Tuesday, November 21, 2017

We Are Okay
Author: Nina Lacour
Release date: February 14th 2017
Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers
Series: N/A
Age Group:Young Adult
Genre: Contemporary 
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | The Book Depository 
Add to your library: Goodreads

"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.  (via Goodreads)


Review


         We Are Okay took my breath away. Right from the beginning, I was so hooked. I didn't stop reading until the last page. It was that consuming.

           How do I even tell you about Marin's story without giving away too much? I'm afraid I'll spoil it when I say even the tiniest details. If I say anything, it'll make it less of a mystery.  I'll do my best not to spoil anything!

         From the synopsis itself, the story surrounding Marin screamed mystery. I was curious as to what happened to her. As I read through the book, my heart ached for her and the people around her. She was fragile, so vulnerable. How she ended up in New York was the mystery but within that mystery was another mystery. It was all about her family and the secrets she grew up knowing and not knowing. Add to that her relationship with her best friend, Mabel. I think it all made Marin a little overwhelmed that she just ended up in New York a little early for school.

          Marin's relationship with Mabel was a bit tense and complicated, and yet I love how Mabel was with Marin. When Mabel visited Marin at her dormitory, She tried her best for Marin. Sometimes, we think we don't need anyone so we try to push them off no matter how close we are to them. That's how Marin was to Mabel. She dreaded Mabel's visit. She counted the days of her visit. Yet as they spend time together, memories of the past haunted them and made them vulnerable for each other. What happened between the two of them during that visit made them both stronger for themselves and for each other. After learning what happened to Marin, I'm just happy she has a Mabel in her life. I hope each and every one of us has our own Mabel.

         Towards the end of the story, I was nervous. Mabel's visit wasn't just a visit anyway. It was a chance to convince Marin to go back home with her. Did she go home? That's for you to find out. All I can say is that the ending didn't disappoint. 

        This story is a little close to my heart as it holds secrets. Maybe I'm biased but hey, Nina Lacour's writing was definitely something I can always come back to. There was this rawness as if the story was real, as if it was alive.

            We Are Okay definitely lived up to its title. That no matter what we go through, we are okay. That yes, we have to deal with our struggles and our shortcomings, but we end up okay. That we don't have to be alone. That life can be messy sometimes but we have to go on. Because in the end, we are
okay.
           




      About the Author


Nina LaCour

Nina LaCour is the author of three critically acclaimed young adult novels published by Dutton Books: Hold Still, The Disenchantments, and Everything Leads to You. You Know Me Well, a novel written in collaboration with David Levithan, is forthcoming from St. Martin's Griffin in June, 2016.


She has tutored, taught, and guest lectured in various places, including Berkeley City College, Maybeck High School, Stanford University, and Mills College, where she received an MFA in Creative Writing in 2006. Her novels have been Junior Library Guild selections, ALA Best Books for Young Adults, and have appeared on many state and regional lists. Nina won the 2009 Northern California Book Award for Children’s Literature, was featured in Publishers Weekly as a Flying Starts Author, and was a finalist for the William C. Morris award. She loves teaching, reading work by emerging and established writers, and talking about the craft of fiction.


She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her wife, photographer Kristyn Stroble, and their daughter.



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