OKAY FOR NOW...
By Gary D. Schmidt
Is Everything Really OK?
360 pages long
Doug Swieteck moves to a new home in upstate New York during 1968. His father is not very caring and one of his brothers is accused of robbery. His other brother is returning from Vietnam and Doug thinks his mother has the most beautiful smile in the world. HIs eldest brother comes back blind and with no legs in a wheelchair. Lil Spicer Doug is a delivery boy for Spicer's Deli, which is also Lil's dad's business. When he is delivering, he meets almost all of the people in the town of Marysville. One of them is Mrs. Windermere. Mrs. Windermere is one of the people that the newcomers have to be warned about. Is Mrs. Windermere all that bad? Is Marysville all that bad?
POINT OF VIEW:
Doug Swieteck
Theme...
The theme of this story is showing the hard life of a boy going through tough times. Even though he is going through harsh times, he finds things that make life seem much brighter. Everyone goes through tough times in their life time. People try to think of happy things to keep them from crying, and they try to think of a better future when they are sad. I always try to find things that make me happy just like Doug does. There may not be a real war going on, but sometimes I feel like I'm fighting against myself. I see terrible sights too, so I can understand Doug. In order to break through all these hardships(according to young Swieteck), we do activities that you enjoy and that'll make you happy.
The Arctic Tern
The Arctic Tern is one of the drawings that belong back in it's original spot. This is the first drawing that Doug tries to copy. Audubon's drawing of an Arctic Tern is also the very drawing that Doug fell in love with and made him want to draw the drawing.