Okay

by Katherine Marple

She's just a young woman, in her junior year in high school. She's just growing into her skin, slowly becoming comfortable and learning who she is. She is always at her best friend London's side; though he's older by one year, he takes her under his wing. There's just one thing that sets her apart from the rest- . Her Father is an alcoholic. She is able to cope with this for years until one night he takes it too far. One night, she runs as fast as she can. She reaches for London. He swears to protect her. But how can he possibly rid her mind of the memories, the anger and the pain? How can London keep her from falling apart, from reaching out to the wrong kinds of people? How can he help her survive and move on? Follow her as she struggles through the memories she's trying to escape from. Follow her through all of her mistakes and self-realizations. Just follow her.

Genres: Young Adult

132 pages, Paperback

First published October 24, 2008

About the author

Katherine Marple has been writing since the ripe age of ten. In her elementary school yearbook, she wrote simply: "I want to be an author when I grow up." She used to spend her summers reading and writing so much that her fingers grew calluses and paper cuts.

At the age of fourteen, "I even took time to bind my first books - murder mysteries, if you'd believe it- with glue and construction paper. I was so proud to see my books like 'real books.' Even now that I have three published books under my belt, nothing will ever top the feeling when I held my first 'bound' book in my hands. It was called: This is Now. It was a little misshapen and sticky... but it was mine."

Katherine Marple grew up in Northern CT, and later in life, graduated to lower Massachusetts. She travels between New York City and Boston frequently "for the love of the cities, the bustle, the people, and the magnificence of all those buildings!"

She has many interests, though "I wouldn't call them 'talents.'" She enjoys serenading (badly) on her violin, attending photo shoots for modeling, singing in her rock band Invictus, fundraising for the cure of Type 1 Diabetes (www.FightingTheUnseen.com), pretending she's fashionable and (of course) writing many many different versions of her stories until the "voices quiet down. That's when I know I've got it right... I'm not crazy, I promise."

But, mostly, if you're looking for Ms Marple, you would find her sitting outside while reading a book or bowling with her friends. "As geeky as that may make me sound, I thoroughly enjoy my life. This is what I've worked so hard for."

You may contact Katherine Marple at her website: www.KatherineMarple.com

She loves to hear from her fans and will respond personally.

Reviews

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. It's all about a sixteen year old girl whose best friend is a boy, London, who is in the year above her at school. They have known each other for seven years and are very close. The story is told in the first person from the perspective of the young girl (we never do learn her name - but as she says at the end of the novel 'my name isn't important').
The girl has suffered at the hands of an alcoholic father for many years and one night when things go too far, she decides to run away. The one person she can trust to help her is London. They pack up and leave in his jeep, heading from Maine to L.A.
Along the way they meet some colourful characters in an entertaining, action-packed and sometimes disturbing read.
The young girl tries to escape from her feelings and fears, but finds other dangers waiting to meet her.
Ultimately 'Okay' is about regret and learning to live with it, but it is also about hope and how people can come through the greatest of adversities and go on to live happy lives. This is the message that 'Okay' sets out to deliver and it does so in a very dramatic way.
This would probably be classed as a young adult novel, but does contain some graphic scenes. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good, thought-provoking book. I am sure Katherine Marple will be a name to look out for in the literary world for years to come.

[Jen Knox · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book about identity, a girl who seems to rebel against being defined by the things that happen to her rather than who she really is-which, she sets out to find out. I suppose this is what is meant by the term coming-of-age in the truest sense, by defining onesself for onesself. Although the character does not identify herself by name, she comes to identify herself as one who endures.

I found the writing here to be strong and the character very sympathetic, and never pathetic or self-pitying (which is a deal-breaker for me). I felt I was befriending this girl, and I empathized with her, rather than sympathizing for her. My only suggestion is that some of the exposition be a little shorter as it bordered occassionally on being repetitive. But this is a small thing, and it doesn't detract from a great read by a promising young author, whose works I will continue to read, I have the feeling, for years to come. This book caused me to put Wretched, Marple's other work of fiction, on my shortlist, and I look forward to reading and reviewing it soon.

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is probably something I would have enjoyed in junior high.

[LK Griffie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sixteen is a pivotal age, stranded between childhood and adulthood. At sixteen life ranges from ecstasy to despair and the cause of the emotion can be trivial or momentous. I remember wanting to be taken seriously, to be treated more as an adult than a child. To be free to make my own decisions for the course of my life. But of course, along with the freedom of decision, comes responsibility and consequences for those choices.

