Title: Okay for Now
Author: Gary D. Schmidt
Series: sequel to The Wednesday Wars
Major Themes: Friendship, Dysfunctional Families, School, Vietnam War, PTSD, Audubon
Synopsis: After his family is forced to move to a new town in upstate New York, Doug Swieteck encounters more hope and friendship than he ever anticipated, while struggling to deal with a difficult home life.
Early this year, I picked up The Wednesday Wars while our family was on holiday, and I got engrossed in the story. It surprised me by its depth and humor, and solidified in my mind even more that Gary D. Schmidt was an author I wanted to keep my eye on. After I finished that book, I realized I had the chance to get Okay for Now, an unofficial sequel, in print—and I decided to put off my interest in reading this until I could hold the real book in my hands. I’m glad I waited; this way, we were able to enjoy it as a family read-aloud—although I’m not sure the word “enjoy” is the right adjective. This is a deep story, and it’s got some heavy things in it. But by the time I got to the end of the book, I wrote in my reading journal that if I could, I’d give this book six stars in a 5-star rating. It’s good.
Publisher’s description:
“The Dump” is what Doug Swieteck calls his new home in upstate New York.
He lands there in the summer of 1968, when the Apollo space missions are under way, Joe Pepitone is slugging for the New York Yankees, and the Vietnam War is raging. At home he lives with a father who has lost his way and a brother accused of robbery. And Doug’s oldest brother is returning from Vietnam. Who knows what wounds his missions have given him?
But Doug has his own mission, too, and it begins when he first sees the plates of John James Audubon’s Birds of America at the local library. His mission will open a world as strange to him as the lunar landscape.
My thoughts:
Doug Switeck is one of those kids you wouldn’t have any reason to look twice at—except when he is acting up. Coming from a dysfunctional family as he does, he really doesn’t have a lot going for him, but somehow, as the story progresses, you start to see the layers that make up this guy who really does act like a jerk sometimes.
Where The Wednesday Wars is, generally, fairly upbeat (okay, okay; yes, there are some difficult elements there, too, but overall, it’s got a great line of humor and hope running through that story), Okay for Now is much heavier. At first, I admit I struggled with that because I was hoping for more of the same as the first book. But then I realized what Schmidt was doing, and it was brilliant. Taking the character that, admittedly, no one likes—and then going behind the scenes to help us see what makes Doug Doug—it made him a real person. He became someone you could relate to, come to love, and eventually root for. And grieve with.
This is a deeply nuanced story. Not only does it deal with a dysfunctional family, not only is it set during the tumult of the Vietnam War and the Space Race, and not only does it have some characters you really love to hate—this is a story of hope and joy overcoming almost impossible odds. And it’s written in such a way that you keep guessing all the way through as to what’s going to happen next, and hoping, hoping, hoping that something will finally go right for Doug. (And somehow, despite the heavier themes, this book is not depressing—in fact, it’s one of the more hopeful ones I’ve read recently!)
There’s also clever storytelling at play. Somehow, Schmidt manages to repeat different phrases or themes to make a point without them getting old. Occasionally, characters lose their names if they aren’t acting particularly kind or human—and when they do shape up, they gain their names back again (I loved watching that happen!). One time, I remember noticing that the story (which was written in first person, past tense) suddenly switched to present tense during a particularly stressful scene. The way it’s written, you don’t see it until you see it (I noticed because I was reading it aloud, but I don’t think anyone else in the family picked it up until I pointed it out to them)—but it gives an immediacy to the story that that particular scene needed. It was brilliantly done. There is a restraint and power in the way this story is put together, and in the end, I have to sit back and marvel.
If you enjoy books that have rich, well-formulated characters that feel real, read this book. If you enjoy stories of brokenness and despair that have strong redemptive themes, read this book. Or, if you just enjoy a dash of history in a well-written story, read this book. Okay for Now is a journey, and I thoroughly enjoyed taking that journey. It’s one I’m planning to keep on my shelf long-term. Highly recommended!
WARNING: Bullying happens in nearly every chapter, sometimes multiple times. Chapter 1: Mention of smoking, freaking (six times), mention of a man frequenting bars, man hits his son, dang, man swearing. Chapter 2: Dang (twice), for heaven’s sake, boy boasts of being in knife fights, lying, freaking (three times). Chapter 3: Lying, insinuation a man beat his son, swore (twice), swear. Chapter 4: Picture of a bird that was shot, dang, girl touches a boy’s hand, boy punches a man, story of a drunk man and a cruel thing he did to his son. Chapter 5: Freaking (six times), helluva, lying, man tries to beat his son, boy kisses a girl. Chapter 6: Man verbally abuses a boy, girl takes a boy’s arm, oh God, man badly injured from war, swore, boy sees drawings of dead people after a battle, freaking, geez, holding hands. Chapter 7: Darn, man talks briefly about PTSD-inspired nightmares, girl holds boy’s arm. Chapter 8: Oh God, boy almost dies. Chapter 9: Lying. Chapter 10: Darnedest, boy lays beside a girl in her bed (no wrong innuendos or connotations), darn (twice), heck (twice). “Bloody, bloody murder” is a phrase that comes up several times throughout the book—I didn’t mark those instances.
Age levels:
Reading Independently—Ages 12 – 15, 15 and Above
Links to buy this book:
Amazon: Paperback | Kindle | Hardcover | Audible Audiobook (unabridged) | Audio CD (unabridged)
AbeBooks: View Choices on AbeBooks.com
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