adore it. Thanks, Catie.

[Linna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific.

First, I think I should say two things: a)This review is going to be really cheesy, and b)that horrific cover does in NO WAY this book justice. I don't care if this is a 'boy' book aimed at middle schoolers, it made this seventeen-year old girl cry and laugh and cry some more to the point that everyone else in my house was a little worried (thank goodness I didn't read this in public).

I can't even quote the best parts in this book because each line builds upon everything you know about that character and their relationships with who they're talking to; it's so rewarding in the end because almost every conversation made me laugh and love the characters even more. Mrs. Windermere's (Skinny Delivery Boy, what ice cream did I order?), the science teacher (oh Clarence), the librarians, Doug's brothers (and there was a beautiful part where.. agh I can't, just read this book), the BIRDS, the play at the end where I was laughing like a maniac, I'm sorry, this review isn't very informative for people wondering what this book is about. You know those 'a-HA!' moments you get when you're reading and something brilliant happens? Like when Jellicoe Road actually starts making sense, or the entire ending to Unwind, or when Harry realizes where that Horcrux was all along, or when you realize who Lucy actually went on a date with in Graffiti Moon? OKAY FOR NOW has tons of these, in a brilliant, subtle, everyday way.

One thing that always makes me love a book, especially a book you can say is aimed for a younger audience, is not dividing the characters into Evil and Good. Yes, Doug gets bullied and is treated unfairly, but those same bad guys are people too, and they have depths that extend past being an antagonist for the main character. One thing that I did notice, however, was that the good characters actually don't work vice versa; they're pure and good through and through, so it'd be nicer if they could venture into that gray area as well. Not that I want Doug's mother to start beating people up or anything, but the characters that start out kind don't develop throughout the story.

The emotion that Doug's simple narration got out of me... I don't even know. Every time he says 'Do you know how that feels?' I needed to take a break because WHAT DO YOU THINK I FEEL?!?? I FEEL WEIRDLY PROUD OF YOU YOU IDIOT AND it was like I could physically feel my heart... not breaking, because I was just so happy

Yeah, it was like I could actually feel my heart physically constricting in happy-sad feelings. So yeah. This book is amazing. If you enjoy being punched in the heart with great characterization and turning into a crying/laughing/generally hysterical mess over a bunch of words than read this book, and if you don't, too bad, read this book

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

2012 F.A.B. Bookclub pick # I.❤️. F.A.B.

Great read of finding the good in seriously bad situations. You think you know what’s going to happen, or judge the characters by first impressions and end up being pleasantly surprised.

[Betsy · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are three kinds of literary sequels for kids out there. First, you have the sequel that is so intricately tied into the plot of the first book that not a page goes by that you don’t feel you’re missing something if you skipped Book #1. The second kind of sequel nods to the first book and brings up continual facts from it, but is a coherant story in its own right. The third kind of sequel makes mention of facts and/or people in the first book but if you read the story on your own you might not even be aware that there was previous book in the first place. Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt would be the third type of sequel, I think. Ostensibly a sequel to his Newbery Honor winning title The Wednesday Wars, the hero of Okay for Now, Doug Swieteck, was a bit part character in the first book, and now has come entirely into his own in the second. For fans of the first, you will enjoy the second. And for people who begin with the second, you won’t miss a thing really if you haven’t read the first. All you’ll know is that you have a great book on your hands. A great great book.

“You’re not always going to get everything you want, you know. That’s not what life is like.” It’s not like the librarian Mrs. Merriam needs to tell Doug that. If any kid is aware that life is not a bed of roses, it’s Doug. Stuck in a family with a dad that prefers talking with his fists to his mouth, a sweet but put upon mom, a brother in Vietnam, and another one at home making his little brother's life a misery, it’s not like Doug’s ever had all that much that’s good in his life. When he and his family move to Marysville, New York (herein usually referred to as “stupid Marysville”) things start to change a little. Doug notices the amazing paintings of birds in an Audubon book on display in the public library. The boy is captivated by the birds, but soon it becomes clear that to raise money, the town has been selling off different pages in the book to collectors. Between wanting to preserve the book, learning to draw, solving some problems at school, the return of his brother from Vietnam, and maybe even falling in love, Doug’s life in “stupid” Marysville takes a turn. Whether it’s a turn for the better or a turn for the worse is up to him.

