We are Okay

 1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Lacour, Nina. 2017. We are okay. New York: Dutton Books. ISBN 9780525425892

2. PLOT SUMMARY

Just finishing her senior year in high school, Marin disappears to another state for college when she learns of her grandfather’s death and betrayal.  During the winter break, all of her school friends return home, but Marin has nowhere to go.  Marin allows her best friend, Mabel, to visit.  Mabel desperately tries to find out what is plaguing Marin.  

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

This novel will hook the reader in the beginning by piquing their interest about what happened in Marin’s past life in California. Although alone during the holiday break, the author brings the protagonist’s best friend into the picture to get a glimpse into her past.  The reader is left wondering what happened to Marin’s grandfather as the protagonist says, “Every time I think about him, a black pit blooms in my stomach and breathing becomes a struggle.”  Through the author’s use of imagery, we get a sense that something bad has happened.  This is also shown through the character Marin and Mabel’s dialogue with one another, “What happened with him…It was more than you know.” 

The story weaves back and forth in a nonlinear fashion. Some chapters are solely written in one tense, and sometimes each chapter goes back and forth. The parts written in past tense allow the reader to get insight into the protagonist’s life before she came to New York and what is conflicting her. The author uses similes such as “Now everything resonates, sticks like a splinter, festers” to show how Marin views the world now. The present tense writing allows the reader to feel in the moment.

The setting is very symbolic.  It takes place in New York during the winter months.  The cold, dreary weather highlights the dark and melancholy themes in this story.

Young adults can easily relate to this book as it deals with powerful themes of loneliness, loss, betrayal, and grief.  The protagonist not only deals with the loss of loved ones, but has lost a sense of who she was, “...but I can feel the ghost of me creeping back, remember me?”  In the end, the author concludes the novel with an emotionally satisfying experience.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

2018 Michael L. Printz Award

Booklist, STARRED REVIEW: “LaCour paints a captivating depiction of loss, bewilderment, and emotional paralysis . . . raw and beautiful.” 

Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW: “LaCour strikes a new path through a familiar story, leading readers with her confident writing and savvy sense of prose.” 

Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW: “A moving portrait of a girl struggling to rebound after everything she’s known has been thrown into disarray.”

School Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW: “Beautifully crafted . . . . A quietly moving, potent novel.” 

5. CONNECTIONS

Other books with similar themes: 

Sanchez, Erika       I am not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter         ISBN 9781524700485

Niven, Jennifer      Holding up the Universe                                   ISBN 978-0385755955

 

Students can create a graphic organizer on padlet to show one theme of the novel and various examples to support this theme.  

Readers can have a discussion about what the title means.

Readers can compare/contrast how Marin deals with grief versus her grandfather.