Haley's book look

“You know how that feels?”

Summary: Okay for Now is a novel by Gary D. Schmidt. The story follows Doug Swieteck, a 14-year-old boy who just moved to stupid, boring Marysville, New York. He has to learn how to navigate feelings, life, Audubon’s Birds of America.

Review: To be clear, I read this book years ago. Like, I’m talking about middle school and high school years. Upon reading Okay for Now again, I am once again brought back into the masterful detail and storytelling of Schmidt’s work. The way he sets the scene for the reader is superb. Okay for Now is one of my favorite books-hands down. The complexity of Doug, the metaphor of Birds of America, to the simplicity of a really cold coke; I love it. Doug starts off as this troubled teen with a smart mouth and can’t seem to have anything go right for him. Moving to Marysville didn’t help his case one bit. I was immersed in Doug’s everyday life. It was like I really was Doug you know?

Doug’s family life is rough. His father abuses him, his brother Christopher, and his mom. His brother, Lucas, comes back from Vietnam vastly different from when he left. Lucas doesn’t have his legs and he’s always having flashbacks from the war. It doesn’t help that Christopher seems to be committing crimes around Marysville and it follows Doug. Doug’s teachers already have a preconceived bias about him. He’s a skinny thug always up to no good.

When Doug meets Lillian Spicer, AKA Lil, she teaches him how to drink a really cold Coke. This is the beginning of a beautiful relationship for Dough and Lil. Lil was the first to show him humanity when he moved to Marysville. She eventually got him a job at her father’s deli delivering groceries every Saturday. She is the complete opposite of Doug. She has a comfortable life with loving parents. Doug never had that comfortability. Doug and Lil eventually get to act in Jane Eyre. A Broadway musical written by Mrs. Windermere. A grumpy old woman who eventually opened her heart to Doug when he started delivering her groceries. Lil never gets to star in the play because we find out she has stomach cancer. One of the only positives in Doug’s life was sick. Despite her illness, Doug remains by her side, showing her the same love and humanity she showed him.

Some people say Doug’s story ended too positively. Everything suddenly went right for him at the end and fell into place. It’s not realistic. I disagree. To me, Doug has gone through more trauma than most people in their lives. He deserves to have his fairytale ending. He deserves to be hopeful. He deserves to be ok.

Score: 10/10