It’s such a relief sometimes to read a great writer for kids. Not a merely good writer, but a great writer. Mr. Schmidt is one of the few. You haven’t gotten even two pages into the story of this book before Doug tells you about his brother hitting him. He writes that he, “Pummeled me in places where the bruises wouldn’t show. A strategy that my . . . is none of your business.” Beautiful. Right there we know that not only is our narrator telling us his story, but he’s also hiding secrets along the way. In fact, throughout the book Doug will repeat ideas or thoughts or phrases that he’s been ruminating over, seemingly unaware that he’s working those same thoughts into the narrative. Doug isn't so much an unreliable narrator to us as he is an unreliable narrator to himself.

Schmidt’s dialogue is also always on point and interesting, but of particular interest are his descriptions. When Doug and his mother enter a bus to greet someone there, Doug says of his mother that “Her blue coat was spread out, and it covered them both like wide wings...” Doug spends a great deal of time comparing the people he knows to the birds in Audubon’s paintings. This is one of those instances where he’s doing it entirely unconsciously. He wants his mother to be a bird. Just not necessarily to fly away.

There’s a bit of wordplay at work regarding Doug’s brothers that I think is clever but actually had me quite confused for a portion of the book. We learn pretty early on that Doug has a brother in Vietnam who was a jerk before he left and we know he has a different older brother at home. There is one moment when we learn that the Vietnam brother’s name is Lucas, but for the most part it’s easy to get confused and assume that the brother at home is Lucas instead. After all, whenever Doug feels himself acting like a jerk he says he’s acting just like Lucas. When we finally meet Lucas, Doug’s constant references to “my brother” (which is to say, Christopher) disappear. The two brothers now have names and are becoming increasingly better people. Christopher, for the record, is the only person in the family strong enough to carry Lucas. One can’t help drawing some comparisons to St. Christopher and the burden that he carried as well. Knowing Mr. Schmidt, I suspect this is no coincidence.

One of the most remarkable things about Gary Schmidt's writing for kids is that he allows his villains some complexity. It takes a certain kind of author to create an unlikable individual (not hard), display them in an honest way through a child’s perceptions (harder), and then somehow manage to, if not redeem that person, at least show that there’s another side to them in a way that a kid can believe (unbelievably difficult). Stock two-dimensional have their place in the world but a novel like Okay for Now works because each bad person has something about them that humanizes them (with the exception of one, and that’s only because we never really get to meet him). The crusty old librarian has a son in Vietnam who’s missing. Doug’s brothers have been dealing with their father far longer than Doug, and you can see the effect. The coach at school is still suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome. Doug’s father even is lent a bit of redemption near the end, though whether or not the reader is willing to forgive him is up in the air (I, for one, don’t).

There is also an art to taking a subject that is primarily of interest to adult, and making that subject palatable to a child audience. Louis Sachar did a fairly good job of it in the bridge-centric The Cardturner. John Grisham failed on every level when he penned the self-explanatory Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer. And Gary Schmidt set himself up for disaster when he brought up not only the subject of James Audubon’s paintings but info on how to play horseshoes as well. I say he set himself up for disaster, but disaster was not forthcoming. He failed to fail disastrously. Instead, he manages to pull both subjects off. The horseshoes because they are a game and all games, even those played by folks who look like they may have served their country during the Civil War, are still essentially fun (caveat: If someone writes a shuffleboard book for 10-year-olds I may be proven wrong about this). The Audubon factor is tricky partly because it requires kids to care about dead, drawn birds. They have a little help in that Henry Cole penned the very Audubon-centric younger chapter book title A Nest for Celeste not long ago and some young readers may pick up on the name. Still and all, Schmidt and his publisher made the ultimately clever decision to begin each chapter with a painting of a bird that will play a role in Doug’s life.

