To be honest, Okay for Now, written by Gary D. Schmidt, did not immediately suck me in. The lead was rather ordinary. It wasn’t until I read about Doug’s brother physically abusing/threatening him that I really started to get immersed in the plot. Doug’s life is quite undesirable, in my opinion as well as his. His father hits him, his mother, and his brother. Doug is pushed around by his brother as well. As I was reading this part, I felt endlessly grateful that I have such a loving, caring family. Doug’s daily life is comprised of being slapped and punched. To him, it’s normal. To me, it’s horrifying. What kind of dad smacks his own wife and sons? What kind of brother threatens to break his siblings’ back? Those two characters have disgusted me so far. Thankfully, Doug’s mom is a kind person. In a way, she reminds me of my mom; sweet, caring, doing things for others, and most importantly, having the smile of an angel. As his buddies were introduced, I was thinking that the story wasn’t too bad; at least the main character had friends. But then of course Doug has to move. His entire childhood is uprooted and plunked down in Marysville, New York. He lives in a miniature house in a stifling hot town. He has to be the new kid in a school where everyone already knows each other. Throughout the story Doug repeatedly states that he hates Marysville. I don’t blame him in the least. If I was in his place, I would be complaining left and right. There are some good things in Marysville however. Doug gets a job as a delivery boy. He meets a girl named Lil whom he develops a close bond. An old man named Mr. Powell teaches him to draw. There are little shining stars among the pitch-black of the sky. It was very interesting how there were pictures of birds before each chapter. I think each picture represents a different person or situation in the book. For example, Doug is probably thinking of himself as he describes the Arctic Tern. He sees the term crashing toward the sea, out of control, beak open to get that last breath of air, wings arrowed down, and most importantly that one terrified eye. In a way that is reflecting the situation he currently is in. The one terrified eye keeps coming up later in the story to add emphasis to the comparison. Later on Doug sees the picture of the Red-Throated Divers. The mother bird wants to fly away but can’t, and that the baby bird isn’t sure whether to follow the mother or the two other birds. I’m sure that just like the reality of Doug’s mother, who most likely yearns to leave but can’t because she must stay for that one baby bird. Last, Doug sees the puffin. At first he thinks they are chumps, ugly and fat and clumsy. But as the plot progresses, he see them in a new light as he starts to develop a liking for Lil. He draws them as if they like each other. It is a very interesting strategy. These pictures of birds represent good analogy to the characters and their situations. They make it easier to understand the person’s feelings and envision his or her difficult situation. Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt. Hmh Books for Young Readers, 2013. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process! Have you read this book? Or do you plan on reading it? Let us know in the comments below!
Book Reviews
Dodger Boy by Sarah Ellis, Reviewed by Nina Vigil, 11
Before I read this book, I had never read a book that was set in Canada…in the 1970s…that was not even published yet. This book was the first. The book in question? Dodger Boy by Sarah Ellis, and it was a serious page-turner. I read it twice! We think of the 1970s as a time of worldwide cultural change, but this book also illustrated how meeting just one new person can cause your life to take a different course. The main characters are Charlotte and Dawn, best friends who have a pact; to be Unteens. This means that they try not to act like every other teenager; obsessed with boyfriends, gossipy, moody, dramatic. They just want to enjoy life and have fun together until they’re adults. Then one day, Charlotte and Dawn see a poster for a “human be-in”, a gathering of people to hang out, enjoy themselves, and listen to speakers and live music. Out of curiosity as to what happens there, they decide to go. While undercover as hippies at the be-in, Charlotte and Dawn meet a draft dodger from Texas named Tom Ed. Tom Ed goes to stay at Charlotte’s house, and suddenly her life starts to get even messier. Not only is there a huge censorship drama involving Catcher in the Rye going on at school and the possibility of her favorite English teacher being fired, but now Dawn is acting alarmingly un-Unteen and not like herself. And on top of all that, a love triangle-or rather, a confusing love square-begins to form. How is Charlotte supposed to handle it all? The importance of integrity and sticking to your ideals is a strong theme throughout the book. While Dawn gives up on being Unteen in order to fit in, Charlotte stays true to herself and what she believes in, even though that leads to fights and disputes between the two. Tom Ed stays true to himself too, escaping the draft by running away to Canada in refusal to fight for a war he doesn’t believe in. One of the ideas the book explores is if it is ever okay to break rules – even laws – to keep from having to do something that seems wrong. As Tom Ed says “There’s no real good choice here. Only bad and worse. I chose bad.” The discussions between Charlotte and Tom Ed made me curious about a lot of things. Thanks to this book, I’m probably going to be doing a lot of researching about the Vietnam War. One thing I really liked about the book was that it talked about the ‘70s, draft dodging and the Vietnam War from a Canadian point of view. A lot of the time when we as Americans think about the Vietnam War, we think of it from an American standpoint. But since Canada was the main destination for draft evaders, it played a fundamental role in that part of history. I thought it was really interesting to learn about that from a different point of view. I absolutely loved Dodger Boy. It made me laugh in places, gave me some new ideas about a lot of things, and taught me quite a bit. It made me think about how much the world has changed (in many ways for the better!) in a relatively short amount of time. Whoever you are-kid, adult, teen, Unteen-you are sure to adore this book. Dodger Boy by Sarah Ellis. Groundwood Books, 2018. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process! Have you read this book? Or do you plan on reading it? Let us know in the comments below!
