Okay for Now

This was refreshing. Deep, hopeful, moving...full of voice and great characterization. Love it.

Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Do you know what? I think I loved this as much as I loved The Wednesday Wars, if not more. And I didn't think that was possible, since I was in love, pretty much, with Holling Hoodhood (and what a fabulous name, by the way).

Here, like in The Wednesday Wars, Gary Schmidt ties his themes to a central motif. In this case, John James Audubon’s Birds of America links the themes of love, friendship, war, grief and abuse. It was seriously brilliant because the insights and connections that came through the art were perfectly suited to the story and to Doug Sweiteck, the main character. (A character, by the way, who was in The Wednesday Wars.)

So Doug is devastated when his father, whose quick temper and cruel nature cause grief for the entire family, moves the family to upstate New York. His new home in Marysville is, according to our young narrator, "stupid". In fact, his predominate attitude for the entire first few chapters demonstrates Doug's anger over having moved to Marysville. Doug does not get started on the right foot in his new school, and his problems are further exacerbated by his cruel older brother, a mother helpless against an abusive husband, and the worries over another brother fighting in Vietnam.

There are many things I love about this novel. I love Doug's tender heart, even when he is calling everything and everyone stupid, because it's clear that really, he's just hurting and frustrated and he doesn't know how to cope with his emotions. I love the way that everyone in town, including an old gentleman librarian, his teachers, a local grocer, a cop, and a famous playwright, all come to love him because of his good nature. Most especially I enjoyed the lasting friendship he forged with the librarian who patiently teaches Doug how to draw and paint and who introduces him to the beauty of Audubon's work in the first place.

I must admit, too, that there is a certain nostalgia for the past here, and I feel like I am Owen Wilson in Midnight in Paris because I long for a past that I've idealized. I think of the world we live in now, and somehow I imagine that a small 1960s town in upstate New York is the perfect place to live and grow up. In my imaginings, the people of Doug's world have strong values and work hard. Politics aren't the dirty game they are now, computers haven't over run people's lives, everybody knows their neighbors, and no one is bombarding people with messages about sexuality. And of course, that makes life simpler.

It isn't that I really think that is really true...that some past era is more ideal than the present, or even that I think Scmidt is painting such a picture. Obviously not since the themes are focused on abuse, the horrors of war, sickness, and loss. However, even with all the troubles Doug faces, he has an unflagging sense of determination and hope. I love that this down and out kid can face his father, his brother and even his teachers and Principal Peattie with a sense of courage and purpose, even if he is only in the eighth grade.

And I think that is the best part of the story, that all people, no matter how old or young, can add meaning and value to our lives. Doug actually taught something to me about myself, and it was a lesson really needed, truth be told. You see, I have a habit of jumping to conclusions about people. Throughout the story, I wanted to defend Doug from the villainous/short sighted/abusive adults around him. I thought, quite often as I read, "Oooohhh! If only I were his mother, I would tell those so-and-sos a thing or two." But Gary Schmidt had something so much better in mind for Doug. Instead of creating a boy who was a tattle tell, he created a boy who was a patient learner who could solve his own problems. I could stand to be a lot more like Doug.

Mr. Gary Schmidt is now on the list of favorites, too. Now go out and read this book.

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