Okay For Now
May 13, 2012
by Gary D. Schmidt
As a fourteen-year-old who just moved to a new town, with no friends, an abusive father, and a louse for an older brother, Doug Swieteck has everything stacked against him until he finds an ally in Lil Spicer–a fiery young lady. 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.
Entry Filed under: Okay For Now. Posted in Okay For Now Tags: Bad parents, Family, Friendship.
19 Comments Add your own
This book was amazing. The main character is male; his name being Doug Swieteck. He lives with a loving mother, a cruel older brother, and a dad that always has a problem. He has everything handed down to him, except for a New York Yankees baseball hat. The hat is thrown away by his brother, but not all is lost. The misshapen family moves to a new town; much smaller than the last. Dug dislikes the town, with nothing to do. Then he finds the Spicer girl, and a friendship ignites. Doug finds pictures of birds in the local library; where he befriends one of the librarians. He learns how to draw famous works of art with his new friend; and life in the new town isn’t so bad. The book is full of emotion, full of sadness being overcome to find the new light of friendship.
I really like drawing, so this book was really cool for me. I love how Doug found peace through his drawings.
I think Okay for now is a good book. I would definatley read it again. I felt really bad for Doug.
Okay for now is a story about a kid who has a hard life 1: his dad is a jerk 2:his brother is a jerk 3: he has to move to stupid marysville NY 4: his school is bad 5: the librarian hates him but after awhile he realizes the town is not bad, his school is actually cool and his brother is nicer and his dad gets better and the librarian well shes still hates him okay for now is a five star book
Hey, wait a minute, wasn’t there a GOOD librarian too? — Kate Davie
REally good
why is the dad so mean to Doug and not his brother?
That is one of the big questions in this book, but I’m not sure it’s thoroughly answered. Did you see any clues? — Kate Davie
We are reading this book as a class, so far it is really sad. I wonder why the dad is so mean
spoiler, he dies.
Wow, you must have read a completely different edition from the one I read! Are you sure the one you read was by Gary Schmidt? — Kate Davie
I have been thinking of reading this book, I also have heard everyone talking about how good the book is
Should I read it?
This is the DCF blog! Its official stance is definitely to be in favor of reading DCF books. I dearly hope the readers will agree!– Kate Davie
I think the book Okay For Now was very well written and really got my attention (mainly because of the kid with the bag over his head with the smile) I thought it was gonna be happy but man was I wrong. It was very good though. It had a great plot and some very interesting moments. My personal favorite was probably when the main character’s brother is accused of robbery. Also some of the people will probably confuse you. This book has a very good ending but I CAN’T TELL YOU!
I read Okay For Now and it is a great book. It was very touching because in the beginning Doug meets a girl and she does like him, but by the end of the book her feelings for him change and that is why I loved it.
Well written story with some very likable characters. Lots of emotion is embedded in the storyline. You should try this book!
This book was great. The book has a lot of depressing parts in the story, but if you like bad situations that turn out to be good, you’ll love this one. It has a slower plot line, but also has some exciting parts. Doug, the main character, has friends that are awesome, family that is sad, and experiences funny situations at times.
The author has done a really good job on this of the book. I love it!!!!!!
This book is really slow getting started, but once you get halfway through, it’s REALLY GOOD! It is pretty sad, but it is TOTALLY worth reading just for the ending.
i was fascinated with the love that Doug acquired for the Audubon prints and that he was so intent on getting them all back in order to have a complete selection. I also enjoy the Audubon prints.
I really liked the book. When Doug met Mr Powell at the local library.Any way I think the book is really funny for 7 up. Some parts are really disturbing for little kids but I guess that at the beginning was kinda boring at first but the middle and the end is really funny.
I rate it 5 out of 5 stars.
So I hope you read it.
Okay For Now was a really good book! I read ‘The Wednesday Wars’ last year. It wasn’t my favorite book, so I had my doubts at first. It took me a little while to get into the book but, it turned out to be a really heart-warming story. I think that Gary D. Schmidt did a really nice job with how he wrote this book. I love all the characters especially Lil! Defiantly a book you should read if you like realistic fiction books!
That’s good to hear! Points to you for trying it despite your doubts! — Kate Davie
I did not like this book at first until Doug met Mr Powell. This is when I liked the book because this is when his life got better. My favorite character is Mrs Windemere because she instantly said hi and was so friendly.
Well, kudos to you for giving the book a fair chance, and not abandoning it after just a couple of pages! –Kate Davie
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