March Book

For March I decided to read the kind-of-sequel to "The Wednesday Wars" by Gary D. Schmidt, "Okay For Now." Last Spring my reading endorsement class was taught by Brad Wilcox who is literally the best teacher I have ever had and one of the sweetest, most genuine people I know. But anyways, he suggested to my coworkers and I that we read "The Wednesday Wars" because it was written in the voice of a middle schooler and was hilarious and heart felt. I am so glad I read it. Do it. I don't have time to go into details because that's not the book I read this month. But seriously, one of the best books I've ever read. Plus, you should read it before the second one.

"Okay For Now" follows along the same lines as "The Wednesday Wars." It takes one of the supporting characters and gives him his own book. I will say that while I did not like this one as much as the original, it was still the same heart-felt and funny type of book. What I love about these young adult novels though is that they deal with such real-life and deep concepts. The books take place in the 60's. This book specifically deals with the excitement of the moon landing and the devastating aftermath of the Vietnam War. I love that the books are written through the eyes and voice of an 8th grader. Schmidt gets some things so spot on, it's not even funny. He also gets the big moments right too. It's moving to see the way the main character, Doug, deals with the challenges he faces in life at such a young age. And he has no shortage of challenges.

This is an easy read. It's not adult-level fiction. It's meant for middle schoolers, but I don't see anything wrong with reading a young-adult book, especially when it's so well written. It will pull hard on your heart strings. (I cried in both books). It will also make you laugh. And it will make you think harder about certain things. It's a beautiful story about love, loss, learning, growing up, over-coming challenges, conquering anger, forgiving, and moving forward. It's about being who you want to be, and not what your circumstances dictate. It's about changing people's minds and learning to be a good person. I really, really loved it.

I had a tiny problem with the ending, nothing big, just my need for closure. If anyone else has read it and wants to discuss, pleassseee let's do it! I want to hear someone's thoughts, other than my own, on what happened.

All in all. Great book. Great series. Read them both and cry with me.