SEPTEMBER 2013: Okay for Now by Gary Schmidt - A great read for middle schooler's, but an even better audio book to listen to!
“There aren’t too many things around that are whole, you know. You look hard at most anything, and it’s probably beat up somewhere or other. Beat up, or dinged up, or missing a piece, or tattooed. Or maybe something starts out whole and then it turns into junk, …” Doug Swieteck pg. 175-176 Okay for Now
When Doug’s father loses his job, the family moves from Long Island to stupid Marysville, NY where a friend is sure his father can get a job at the local paper mill. The family moves into a tiny house that Doug refers to as "the dump", and Doug starts the process of trying to fit in in a new town where everyone sees him as just another "skinny thug". Set during the Vietnam War and just before the first moon landing, Okay for Now, chronicles the struggles of a poor kid, with low self-esteem, an abusive father and a brother who has been forever changed by the war. Through a kind and encouraging librarian, a book of John James Audubon prints, the families on his Saturday delivery route for the local deli, a few teachers who really believe in him and his dad's generous boss, not to mention a girl name Lil, Doug comes out of his eighth grade year at Marysville Junior High School with a whole lot more self-worth than he had going in, "…and I'm not lying." So even though things may seem pretty broken at first, Doug finds a way to make them whole again, for himself, his family, a few good friends and even the town of stupid Marysville.
This book is a must read, and I know that because as Mr. Powell, librarian at the Marysville Free Public Library says … "'I'm a librarian,' … 'I always know what I'm talking about.'" However, I would encourage anyone who is interested in this story to check out the audio book also, narrator Lincoln Hoppe does an amazing job portraying Doug, giving you a real feel for Doug's emotions and moods. It’ll make you laugh, it’ll make you cry, it might even make you a little mad times, but in the end, you’ll feel better, and maybe a little more whole, for reading (or listening to) Okay for Now by Gary Schmidt.
Okay for Now is a nominee for the 2013 Buckeye Book Award. If you read (or listen to) it and like it, go to the Buckeye Book Award web-site and vote for Okay for Now to win the 2013 award.
A few of the Audubon prints from the story.
left: Large Billed Puffin
right: Brown Pelican
When Doug’s father loses his job, the family moves from Long Island to stupid Marysville, NY where a friend is sure his father can get a job at the local paper mill. The family moves into a tiny house that Doug refers to as "the dump", and Doug starts the process of trying to fit in in a new town where everyone sees him as just another "skinny thug". Set during the Vietnam War and just before the first moon landing, Okay for Now, chronicles the struggles of a poor kid, with low self-esteem, an abusive father and a brother who has been forever changed by the war. Through a kind and encouraging librarian, a book of John James Audubon prints, the families on his Saturday delivery route for the local deli, a few teachers who really believe in him and his dad's generous boss, not to mention a girl name Lil, Doug comes out of his eighth grade year at Marysville Junior High School with a whole lot more self-worth than he had going in, "…and I'm not lying." So even though things may seem pretty broken at first, Doug finds a way to make them whole again, for himself, his family, a few good friends and even the town of stupid Marysville.
This book is a must read, and I know that because as Mr. Powell, librarian at the Marysville Free Public Library says … "'I'm a librarian,' … 'I always know what I'm talking about.'" However, I would encourage anyone who is interested in this story to check out the audio book also, narrator Lincoln Hoppe does an amazing job portraying Doug, giving you a real feel for Doug's emotions and moods. It’ll make you laugh, it’ll make you cry, it might even make you a little mad times, but in the end, you’ll feel better, and maybe a little more whole, for reading (or listening to) Okay for Now by Gary Schmidt.
Okay for Now is a nominee for the 2013 Buckeye Book Award. If you read (or listen to) it and like it, go to the Buckeye Book Award web-site and vote for Okay for Now to win the 2013 award.
A few of the Audubon prints from the story.
left: Large Billed Puffin
right: Brown Pelican