Generally speaking, motivations and characters are consistent here. Some moments made me question Doug’s sanity, though. Here you have a kid who almost has a psychotic for a father. He knows this and he also knows that his father has his heart set on winning a trivia contest at the company picnic that year. So what does Doug do? He joins up with a nice old man throwing horseshoes and decides to give all the right answers himself. Now if you live with a psychotic then you have to live by the psychotic’s rules. Doug doesn’t, which works in the context of the story (A) because Doug is contrary by nature and (B) because in the end it turns out that the old man Doug befriended was probably the one person at the picnic who could deflect his father’s attention. Still, for a moment there I wanted to shake that kid and remind him of the danger he was placing himself into. On a related note, I found myself haunted for quite some time after reading about what Doug’s dad did to his own son years ago. It’s one of the darkest things I’ve ever read in a children’s novel, but not so much that it’s inappropriate for younger readers. I suspect primarily older folks like myself will find it as disturbing as I do. Still . . . . *shudder*

I’ve heard some note that the notion in the book that an unknown, untried girl getting a Broadway part without any prior acting experience is, at best, laughable. They are probably correct about this. I admit that the Broadway show portion of the book is far less interesting than some of the rest of it. It brings some nice closure for the characters but sometimes feels a bit odd when you consider things like the fact that the kids in the show can live in Marysville and just travel to New York City to perform on weekends. Still, while I as an adult didn’t quite buy it, it didn’t hurt the book for me.

To my mind Gary Schmidt presents worlds that are full of decent people and not so decent people who have reasons for their weirdnesses. Worlds that you either wish you lived in or believe you already live in. There’s nothing easy about this particular Schmidt story. At the same time, it’s incredibly readable and fun. I credit Doug’s voice. There’s much to be said about a hero who can be a complete and total “Lucas” at times and yet still appeal to you. This is historical fiction that surpasses the usual trappings of the genre to become universal. Definitely one of the best books of the year. Catch it and catch it quick.

For ages 10 and up.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

If there's any justice in the world, this should be sporting a Medal or two after next ALA Midwinter. If anything, though, I think Doug Swieteck's experiences in a new small town as he finds his balance and helps several other people regain their own is a TOO rich melange of themes, metaphors, characters of varying intellectual and emotional depth, chain-pulling lines for teachers and librarians, twists on conventional triumphs (specifically the Meeting A Famous Real Athlete one and the Being In A Smash Stage Play one), obliquely presented plot and character developments, romance, student-teacher interactions and several other items--any one or two of which would have powered a good novel on their own.

Is the Audubon-birds-as-metaphors a touch too heavyhanded? Maybe....but maybe not for less analytical readers, and anyway, that's just one thread in a complicated, complicated tapestry.

The core audience for this is probably people older than Doug (who are going to get lines like his: "Reader, I kissed her.")

One of several money quotes: "In English, we were still on the Introduction to Poetry Unit, and I'm not lying, if I ever meet Percy Bysshe Shelley walking down the streets of Marysville, I'm going to punch him right in the face." [ARC 273] Five pages later, you'll want to hold the poet still for Doug's shot.

Altogether outstanding. You'll need multiple hankies.

[Lynn Pribus · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did enjoy this YA novel -- but somehow it felt just a bit "off." As if it was written for Newberry Award judges rather than kids, even if Doug often says "I'm not lying."

Kids don't know about Audubon without some explanation (which could easily have been provided by the Wise Older Man at the library.) Kids don't "get" references to "Dear Reader, I kissed her," even though Doug had been reading JANE EYRE in class -- a VERY unlikely eighth grade assignment, even in 1965. I think it was still SILAS MARNER.

Doug is a sweet kid with a father you love to hate. By the end of the book, the father has evidently completely reformed without any mention of him for many chapters and no explanation why he "saw the light."

Doug's older (of two elder) brothers comes home from Viet Nam with serious problems which, of course, Doug is instrumental in solving.

There are interesting adult characters along the way, but all in all, the style and structure of the book seemed flawed to me. Obviously, not true for the judges.

[Ghazaleh · Rating 4 out of 5]

این کتاب برای نوجوان هاست اما از اونجایی که علاقه خاصی به کتاب های نوجوانان دارم تصمیم گرفتم که بخونمش.
داگ سوییتک شخصیت اصلی کتاب، یکی از جذاب ترین شخصیت کتاب هاییه که تاحالا خوندم. پر از ویژگی های متضاد که همین جذابش کرده.
نمیدونم واقعا درباره اش چی بنویسم فقط میتونم پیشنهاد بدم که خودتون بخونید این کتابو!

