Okay for Now by Gary Schmidt | Teen Ink

Okay for Now by Gary Schmidt

June 12, 2014
By AllThingsFlawless GOLD, Las Vegas, Nevada
AllThingsFlawless GOLD, Las Vegas, Nevada
10 articles 2 photos 29 comments

Favorite Quote:
&ldquo;To gain your own voice, you have to forget about having it heard.&rdquo;<br /> &mdash;Allen Ginsberg, WD


When I first started to read the book Okay For Now by Gary Schmidt, I was a little bit confused. It started out with a boy talking about his favorite baseball player and his baseball, and I was like, what the heck am I even reading, I don’t like baseball and I don’t want to read about baseball. Nevertheless, I ventured on reading, because something in my gut told me that this was going to be a good book, and it was.

The book is set in 1968, in upstate New York, and it follows the life of a boy named Doug Swieteck, and his life isn’t a very good one. His dad is physically and verbally abusive, his brother is a wannabe criminal, his older brother is off fighting in the Vietnam war, and his mom just sits on the sidelines. He has no idea what he wants to do with his life, but he knows that he wants to do something. He wants to be someone. So he heads out of his family’s life at home, to make a destiny for himself. His journey takes him to meet Lil Spicer, a girl who isn’t afraid to say what’s on her mind, to Mrs. Windermere, an old grouch whose head is filled with many creative ideas, and to the library where he sets his eyes on John James Audubon’s Birds of America, and then does he discover that maybe, just maybe, he’s actually worth something.

Okay For Now is an incredibly moving and beautiful book that shows that through the power of art and hope, you can overcome many things. This story tells the tale of loss, love, family, romance, survival and it shows that through the dark times, you will always somehow be “okay for now”.


The author's comments:
This book was just simply amazing. If there's one book to read, it's this one.

Similar Articles

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 4 comments.


Mckay ELITE said...
on Aug. 27 2014 at 5:28 pm
Mckay ELITE, Somewhere, Virginia
146 articles 0 photos 2230 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.&quot;<br /> &mdash;Apple&rsquo;s &ldquo;Think Different&rdquo; commercial, 1997<br /> &ldquo;Crazy people are considered mad by the rest of the society only because their intelligence isn&#039;t understood.&rdquo; <br /> ― Weihui Zhou

Hmmm...hopefully I remember to check this book out the next time I'm at the library. Sounds intreguing. 

on Jul. 1 2014 at 12:43 pm
WOWriting SILVER, Broadstairs, Other
5 articles 0 photos 266 comments
Sounds great :)

on Jun. 30 2014 at 2:26 pm
AllThingsFlawless GOLD, Las Vegas, Nevada
10 articles 2 photos 29 comments

Favorite Quote:
&ldquo;To gain your own voice, you have to forget about having it heard.&rdquo;<br /> &mdash;Allen Ginsberg, WD

It was one of the best books I've ever read, to be honest.

on Jun. 29 2014 at 4:27 pm
WOWriting SILVER, Broadstairs, Other
5 articles 0 photos 266 comments
Sounds like a cute book - nice review :)