I just read another great book, and this was the second time I read it. Gary D. Schmidt’s Okay for Now I first read as a reader. The next I did so as a writer.
In a nutshell, Doug is a tough kid hardened by an abusive father and two older brothers. His father’s obnoxious behavior gets him fired, forcing the family to move to stupid Marysville in upstate New York where the small town people target him as a hoodlum. But Doug is not the ruffian the town perceives him to be. There is a another side to this survivor kid who, by reaching out to others, allows himself to transcend the prejudice against him and the family he’s a product of.
This book is fantastic on many levels. The voice is striking and Schmidt absolutely nails this kid. He maintains Doug’s tough-guy persona, yet allows him to shed it and for the character to grow. The voice is true throughout and does not waver. Another thing Schmidt does nicely is to allow Doug to talk to directly to readers, as if he and they were all chatting in the same room.
Schmidt provides a strong cast of characters and the amiable Doug is willing to reach out to them. Lil is the first person to notice the skinny thug and he follows her into the public library. She is in most of his middle school classes. Her father runs the market and hires Doug to be a Saturday morning delivery boy. On his rounds, he befriends his regular customers, including a playwright and a policeman’s family. Saturday afternoons Doug is fascinated by a large book of Audubon’s drawings under glass in the library. An elderly library worker introduces Doug to art techniques, such as composition and movement in a picture, lessons that play out in various aspects of Doug’s life. And Schmidt give us teachers, some who provoke him to be the hoodlum they see him as, others who see his softer side.
I don’t know what’s more critical to craft a good story, voice or character. I suppose it should have both.
#44 Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt (2011)
45 points
Can’t get this book out of my head. There’s not one big lobbing story arc here. It’s a rollercoaster. Very high highs immediately followed by the lowest of lows. Coming in rapid fire. At one point I involuntarily yelled “noooooooooooo” right out loud. You know characters have captured your mind and heart when that happens. – Aaron Zenz
“Let me just say this right up front: Gary Schmidt was robbed. He deserved the 2012 Newbery. He earned it. This book was far and away the best book of the year. To not award it the gold was bad enough, but to completely snub it and not even give it an honor? Unforgivable. And I’ll sing it ’til my dyin’ day.
Schmidt has created an unforgettable character in Doug Swieteck. Bold, unsure, angry, loving, cocky, and humble, this young man is as dynamic as they come. As the book’s narrator, his voice is absolutely perfect. He is one of my favorite characters I’ve read in a long, long time. Even when he was snarky, I loved this kid. I found myself wondering what he grew up to do with his life. That doesn’t happen too often, so this boy really stayed with me. Great voice, and I’m not lyin’.
Schmidt can sure paint a villain. So what if his dad is a jerk who hangs out with stupid Ernie Eco too much? So what? (I’m still not sure whether I forgive Schmidt for Doug’s dad. What a… yeah. Wow.) I also admire the way characters changed as Doug grew. Or was it Doug who was changing and viewing them differently? There is not a flat character in the book (save one, but we never really meet him, just hear about him). Each member of Doug’s family has a surprise or two up his or her sleeve, as does Doug’s father’s boss, “”Mr. Big-Bucks-Ballard”", who emerges as an admirable and noble character.
Okay for Now is moving, funny, infuriating, and completely wonderful.” – Kristi Hazelrigg
Yeah, I could have cut Kristi’s words down, but why do so? She puts the whole book in such a great light.
I bet you were wondering whether or not this would make the list or not. After all, if this year’s Newbery frontrunner Wonder by R.J. Palacio made our list, would memories allow last year’s frontrunner to make an appearance? You betcha. Our memories aren’t that short and the book was just that good.
The plot from my review reads, ” ‘You’re not always going to get everything you want, you know. That’s not what life is like.’ It’s not like the librarian Mrs. Merriam needs to tell Doug that. If any kid is aware that life is not a bed of roses, it’s Doug. Stuck in a family with a dad that prefers talking with his fists to his mouth, a sweet but put upon mom, a brother in Vietnam, and another one at home making his little brother’s life a misery, it’s not like Doug’s ever had all that much that’s good in his life. When he and his family move to Marysville, New York (herein usually referred to as ’stupid Marysville’) things start to change a little. Doug notices the amazing paintings of birds in an Audubon book on display in the public library. The boy is captivated by the birds, but soon it becomes clear that to raise money, the town has been selling off different pages in the book to collectors. Between wanting to preserve the book, learning to draw, solving some
There are just some authors who deserve our readerly love, our supreme fandom, our pass-it-on fire. Gary D. Schmidt, I discovered yesterday, is one of them. Don't hate me because it took me this long. Just let me join the Schmidt Fan Club. I'll be its secretary, if the job is still open. I'll wear, well: What
are the Gary D. Schmidt colors?
Because I read
Okay for Now yesterday, the 2011 National Book Award nominee. I read it in a day, sometimes leaving my perch on the couch simply because I could not contain my admiration for this story about a kid growing up in upper New York state under less-than-desirable circumstances. He calls his home The Dump. His dad has done some damage. His oldest brother has been fighting in the Vietnam War. His other brother is sometimes like his father. There's a girl, though, and she's lots of fun. There's a mom with an Elizabeth-Taylor-besting smile. There are the town folk and the teachers who, once they give Doug Sweiteck a chance not to be his brother or old man, are some of the most tender and wonderful people around.