[Daniel Burton · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Amina · Rating 4 out of 5]

✰ 4.25 stars ✰

“When you find something that's whole, you do what you can to keep it that way.

And when you find something that isn't, then maybe it's not a bad idea to try to make it whole again. Maybe.”

Having now read four books by Gary D. Schmidt - Okay for Now being the fourth - I can clearly see that he follows a distinct pattern when writing his stories. But, it his ability to make each story still as versatile and unique as possible, with protagonists being taught life lessons through learning different works of literature that so finely depict their lives. And in this spin-off of Schmidt's earlier work The Wednesday Wars, for our narrator, Doug, he draws inspiration and understanding of his own life through a rare book on display in the local library, featured the illustrated plates of John James Audubon's Birds of America.



“This bird was falling and there wasn't a single thing in the world that cared at all. It was the most terrifying picture I had ever seen.

The most beautiful.”

The Arctic Fern is the first of the many illustrations that captures Doug's attention - it is also the one that stood out to me the most - haunted me the most. 'The terrified eye' captures so clearly how Doug feels for so much of the story - fearful of the cruel abuse he could face from his father, ashamed of his inability of not being able to read, afraid of having the little treasures in his life being discovered, and worried that no matter how hard he tries, his artistic talents will never be able to capture the raw emotions that are depicted in each of these beautiful works of art. 🎨 The idea of having illustrations as the source of inspiration for Doug was really well done; I appreciated that they were included in the novel, as I could then see how each of them could be applied to the different situations Doug found himself in.

“If you ask me," she said, pushing her bike past, "you are someone who needs a lot of help.”

There was one particular scene that took place during gym class and in a dodge-ball game of Skins vs Shirts, Doug refuses to take off his. But, when circumstances forced his hand and it was revealed why - why he was so insistent about not taking it off - I really teared up. 😥😥 It was so so heart-breaking - it was the bitter pain of a cruel reality that he had to grow up with and --- y'know, when you're reading and you don't know when a scene is going to sneak up on you like that. Like, you know, in the back of your mind, what the reason could be - you just don't expect when you find out what the reason actually is. That feeling - that moment, when he and his teacher both cried over the truth - I had to put down my phone and walk away from the book, because it was really a tough pill to swallow. 💔💔

“I tried to remember the last time anyone told me I was pretty good at anything.

You know how that feels?”

With his delinquent older brother always being a suspect, alcoholic abusive father who shows no signs of mercy, and his forever scarred older brother returning from Vietnam who is judged for his participation in the war, there is a lot of stigma and disapproval his family radiates in the new community they have moved into. But, throughout his many ordeals, Doug is still able to find a few people who show him compassion and kindness and help him feel like he belongs - that he is more to offer than what he believes he is only capable of. ❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹 He may be sullen and argumentative, but underneath, lies the heart of a young fourteen-year-old boy who simply wants to prove that he is more than just the 'Skinny Delivery Boy' everyone sees him as. I loved watching him embrace his faults, learn to improve from them, and rise above the challenges he faced.

“Do you know what it feels like when the principal has just told you that you're going to go wherever you want to go?

Do you know what it feels like when you think you know just where you want to go and maybe you're already there?”

Once again, there is a small set of characters that quickly envelop themselves into Doug's life and offer their pearls of wisdom and guidance. There is always a harmony in the writing between levity and cruelty, touching moments and heartwarming closure that really bring all the story-lines together in such an impressive fashion that these stories can truly be enjoyed by any age group. Mr.Schmidt also channels the voice of a young boy perfectly - I know, it's strange for me to say so, considering I am not a young boy, but all the little things that define adolescence were captured in a tone that fit the vibes of 1968 so very well. 👏🏻👏🏻

From Doug's signature catch phrase of 'that's what it feels like', (I especially love this distinct repetitive style the author gives each of his protagonists 🤌🏻🤌🏻), to the pangs of first love and the grief of fear of losing it, from the reaction of the community to the soldiers returning from the Vietnam War, to the clickity-clack of a playwright's typewriter, to the Apollo 11 space mission that 'it feels like you're on Apollo 11, and the moon is in your sights'.