In Katherine Marple's novel, Okay, the sixteen-year-old unnamed female protagonist makes choices which swiftly alter the course of her life, and takes her best friend, and protector, London with her. After setting up the pair as best friends, living in the same neighborhood, in the same style homes, the differences are revealed. London has a loving, supportive family to come home to, while the protagonist fears her alcoholic, abusive father. Coming home late from a graduation party with London, the protagonist attempts to sneak into the house avoiding her father's wrath, unsuccessfully. When he has beaten and choked her, and threatened her with more abuse and potential rape, the protagonist runs to her best friend to enlist his help.

“Please,” I begged. “Let’s go now.”
He solemnly nodded his head, stroked my hair, and whispered, “Okay.”

Having convinced London to abandon his loving home, his college career, and essentially his future to run away with her, the protagonist wastes no time in making bad decision after bad decision along the way. Drugs, alcohol, and sex with relative strangers, and all the while London is there to pick up the pieces. The protagonist is on a roller coaster of emotion from the freedom of living a life she has never known before to the despair over some of the choices she has made.

Marple presents a strong, clear point of view with her unnamed protagonist, and while I found the pacing to be a little quick, lacking in emotional depth with the heavy topics the book covers, the voice is unwavering and draws the reader along. For the bulk of the book, the lack of a name for the main character was not an issue, but a few times felt a bit gimmicky. The narrator herself explains the lack of name.

My name isn’t important. What is important is helping someone hope for a better view, at the end of his pain. That is the purpose of my story; to help someone heal.

Originally reviewed for the LL Book Review

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

The novel follows an unnamed 16 year old girl through her tribulations with an alcoholic father. Upon reaching her last straw, she decides to run away from home with her best friend's (London) help. The plot follows these two on the road to find a new home and acceptance. Please note this is not a book for the timid. It is a bit graphic in its usage of alcoholism, drugs, and even sex.

Okay is one of the most poignant novels that I have ever read. It is heartbreaking, sweet, bitter. However, it is also very frustrating. I really wanted to love our main character, but for some reason I had a hard time connecting with her. I am not sure if this is due to the situation that she is in, or more than likely, due some of the decisions that she made. For example, one of the hardest issues to read about was her drug usage. And to be honest, I seriously considered quitting the novel after reading that scene since I expected more from this lead character than that. However, her redeeming feature was London. He is everything that a knight in shining armor should be. And he is the ying to her yang.

All in all, this is a beautiful novel. It is a page turner that forces its reader to look into a situation that normally that they would not experience. Marple deals wonderfully with the issue of abuse and alcoholism. It amazes me to think that she wrote this book originally when she was 15. The depth and insight that she possesses as a writer is astounding. This book may not be for everyone; however, I think that it is definitely worth a try.

[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reviewed by Melanie Foust for TeensReadToo.com

She was planning on biding her time until graduation. She endured her father's demeaning talk and physical cruelty, wishing for the day to come when she could leave and never look back. That day came much sooner than she planned when he took a small step toward sexual abuse. She knew that it would never stop, so she left.

But she was not alone. She would never be alone as long as she had London. London would always be her best friend. He had always been and would always be there for here, but soon she will have to learn to stand on her own.

This book is a fairly quick read, but its story will stay with you long after finishing the last page. I found myself rooting for the protagonist through the entire book, even when she was confused and made mistakes. After having such a painful past, I was continually wishing her a better future.

Never knowing the main character's name adds an air of mystery to this book. The reader goes along this journey with her, sees her through all the ups and downs, yet is withheld one of the first things we normally find out about people. At first, I found myself looking for her name, but as the story continued I concluded that it wasn't her name that really mattered but instead the girl herself.

This story's ending brought it to a bittersweet end. It made me think of the important things in life and made me thankful for the privileged life that I lead.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this as a Goodreads giveaway and was glad I did. The story is told in the first person of a 16-year old who is regularly beaten by her father with a mother who does nothing. Her best frien, a neibor boy named London, knows what is happening to her and is there to support her.

After a savage attack by her father she runs away from home with London and drives to California. The two young people experience challenges and mistakes along the way ending in a severe loss for the couple.

The book is very readable, a little idealistic but I think most teens could easily identify with the angst and horror of what the protagonist experiences-- the sense of hope, shattered dreams and young love.