Review: Okay For Now by Gary Schmidt

Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt


My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh Gary Schmidt. Can I just tell you what a fabulous book that was?! Because it was. I have been reading an awful lot of young adult dystopian books these days and I get sucked into all of that pretty easily. And then I get my hands on your book and well, wow. What a breath of fresh air. Honestly, I just loved this book. I loved the narration. I loved the main character, Doug. I loved that Doug spent his Saturdays at the library. I loved that the librarian was a total stereotype of librarians - honestly, that makes me laugh everytime. I loved Lil. And most especially, I loved Mrs. Windemere.

This books was just so rich. There was SO much in there. The book takes place during the 1960s when America was fully entrenched in the Vietnam War. Doug's oldest brother is off fighting in that war. Doug's father is an absolute d-bag. He is physically and verbally abusive to everyone in the family. He's a drunk and he can not hold down a job because he thinks he knows better than everyone else. Doug's other older brother Christopher is a bully and loves nothing more than to make Doug's life miserable. Doug's mother loves Doug to pieces but she too is caught in the father's cycle of abuse and has no way to protect her youngest from him.

Doug's family is forced to move to upstate New York after his father loses his job. Here Doug gets a fresh start. It is here in Marysville, that he gets a shot at life. That is not to say that Doug does not encounter problems in Marysville, but at Marysville, Doug finally meets people who believe in him; who invest in him; who make him see that he can have a better life than what his circumstances say he can.

Honestly, this was just amazing. You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll smile.

Thank you NetGalley for this amazing book.



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