We are Okay

We Are Okay
Nina LaCour
Dutton/Penguin, 2017  234 pages
Grades 9-Up
Realistic Fiction

College freshman, Marin, will be the only student left on campus at her east coast college during winter break. She will be spending Christmas in the dorms, alone with only a groundskeeper driving by to check on her. Marin is visibly nervous about an impending visit from her friend Mabel and after a busy day of preparations Mabel arrives. Mabel is Marin's previous best friend from her coastal northern California home. Slowly, through a series of flashback we see the history of this friendship, which turned to romance the previous summer.  We also slowly discover that Marin's sole relative, a beloved grandfather, died at the end of the summer, leaving her bereft and shattered. After the death of Gramps Marin escaped California and the life she knew there to begin again on the opposite coast. Now Mabel's visit is stirring up memories and emotions that Marin thought she buried. Mabel is in a new relationship with a boy, which forces Marin to acknowledge her feelings and return Mabel to friendship/sister status. Mabel's family wants Marin to return to California for the holidays and join their family. She is sorely tempted, but isn't ready to open her heart again. Confusion about the secrets that Gramps was hiding and bereaving the mother she never knew, Marin is not sure if she is ready to enter into a new family situation. Meanwhile, her artistic heart sours as she enters a pottery shop and makes a connection with the owner. Will she find her way to inner-peace through creating pottery? Mabel leaves and Marin is again alone, but is this what she really wants?

I have been hearing a lot about this book and it's been on my radar to read. I incorrectly thought it was a science fiction book. I think I got this impression from the cover, where the girl looks like she is standing on the moon. It is very far from science fiction. Instead, this is a heartfelt realistic/coming of age tale that will appeal to fans of John Green. Not much happens in this story. Readers will keep turning pages in order to discover what has left Marin so broken and then to find out if she finds some healing and allows herself to love again. Since the past is unraveled slowly, LaCour holds the reader's interest and the story feels almost like a mystery. The contrast between the sunny California party summer and snowy New York desolate winter is striking and mirrors Marin's emotions. Not much on plot, instead We Are Okay is a character driven novel. The reader really gets to know Marin and walk in her shoes during this critical time in her life. Mable is also fully realized, as is Gramps, a character that you wish you knew in real life. Based on the amazing reviews it received, fifty-six libraries in my county purchased this book, yet only eight are currently checked out, which is a very low number for a relatively new book in my overpopulated library consortium. This goes to show that although the book is excellently written, it will appeal to a limited readership comprised of mostly thoughtful and patient readers who will appreciate a quietly beautiful coming of age tale.