Okay for Now

Okay for Now

By Gary D. Schmidt

19 ratings 23 reviews 20 followers
Interest LevelReading LevelReading A-ZATOSWord Count
Grades 4 - 8Grades 4 - 8Y4.977017
2011 National Book Award FinalistAs a fourteen-year-old who just moved to a new town, with no friends and a louse for an older brother, Doug Swieteck has all the stats stacked against him. So begins a coming-of-age masterwork full of equal parts comedy and tragedy from Newbery Honor winner Gary D. Schmidt. As Doug struggles to be more than the “skinny thug” that his teachers and the police think him to be, he finds an unlikely ally in Lil Spicer—a fiery young lady who “smelled like daisies would smell if they were growing in a big field under a clearing sky after a rain.” In Lil, Doug finds the strength to endure an abusive father, the suspicions of a whole town, and the return of his oldest brother, forever scarred, from Vietnam. Together, they find a safe haven in the local library, inspiration in learning about the plates of John James Audubon’s birds, and a hilarious adventure on a Broadway stage. In this stunning novel, Schmidt expertly weaves multiple themes of loss and recovery in a story teeming with distinctive, unusual characters and invaluable lessons about love, creativity, and survival.
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
ISBN-13: 9780544022805
ISBN-10: 0544022807
Published on 2/5/2013
Binding: Paperback
Number of pages: 368

Book Reviews (23)

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Jacob Jacob

This is a great book with an inspiring character who faces many hardships but gets through them and he learns to like his life and see the silver lining in life. When he gets made fun of or characterized because of others' actions, he gets upset and eventually he works to fix that.
kkgautamm kkgautamm

i read this book for school, but it was much more interesting than i thought it would be! its a great coming of age novel, and the ending made me really happy.
kkgautamm kkgautamm

pretty good, read it for school. interesting to see him change throughout the story. nice to see the relationships form between characters that normally would not create relationships.
kkgautamm kkgautamm

pretty good, read it for school. interesting to see him change throughout the story.
logan logan

this book was not that good. some parts were kind of interesting but there was no major problem and half the book was him drawing a bird.
bacon_bitzz bacon_bitzz

I love this author! This is a great book.
pinkiepie1a1 pinkiepie1a1

This book is amazing, It is really an emotional rollercoaster. You began with this 8th grader called Douglas (He is referenced as "Doug" or "Douggo") moving to a new town called Marysville. He finds himself talking to a girl who happened to be Lilian Spicer or Lil for short. Her dad is the owner of a store with a delivery service and Doug gets the job. He soon goes to the library and meets Mr.Powell, a librarian. Mr.Powell brings out Doug's interest in drawing and soon Doug uncovers a big mystery. This Book is really good, It's like a mystery, drama, comedy, and love novel all in one. I really recommend this book for people who are going through some issues because this book helped me out with mine. I don't know how, but it did.
lolo517200 lolo517200

this book is so good i really recommend this book
booknerd01 booknerd01

We had this book read aloud to us but i couldn't wait to see what happened so I just got the book and finished it. It is a very good book and a great read.
xxpish xxpish

The first few pages really are interesting. I think this book will have a very different and unique plot line. I bet the rest of it will be awesome.
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