We Are Okay Hardcover – February 14, 2017

A must-read for anyone who has experienced grief. It was a sweet, quick read that literally had me sobbing at one point. The surprise twist even got me and I usually call those things very early on.

I'm not a good book reviewer, and this book has plenty of substantive reviews, so read those. I will say that I am also not an especially fast reader, and I read this book in one sitting, in 3 hours. The second half of the book is MUCH better than the first half. The first half was a slog, but I stuck with it. I was crying by the end, but your mileage may vary. After I finished I read the reviews and saw one reviewer state "stick with it" - and I concur with that. There's payoff. There's also some PG-13 erotic stuff in here, so keep that in mind if you're considering this for a YA reader. Also, this explores mental illness, grief, suicide, and other mature topics. I personally don't consider the LGBTQ+ aspect of it a "mature" topic because love and families comes in all varieties, and no child is too young to understand that. But there are still other mature topics in this book. Anyway, read other reviews for substantive analysis. My review is mostly to tell you that if you're a generally intelligent average reader, you can get through this book in 3 hours and that by the end it's worth it even if it starts out slow. To me the fact that it's a short read is a bonus, because I don't read nearly as many acclaimed/awarded books as I'd like to, and this is a good and award-winning book.

This brought out feelings of my own life. The more I read the more I thought of my past & the mistakes I'd make & the way I'd changed my life. I ended up not wanting to stop reading this book.

I gave this book 4.5 Stars but rounded up to 5 as it was closer to 5 than 4.This book seriously hit me with the feelings. It feels like it has been a LONG time since anything that I have read brought me tears. I liked the idea of this book and it was so beautifully crafted that it ended up being much more than I expected. I really FELT the Emerson quote that the author chose to use and feel like it is an important message for everyone (I am including the full quote here even though it was shortened a bit for the book):“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.” -Ralph Waldo EmersonI was surprised by the turn of events, though I did see a few small details coming. The ending was so lovely, it has left me feeling uplifted and satisfied with the future for these characters when I am typically left wanting so much more.

I loved “We are Okay.” I loved it because I love teens and ache for their home lives and tragedies. At age three, Marin, who doesn’t know her father, loses her mother. Her grandfather, who adored his daughter Claire, takes responsibility for Marin. By most appearances, he is a good grandfather; he teases, jokes, gives Marin space, gives her growing up advice, and approves of her best friend Mabel. He seems like a normal grandfather. Then he dies at the end of Marin’s senior year of high school and she discovers her grandfather’s lies and secrets. Traumatized, Marin quietly leaves town for college and isolates herself there. Her best friend Mabel tracks her down. This is a book about healing and seeing things differently. I highly recommend it. (I cried good tears.)

I started this book with very high expectations. I heard great things about it: "it's so relatable" "the story is beautiful" "the characters are very realistic" "it'll change your life" etc.... I also heard the book isn't plot driven, but rather character driven, which I'm completely fine with. I read this book in a few days, and when I finished it I didn't really know how to feel. Usually I think about books a lot after I read them, but I had nothing to think about after reading this book. Sometimes I see it on my shelf and forget that I even read it, because it's just so forgettable.Things I like about the book: A lot of the writing is beautiful and poetic! Nina LaCour's illustration with words are so so beautiful. Her exploration of grief is a great example of this. Subtle and realistic LGBTQ+ character. Marin, the main character of the book, is queer but Nina LaCour doesn't make it her whole persona like some authors do!Favorite part of the book: The Frida Kahlo painting discussion, and the end.Things I don't like about the book: The plot, or lack of plot. Yes the book is character driven, but we still need a somewhat decent plot. It books seem very slow at times (and yes I understand it is shifting back and forth between different time periods) and there where so many opportunities for LaCour to give us something more in terms of plot. Also, I didn't understand the purpose of some characters and their placements in the book, some of them were unrealistic.All in all, this book is okay! Read it if you're interested, but you're not missing out on much if you decide not to.

I have been enjoying this book. It bounces from present tense to past tense weaving together deep relatable emotion dabbling in love, loss, grief, and self reflection. Worth the read.

Es un libro bastante lindo, habla sobre el duelo de perder a un ser querido, amor incondicional y las batallas a las que se enfrenta una joven que se queda sola en un momento muy importante de su vida. Es una lectura rapidísima y muy bella.

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Beautiful story. I like Marin very much. She put words into things I never thought it was possible. I don’t feel connected to her but she is more like me than any other characters of books I’ve read before. She wonders about things I thought I was the only one. It’s short but beautiful.