Okay For Now

Join Doug as he discovers his best self

Joe Pepitone and the New York Yankees. The art of John James Audubon. The novel Jane Eyre. The Apollo 11 moon landing. The Vietnam War. All these disparate elements figure into the plot of Okay For Now, a novel for young adults by Gary D. Schmidt.

Doug Swietek’s family is in trouble. His abusive father has lost his job. One brother seems to be heading down a path to delinquency, the other is fighting in Vietnam. His patient mother struggles to stay positive despite hardships. The family is forced to move from their home on Long Island to Marysville, a small town in upstate New York where his father has found a job in a paper mill. Moving to a new town and a new school isn’t easy for any kid, but when you are living in the shadow of your brother, who is suspected of committing a string of thefts in town, it’s even harder. When Doug discovers a volume of John James Audubon’s Birds of America on display at the local library he is transformed. He discovers he has a talent for drawing and meets a librarian who helps him develop his talent. He meets Lil, the feisty daughter of the local deli owner, who becomes his friend and ally.

The story is told by Doug, who is by turns sarcastic, sensitive, bitter, and tender. This is a story of transformation, of how a boy with the odds stacked against him changes his life and the lives of the people he loves.