Basically Gary D. Schmidt is a genius. The Wednesday Wars was a five-star read for me and made it onto my favorite reads of 2009. Okay for Now is every bit as good.
Okay for Now follows Doug Swieteck, a character in The Wednesday Wars, to a new town and a new beginning. Doug has a rough family life, a volatile father, one brother in Vietnam and one who is always picking on him, and a loving, but powerless mother. Needless to say, Doug is rough around the edges, but Marysville, despite his initial disdain for the town, ends up being so very good for him. I couldn't not love this battered kid who has such a good heart and so much potential.
As with The Wednesday Wars, Gary Schmidt brings in so many details that probably make me predisposed to love this book even more, such as great teachers, libraries, Jane Eyre, horseshoes, running, and John James Audubon (American art history!). Each and every one of these things helps Doug strip away that tough kid facade.
Okay for Now is a companion novel to The Wednesday Wars but not a sequel, Holling Hoodhood only makes one appearance, but it is a worthy one.
Doug's voice is so strong and so funny but also so vulnerable, and it's one of the things that makes Okay for Now poignant and real and amazingly good.
JoLee - I am so excited to follow this blog! I love reading your book recommendations. This one was already on my list, and now it's moved closer to the top. I LOVED The Wednesday Wars.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I have to say that I have always, ALWAYS wanted a Room of Requirement. I mean, really. Who couldn't use such an incredibly useful room?!?
Hooray!
A Room of Requirement would be awesome. I think I need one.
ReplyDelete