As much as I don't mind that family quarrels can be forgiven - I would have liked some word of apology from Doug's father to his family. Perhaps, he's not a man of words, and it's a case where 'actions speak louder than words', but it would have been appreciated. I do admire how the author integrates the emphasis of the birds' illustrations into Doug's life, a few of the scenarios seemed a little too implausible for me to buy into - I mean, I was happy that it all worked out, but some worked out a little too well - and one moment caught me completely unprepared, so there is that.

The story does not quite conclude, because life truly never does till it is over. But at least, I was content to know that at least, for now, Doug is okay. 🙏🏼🙏🏼

[Abby Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. This book broke my heart about 17 times and patched it back together each time.

Review: http://www.abbythelibrarian.com/2011/...

[Walt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific!

I'm not lying.

And I'm no chump in saying so.

Perhaps I should just leave it at that and hope you have the good sense to buy and read the book, if you haven't already.

Everyone should.

OKAY FOR NOW deserves the Newbery Award --- not a Newbery Honor, but the award, in my humble opinion.

And my opinion is humble, but it better be accurate in this case. I have to warn you, I have Christopher Swieteck waiting in the wings to do some arm-twisting.

This is a book about family --- mostly, the Swieteck family --- and community --- mostly Marysville ---, and the institutions --- like the library and Audubon's collection in it, the local deli, the dream of Broadway, the military, the nearest professional sports team, the schools, the police department --- that flesh the people who occupy them out and make them better or, in some cases, worse.

It is about the dynamics of art and sensitivity over against rationality's often heavy hand and stifling effect in ordinary life.

It is about the way things of the heart affect things of the mind and vice versa; it is about people, good and bad, beautiful and ugly, sensitive and not.

It is a love story about Doug and Lil and lost art and so so much more.

It is well fleshed out, nicely sketched, colored almost to perfection. But not overdone.

It has wings as light as feathers and it takes flight. And soars into the heavens.

Hasn't almost everyone as a child or youth been cast into a new environment, whether in a move to a new town, going off to a new school, or finding oneself with different people in a new family configuration? Then there is the resulting disorientation, the inherent fear and anxiety. This is what happens to Doug Swieteck, Gary D. Schmidt's protagonist in his latest novel. How will Doug fare? How will be affected by the new people and institutions in his life? How will they? The narrative of the story provides the answers to these questions.

Although, perhaps I shouldn't have read this book just when I did --- while my wife is suffering chronic cancer --- or the way I did --- reading it out loud, I'm so glad I did. But, I must say, it's very hard to read aloud in an emotional storm, seeing words blur on the page through a stream of fluid flowing from your eyes.

I was born a few years before the protagonist of this adventure. I loved reminiscing, visiting the past's sights and sounds and events portrayed in the story, wallowing in it, reminiscing in my own private way. After all, I have my own Lil with whom I share a love for great art and literature. And life.

[Farjaneh_ · Rating 5 out of 5]

《هوالحق》
یک رمان نوجوان ، برای بزرگسالان😁
"فعلا خوبم" دوست داشتنی شروع شد ، جذاب ادامه پیدا کرد و خوب تموم شد.
داستان حول محور داگ سوییتکه پسری که پدرش از محل کارش اخراج شده ، مادرش افسردگی داره و برادرش برای جنگ به ویتنام رفته ، و حالا این خانواده به خاطر شغل جدید پدر مجبور به نقل مکان به خونه ی دیگه ای هستن ؛ خونه که نه، آشغالدونی!

