Okay for Now, an
audio book by Gary D. Schmidt, was one of
the winners of a 2012 Odyssey Honor Award for audio books. The award was well deserved. This was one of the best middle-grade
books I have ever read (or listened to) and one of the best audio book
productions I have ever listened to.
It was one of those rare books that I couldn’t wait to finish but never
wanted to end.
Doug Swieteck has a rough life: his dad is abusive, his
brother is a bully, and his oldest brother is off fighting in Vietnam. To make matters worse, his father loses
his job and moves the family from Long Island to “stupid Marysville” (as Doug
calls it throughout the book), a small town in the Catskills, where there is
nothing going on and Doug knows no one.
Even worse, everyone in town seems to assume that Doug is a thug, like
his brother. The only things that
make his life bearable are his kind mother (and especially, her smile) and Lil,
who teaches him how to drink a really cold Coke and becomes his first friend in
Marysville.
Doug is the most endearingly flawed but likable narrator
since Tom Sawyer. Even though it sometimes feels like the
whole world is falling apart around him, Doug keeps moving forward. He discovers the Marysville Library’s
greatest treasure, John James Audubon’s Birds of America, with its amazing paintings, and he becomes the
town’s new grocery delivery boy on Saturday mornings. Little by little, he finds things to like about stupid
Marysville and becomes a part of the community, but not without plenty of
challenges and struggles.
I loved every minute of this audio book that had me both
laughing out loud and choking back tears at various points. It is funny and heartbreaking and
heartwarming, all at once, while it recreates a period of time in small-town
America that has long past. Most
of all, it is real. Doug’s ups and
downs mirror those every person encounters in real life – setbacks alternating
with moving forward, heart-renching times followed by joys. Schmidt has created a cast of
characters that you really come to care about. I definitely want to go back and read Schmidt’s Newberry
Honor novel, The Wednesday Wars, which
introduced Doug for the first time.
Okay for Now is among the best that middle-grade literature
has to offer.
Listening Library
Listen to an Excerpt:
4 comments:
Wow! This sounds excellent. I had heard of the book but didn't know much about it. What ages would you say it would be good for? I'm sure it's too much for my son, but I'm considering recommending it to my niece who is in middle school.
Hmmm...good question, Julie. I meant to mention age-appropriateness.
The publisher recommends ages 10 and up, and I think that is about right. Despite its good sense of humor, it does deal with some heavy issues that might be too much for a younger kid, including cancer and serious war injuries.
Hope that helps.
Sue
So you did your review! You mentioned on my blog how you read the audio version and loved it. Doug is the best isn't he? But he isn't flawed! He can do no wrong in my eyes!
http://shesgotbooksonhermind.blogspot.com/
This one sounds absolutely wonderful! Thanks for the review!
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