Clemmie Judges

WE ARE OKAY

BOOK INFO

Title: We are Okay

Author: Nina LaCour

Pages: 236

Publication date: February 14th 2017

Description: You go through life thinking there's so much you need...

Until you leave with only your phone, your wallet, and a picture of your mother.

Marin hasn't spoken to anyone from her old life since the day she left everything behind. No one knows the truth about those final weeks. Not even her best friend, Mabel. But even thousands of miles away from the California coast, at college in New York, Marin still feels the pull of the life and tragedy she's tried to outrun. Now, months later, alone in an emptied dorm for winter break, Marin waits. Mabel is coming to visit, and Marin will be forced to face everything that's been left unsaid and finally confront the loneliness that has made a home in her heart.

REVIEW

And yet another short review for another short read. No, really, I finished it in, say, 5 hours. Which might be a record for me.

After reading Everything Leads to You, I knew I had to buy more of Mrs LaCour's books. I wanted to feel that same ease. The trust that I was in good hands. Some authors can write great books then write bad ones. (Brandon Sanderson.) Some authors write vastly different stories to the point where you can't trust them anymore. (Patrick Ness.)

But Nina LaCour? Oh. No, no, no. She knows her strengths, and she plays to it. Whereas Everything Leads to You is simple and sweet, We are Okay is simple and bittersweet.

It's everything I hoped for and, more importantly, it's a quick and easy read. It doesn't try too hard to be something it's not. It promises us something, and it delivers its promise. 

Another thing I liked about it is the main character and her sexual orientation. I won't say anything more, but I will say that, after reading her previous book, I knew there's no way in hell Nina LaCour is straight. No straight people can write a story like that. And I was right! Turns out Nina has a wife and daughter! Congrats for her!

I especially like the direction this book takes. I think I prefer this one over Everything Leads to You, because it has more weight. (Ironic considering this book has a shorter word count.) 

Did this book make me cry? 

Not really. But that's not the book's fault. That's just because I'm super desensitised. 

Did this book move me?

Yes, even if for a moment. It got me all solemn and quiet and introspective. And that's more than I can say for any other books. (Cough, cough, Dare Me.) 

In the end, this is a good and short book. The kind you can finish in a day. The kind you can read curled up under your blankets with a hot tea. The kind you can trust. And I thank Nina LaCour for writing it. I really do.

My only complaint (which isn't even really a complaint) is that it didn't move me more. Then again, the last time a book really moved me was when I read Eliza and Her Monsters. Which would be about a year ago.

Yaiks. Time flies by fast, huh?

Rating: 10/10