میدونید چی رو راجع به این کتاب دوست داشتم؟ حقیقی بودنش رو ، اینکه نه دنیا رو کاملا سیاه و میدید و نه کاملا سفید !
شیرینی در رنج حاصل میشه و امید بخشی از ناامیدیه.
لحن کتاب تقریبا طنزه ، من لحنش رو دوست داشتم
ترجمه ی نشر پیدایش خوب بود البته ایرادات کوچیکی داشت که به نظرم قابل چشم پوشی بودن
به چه کسانی پیشنهادش میکنم؟👇🏻
-معلم ها
-اون هایی که به هنر علاقه دارن
-کسانی که روزهای سختی رو میگذرونن
-هرکسی که تجربه ی جدید در مطالعه رو دوست داره
💛💛💛
پ.ن:شخصیت پردازی کتاب هم خوب بود هم عجیب ، ظاهر و سن شخصیت های کتاب با خیال من فرق داشتن (اینو آخر کتاب فهمیدم😂🙌🏻) اما اون بخش از شخصیت پردازی که بیانگر عمق وجود کارکتر ها بود خیلی خوب نشون داده شده بود

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Copied from my review of the audio version.

If you liked The Wednesday Wars, you must read this. Schmidt hits a lot of the same notes again, but his style - the voice, the characters, the whole thing - is so pitch perfect that I immediately wanted to start it over from the beginning (a rare feeling for me). In fact, I listened to the audio and then read the print version a few months later. The only downside to the audio is that you'll want to look up the Audubon illustrations in a book or online, because they're really key to the story. When I reread the print version, I found myself flipping back to that chapter's illustration anytime the image was discussed.

The book's only flaw is that it stuffs in a few too many things plot-wise, but for me that never detracted from the story. Not perfect, but pretty close. And I'm not lying.

Source: my public library

A few notes I took on my second read (with the print version in hand), mostly prompted by discussions about the book in the Mock Newbery group. I wanted some specific examples of things I think Schmidt does really well in order to respond to points other readers made.

P. 63: Doug ends one section with, "I stood there like a chump. You see how things never go right when you're feeling good?" The next section begins with his father saying, "You see how things never go right when you're feeling good?" To me, Doug and his brothers and his father are all part of a cycle of violence - watching the way Doug chooses to sometimes follow in his brothers' and father's footsteps, while other times he manages to break away. Here, he's obviously repeating a sentiment that's become ingrained after years of hearing his father talk this way.

P. 84: Doug describes taking his mother out for ice cream and paying, and then says, "You know how that felt?" I love the way Schmidt does this with Doug's voice - the way Doug asks us a question that reveals so much more about his emotions than saying "that felt good." It's so in character for Doug.

P. 143: The same thing happens again, only with a negative situation, when Doug is finally forced out of his gym shirt. "And what they saw--it's not any of your stupid business." It leaves you hanging and lets your imagination get to work, because you know it's bad. But without Doug ever coming out and saying it's bad.

P. 156: The watches. I love Doug's pride in ownership here, and again he doesn't just say it, he shows how he feels, just like with Joe Pepitone's jacket.

P. 171: When Doug goes to the paper mill and learns that the baseball and hundred dollars were sent home with his father, and rather than outing his father to Mr. Ballard, he just tells us, "It was just like my father said. You shouldn't count on anything." Just kills me.

[JE · Rating 5 out of 5]

Doug Swieteck is real. I swear he's real. I'm not lying.

This is the kind of book that when you set it down and look up, you have to blink a few times before you remember where you are. And when reality hits you, you get this sinking sensation in your chest and you feel like crying. Because in reality, there isn't a fourteen-year-old boy named Doug Swieteck who just moved into a dumpy house in a small town in New York. It isn't 1969, the Vietnam War is long over, and space travel has lost its wonder. But when you're reading this book, I promise you, it all feels real. Doug is real and his brother is a jerk and his principal is a jerk and so is his gym coach and I swear, if I was walking down the street and I passed by Doug Swieteck’s quick-handed, heavy drinkin’, no-good father, I’d punch him in the face, and my only regret would be that my arm has zero muscle mass. When you find out what he did, you'll wanna get in line and do the same.

A lot of adults in Doug Swieteck's life have let him down. This book will make you cry, it will break your heart, but it is not a sad book. It is about redemption and the power we have to not only redeem ourselves, but inspire others to do the same through our actions. It'll make you want to be a better person. It'll make you want to try to understand the people who let you down in life.

Remember when I said Doug Swieteck isn't real? Well I lied. Doug Swieteck is real. Read this book and you'll see.

