Okay for Now

Doug knows that as soon as something good happens to him, something bad will happen to take it away. Just before school begins in 1968, Doug and his family move to the small town of Marysville so his father can start work at the town's paper mill. Doug hates everything about their new living situation and tensions rise between him, his troublemaking brother, and his mean and abusive father. When school starts no one really expects anything but problems from Doug given his family background. But even though all of these problems, a few good things happen too. He gets a job as a delivery boy at the local deli and becomes unlikely friends with the owner's daughter. At the public library he discovers a book of lovely bird drawings created by John James Audubon and learns to draw from the head librarian. But when he discovers that the city council has been selling the beautiful pictures to generate money for the town, Doug is furious. How can even his birds be taken away from their home? Soon it becomes his mission to return all of the pictures back to their rightful place.

Gary Schmidt (author of Newbery honor books Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy and The Wednesday Wars) has once again crafted a thoughtful, insightful novel for young readers. There's a lot going on in Okay for Now as numerous plot threads intertwine to give a complete picture of Doug's 8th grade year. The story is highly complex, and as a reader you really get pulled inside Doug's head as he deals with a lot of different - and many of them extremely difficult - issues. I don't know how Schmidt did it, but he somehow managed to write a book that is heartbreaking and incredibly moving without being depressing.

The narration style in this book is particularly noteworthy. Told in the first person, Doug only shares information with readers when his character is good and ready to do so. There are plenty of times when it is clear that Doug is hiding something uncomfortable, especially when he refers to his home life, so immediately readers are lead to question just how reliable of a narrator Doug can be. Clever readers, however, can learn just as much from what Doug refuses to say as they can from what he actually tells us. The narrative style is incredibly conversational - you can really imagine this kid relating his story - but it's also impressibly polished. The writing is clearly well-edited and every word has been deliberately selected to tell this powerful, personal story.

Overall Grade: A