Okay for Now

Fall 2012 edit: I reread this one over the summer for middle school book club. Second reading was even better than the first. I am going to carry this book in my heart forever and ever (in the most melodramatic way possible). Sad to say middle schoolers were not as enthused as I am.

This is the first truly excellent book I've read in a while. I love everything about it. At first, I was filled with righteous indignation over its Newbery loss, but I'll reserve judgment until I read this year's winner, which is on my shelf about two books down the list of next-reads.

Doug Swieteck is a 1960s teenager with an abusive father, a penchant for drawing, and a brother with a reputation that precedes him. After his family's big move to Marysville, NY, Doug struggles to find a foothold in his new habitat. He finds it in the library (of course I would love that) looking at Audubon's birds. He finds it in the friendship of Lil Spicer. And he finds it in the solace of baseball stats. I'd like to say adventures ensue, but truthfully, Doug never has any adventures. He has an ordinary life that becomes extraordinary through Schmidt's expert storytelling.

This one is not to be missed.