Author Interview: Patricia Newman, author of Plastic Ahoy! talks to Stone Soup blogger Lukas Cooke
Lukas Cooke, our young blogger interested in nature and the environment, recently had the opportunity to read one of Patricia Newman’s books, Plastic Ahoy!: Investigating the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, and then talk to the author about her books, her writing process and being a published author. Read the interview below! Patricia Newman Plastic Ahoy! Investigating the Great Pacific Garbage Patch Sea Otter Heroes Zoo Scientists to the Rescue Lukas Cooke: What inspired you to become an author, specifically to write about saving the natural world? Patricia Newman: My husband’s mother first suggested I try writing. I remember the exact moment. I was reading picture books to my one-year old son and four-year old daughter on the sofa. Before that I’d never considered writing as a job. My first books had nothing to do with the natural world. I wrote about railroading slang in Jingle the Brass and fighter pilot slang in Nugget on the Flight Deck. I also wrote several books that editors asked me to write. Through all that writing and researching, I hiked, visited nature centers and zoos, recycled, composted, and saved water, and yet it never occurred to me to write about our environment. An article in my local newspaper planted the initial seed. I read about a group of young scientists who set sail for the North Pacific to study plastic. I was hooked! LC: Did you always dream of becoming a writer? If not, what did you originally plan to be your career? PN: Not at all! I knew I wanted to work with kids and I taught math for a while. Then I wrote computer code for a software company. I also worked for Cornell University, my alma mater, raising money, talking to high school students, and meeting alumni. Although my various jobs required that I communicate through writing, I’d never thought of it as a career. I think I was afraid to share. You see in fifth grade I was bullied. At the time, sharing stories seemed like painting a target on my back. Something about becoming an adult and a parent made the bullies of my childhood powerless. I’m glad I changed my mind, but I’m sorry it took me so long to figure it out. LC: What is your favorite tip for new or aspiring writers? PN: Read. All writers are readers. It’s how we soak up the elements of good dialogue or a page-turning plot. It’s how we discover what annoys us about certain stories. (Have you ever read a book where you disagreed with how the character acted?) Reading improves our vocabulary so we can describe settings. It helps us understand that people are complicated so we create characters with complex emotions. Reading stimulates ideas and exercises the imagination. We uncover fascinating aspects of the world. I read because I’m curious. There’s no limit on knowing. Pack it in and let it shape who you will become. LC: It seems like a lot of research went into writing your books. Can you describe the process of how you do the research for a book you’re writing? PN: My books start with a kernel, such as the article about scientists sailing to the North Pacific to study plastic (Plastic, Ahoy!); my daughter’s job as an undergraduate with the Elephant Listening Project at Cornell University (Eavesdropping on Elephants); or a group of girls in a Kenyan village who can’t go to school (Neema’s Reason to Smile). From there I read—online, books, magazines, newspapers—anything my library or the Internet spits out on my topic of choice. I watch videos. I listen to speeches about my topic. I want to be sure the idea is book-worthy and will appeal to kids. I also look at published children’s books to see if anyone else has already written about my topic. Next, I contact the people I’d like to interview. In the case of Neema’s Reason to Smile, I interviewed two women closely involved with a school similar to the one in the book. In the case of my science nonfiction, I interview scientists. These people have jobs to do so they don’t have an unlimited amount of time to spend with me. If they don’t have the time or the interest in working with me, the idea dies. I know that sounds sad, but believe me, there are plenty more ideas to take its place! For Neema’s Reason to Smile I conducted several hours of interviews and watched video of real life kids who go to the school I was writing about. I also reread my travel diary from my long-ago trip to Kenya to remind myself of the smells and colors and light of Africa. I wrote the entire picture book before submitting to publishers. But my environmental science nonfiction is longer. Instead of writing the entire book, I write a proposal to sell my idea to an editor. The proposal includes an overview of my idea, a chapter outline with a brief explanation of what I plan to include in each chapter, and a section on the competition—what’s already out there on the subject and how my book will be different. Once I receive an editor’s go-ahead, I begin researching in earnest. Sometimes I travel, sometimes I don’t. For Sea Otter Heroes my daughter, Elise, and I went to the Elkhorn Slough near Monterey Bay in California. Brent Hughes, the scientist I interviewed, took us on an amazing boat trip down the slough. We saw a lot of marine life, including sea otters, seals, pelicans, herons, jellies, and crabs. I interviewed Brent and some of his colleagues. Elise took photos and asked her own questions. For Zoo Scientists to the Rescue photographer Annie Crawley and I visited three zoos in the US. We interviewed the scientists and took behind-the-scenes tours with them. We touched a rhino and watched an orangutan baby climb all over her mother. Traveling is a blast AND hard work. Scientists are extremely busy and can