(Thanks for the recommendation, LaNae!)

[Tena Edlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Wow. WOW!!! I couldn't leave this book alone. I accomplished absolutely nothing from the second I started it. I could not put it down! It's beautifully written, and it's complex and messy and raw in places, and I loved it all. I love how art and music and theatre were woven into the story and into the characters. Such a satisfying book. I'm reading it out loud to my boyfriend now, and I plan on reading it out loud to my students this year. READ THIS BOOK!!!

* 2018... read it again to my 6th grade GOAL class... it's always a favorite!
* 2019... read it again to my 6th graders... boy, did they love it... almost as much as me! ;)
* 2020... read it again to my 6th graders... over Zoom of all things (thank you, 2020). They begged to hear the end together and not separate in hybrid next week, so I read all period. Totally worth it. Community of readers: NOTHING like it.
*2021... read it again to my 6th graders... they loved it and thought of the best assignment for themselves: they're going to redo the cover of the book which we all think isn't very good. I can't wait to see what they come up with!
* 2022... another 6th grade GOAL read aloud... this class found the ending more unsatisfying than the last few years' classes, but they still enjoyed it. And, I still enjoyed reading it!
*2023-2024… It’s just one of my very favorite books to read aloud. Fills my heart every time!

[BAHAR · Rating 4 out of 5]

بیشتر اوقات به لیست کتاب های پرطرفدار طاقچه اعتماد کردم و نتیجشم خوب بوده ، اینم یکی از اوناس . داستان برای نوجوان ها نوشته شده ولی به قول نویسنده اگه نمی تونست گروه بزرگسال جذب کنه کتاب خوبی نمیشد . داستان در مورد پسر نوجوانی از یه خانواده کارگری تو ی شهر کوچیک دور افتادس ک حداقل یکی از معروف ترین نمایش نامه نویس ها و یکی از بهترین موزیسین های امریکا اونجا زندگی می کنند . بخش اصلی داستان در مورد گرون ترین کتاب دنیا (پرندگان امریکا ) هستش .خیلی از جزئیات داستان نمیگم در همین حد که کشش داستان در حدی بود که توی صف عابر بانک ، مترو ، ترافیک ،در حال خوندنش بودم حتی به دیدن سریالم ترجیح داده می‌شد !
قطعا ستاره چهارم به ترجمه ی خیلی خوب کتاب تقدیم میشه .

[hav! · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 rabid, beautiful stars from me.

this is still one of my favorite books that i’ve ever read, and i first finished it in 2013. some things never change, and i’m grateful this is one of them.

[Joey · Rating 4 out of 5]

WoW. What a powerful story 😍😭

[Agnė · Rating 5 out of 5]

WHAT IT IS ABOUT:

“Okay for Now” by Gary Schmidt is a heartwarming young adult historical novel centered around eighth grader Douglas Swieteck. After Doug’s abusive father loses his job, the whole family moves to Marysville in upstate New York. In the new town, Doug’s older brother is accused of robbery, and Doug himself is struggling to be more than just a “skinny thug” that some townsfolk believe him to be. However, things start to look different when Doug befriends Lil Spicer, the daughter of Spicer’s Deli’s owner, and discovers that the local library has a rare copy of John James Audubon’s book “Birds of America.”

THUMBS UP:

1) Thoughtful and moving.
“Okay for Now” is a thoughtful and surprisingly moving story about connections between people in a cozy small-town community. In a subtle, “show, don’t tell” manner, Schmidt demonstrates us the need to understand where people are coming from before writing them off as well as the importance of helping each other to overcome struggles.

2) Realistic and complex characters.
Even though there are quite a few characters in this book, they ALL are very realistic and multidimensional, and throughout the book you can clearly see them growing (or most of them, anyways).

3) The power of art.
Each chapter begins with a black-and-white print from John James Audubon’s “Birds of America,” which are skillfully incorporated into the story. In the same “show, don’t tell” manner, Schmidt illustrates the power of art and creativity in dealing with bullying, violence, abuse, war scars and other struggles. Although it’s not a very novel idea, Schmidt conveys it masterfully.