It's 1968, and at first there's not much for Doug to do in this sleepy old town but to go to the library, which is only open Saturdays. Doug doesn't go there to read. He goes, after awhile, because of that big book of Audubon bird paintings that lie (only half) protected in a case on the library's second floor. He's going because a funky old man has started to teach him how to draw these majestic, frozen creatures. The birds are terrified, or they are huddled by the shore. They are proud, or they are fearless, or they are wounded. Doug understands them, intuitively. And he's got some talent with a pencil. And maybe the bird and the man and the talent he is discovering will save Doug from The Dump life, or, at least, give him a reason to grow beyond his bruising circumstance.
Schmidt tells his enormously tender story with humor tailor-made for a kid. He respects his readers, is sure they will understand the nuances, the complications, the simple fact that no one is a label, no one is stuck. And, without ever stepping beyond the realm of younger reader book-dom, Schmidt gives us some of the most casually beautiful descriptions I've seen:
She had hair as white as clouds, and about as wispy too, and big. It was all gathered like one of those huge thunderheads that rises on hot summer days. The top was in sort of a bun and tied tight with red rubber bands. And in that top bun—I'm not lying—there were three bright yellow pencils stabbing through. She wore a bluish kind of gown that shimmered—it looked like something that someone about to go to an opera would wear (not that I've ever been to an opera, or would ever be caught dead at one. Can you imagine Joe Pepitone ever going to an opera?). With the cloud on top and the shimmering blue beneath, she looked like a rainstorm that could walk around all by itself. Which wouldn't have been so bad on a day that wanted to be a hundred degrees.
Before I had a chance to write this blog post this morning, I Facebooked my applause for this book. The Schmidt fans flocked. Yes, yes, they said. Yes, I say, too. This is a book (and there are plenty of Schmidt books) that you want the kids you love to read.
The zombie won!! The Undead, brought back by overwhelming acclaim, snatched this year's Battle of the Books prize away from
Between Shades of Gray and
Life: an Exploded Diagram.
Which book was this year zombie? The WINNAH!!!
Okay for Now by Gary Schmidt.Am I happy? Yes. How could I not be? Even though I had trouble reading
Life: an Exploded Diagram, had that book won, I would have been happy! Any event that causes the excitement, discussion, ardor, - even factions - about books that Battle of the Kids Book does, makes me very happy.
What a Battle!!! It's a good thing Summer Reading Club is just a couple of months away, because I can barely wait for next March. SRC will give me something to take my mind off wondering what books the BoB group will choose for 2013.
Battle of the Kids Books needs a theme song, I think - oh, and t-shirts and mugs! Yeah!
I am crushed. I was sure that A Monster Calls would take this match. It is a masterful portrayal of the pain of watching a loved one suffer - the guilt, the fear, the resentment, the sorrow, the.... Of course, my personal situation may have made me overly appreciative of this book. My Dad hasn't died but cancer changed him. Sigh.
As for
Life : an Unexploded Diagram I can't say much. I could not get into the book. Was it written well? Yes. Was I a teeny bit intrigued by the characters? Um, no. So now that it has earned a Match 2 slot, I will have to trudge through it. Friends who read it tell me they are very glad they did. Hopefully, the second half is better than the first. This is the allure of BoB. I am encouraged to read books that I normally would eschew in favor of OTHER books because there are always OTHER books, aren't there?
It's Whatever Wednesday - a Wet Whatever Wednesday. I have a slate full of stuff to do today so...
I will just remind you to reserve your tickets for
StoryFUSION now.
OK, here's my prediction for tomorrow's round. I liked both of these books but I wasn't enamored with either of them. I am going to choose
Okay for Now over
Wonderstruck. I felt that
Wonderstruck felt wooden compared to Selznick's triumph of
The Adventures of Hugo Cabret. That's probably a little unfair but life is not always fair and neither am I, I guess.
That said, Scholastic has put together a lovely webpage fore this book.
Click here to learn to fingerspell and to learn about constellations, too.
Too many neat coincidences in
Okay for Now, I thought. Funny how coincidences are fine and wanted in one book (
The Grand Plan) but can feel hasty in another book. HOWEVER, the librarian in
Okay is totally cool. Totally. And the artwork connection was intriguing.
So, which? Get on with it. Hmmmmm. Coin toss? Nah. I predict that
Okay for Now will move on to the next round. But now that I have been proved fallible I would not put any money down on this. Hey, is there a board in Vegas for this Battle? Does anyone know?
Both are very important. And let's not forget that you need an amazing story to go along with it. All the best writing in the world can't make up for a lousy story. Although bad writing can kill an awesome story.
Alas, so much to do! No wonder writing is so hard!
You first need story, for sure.
I love this book. Have you read Wednesday Wars? That's one of my favorite books ever. He does do a great job of getting all three elements rights.