4) Engaging.
“Okay for Now” is narrated from Doug’s point of view and is done so in a fun and an EXTREMELY engaging way. It truly feels like Doug is talking directly to you, asking you questions and even scolding you for not paying attention to what he is saying.

5) Uplifting.
Doug, just like any other teenage boy, occasionally lashes out and misbehaves, but essentially is a good-natured kid, and thus he views the world around him, even the most hostile situations, with a childlike innocence and optimism.

COULD BE BETTER:

1) Ugly cover.
If possible, get the paperback edition of “Okay for Now,” because the cover of the hardcover is beyond off-putting.

2) Unrealistic ending.
The ending of the book is pleasing, but it seems a little bit too easy, too perfect and thus slightly unrealistic. However, the whole story is so well-crafted that even a lesser ending couldn’t spoil it.

VERDICT: 4.5 OUT OF 5

“Okay for Now” by Gary Schmidt is a thoughtful, uplifting and engaging young adult novel, full of realistic and complex characters. It emphasizes the importance of understanding and connections between people as well as the power of art and creativity in overcoming hardships. It’s one of those books that even an ugly cover or a slightly unrealistic ending cannot spoil.

[The Nutmeg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everybody in this book needs a hug, and I'm not lying.

There were plenty of people I wanted to throw in the lake at one point or another.

But Gary D. Schmidt is pretty amazing at making you realize that even people who deserve thrown in a lake are probably just in need of hugs.

(I have plenty of other thoughts but I'm saving them for my blog.)

(UPDATE: here is the blog post which includes my expanded first impressions: https://meganchappie.blogspot.com/202.... I'm afraid you'll have to scroll way down, as it's at the bottom of a long ramble on all the books I read this spring. :P)

***EVERYTHING AFTER THIS POINT IS SPOILERS. I WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE ENDING:***

So the ending of the novel is really, really untidy...and I think that's 100% intentional. It isn't just that it's realistic for life to always have pain and uncertainty and seriously scary things in it. Under ordinary circumstances, a book that does that--throws extra grief at a character in the last few chapters, just to drive home the point that Real Life Doesn't Get Happily Ever Afters--would drive me crazy, because fiction is supposed to be stylized, don't you know, that's kind of the whole point of fiction. Lil's illness doesn't seem directly related to anything else that went on early in the book, so it kind of hits you out of the blue and feels random (and therefore unwarranted, from a friend-of-stylization's point of view).

But! I think the randomness of Lil being sick at the end IS stylistically in keeping with the rest of the book. Not just because we're going for a brutally realistic novel here, but because the story is about Doug transitioning from one phase of life to another. It's a coming-of-age story. Our protagonist starts out as a helpless child who can barely keep his head above water. Doug relates to the Arctic tern because its life is out of control and it's terrified. By the end of the book, not only is he able to deal with the tragedies in his own personal life, he's able to help his friends through the tragedies in THEIR lives. In the beginning of the book, he needed Lil and was unable to give anything back to her. In the end of the book, he's there for Lil. He's taken on the nobility of the pelican, the bravery of the yellow shank, and the okay-for-now-ness of the snowy heron. HE IS A BRAVE BOY, MY DOUG. He isn't afraid anymore--the Arctic tern means something else to him now than sheer terror; and instead of simply feeling like the black-backed gull is HIM, he's able to recognize the desperation of the black-backed gull in OTHER people. He's become for those other people what his mother was for him in the beginning of the book.

Ack it is SUCH a great story. And I need to read it again. (I may or may not have started reading it out loud to one of my sisters. Our readalouds have a way of never getting to the end, but it's something.)

[0r2b80 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't really remember
Read it really fast in December
And when I look at back
I see It was a game changer
بعدا اضافه خواهم کرد ممکنه برای همه نباشه اما من دوستش داشتم.

https://taaghche.com/book/21824

[Rastaa Rajabi · Rating 5 out of 5]

بینهایت ازش لذت بردم. حتی یادم نمیاد آخرین بار کی با یه کتاب نوجوان احساساتی شده باشم. با همون سادگی ذاتی کتابای نوجوان هم منو خندوند هم بارها اشکمو درآورد و کاری کرد عاشق داگ شم.