Let’s not talk about how long it’s been since I’ve posted, or how many books I’ve read since the last time I sat down to write like this. (It’s triple digits, y’all.) Instead, let’s talk about a young adult book I’ve read a couple times: We Are Okay by Nina LaCour.
I’ve read a few LaCour novels–The Disenchantments and Everything Leads to You (LOVE)–and so I knew I would finish this book and believe for a few days that the world she created was real. In a vibrant, pulsing way. LaCour has this magical writing style that makes the scenery vivid and the characters just nestle right into it; she manages to create a world that feels real and true and possible and contemporary. And honestly, as someone who mostly writes contemporary fiction, I can tell you this is a feat and for that alone I would recommend reading her work.
Except that she’s also amazing at character creation and depth. I always end her books feeling like I need to know more about this flawed friend she has given me to love.
We Are Okay is, in particular, about loneliness and grief and the enduring power of true relationships. It’s set against a snowy New York winter in an empty college dorm, which fits the main character’s feeling of distance from everyone. When Stephanie Perkins said the book was “so lonely and beautiful that I could hardly breathe,” she hit the nail on the head. You feel that enduring weight throughout the book, even as Marin, the main character, struggles to turn the corner on her grief into feeling okay.
It’s an absolutely gorgeous, heartbreaking book, and I know that seems like a weird recommendation for right now; but the world is heavy and sad, and sometimes the struggle to find beauty and understanding in that is so real. So frustrating. Something about reading this book made it easier to look around and see some of those bright spots of light. It probably doesn’t hurt that the book feels like a lighter read than it is because it’s a little shorter in length than some of her other work.
I mostly read YA and romance, and I’ll make sure to indicate which sort I am reviewing for you. I’m not affiliated with any specific site or bookstore, but if I received the book through any sort of program (like Kindle Unlimited or the library, etc.) I will be fully open with you all about it.
For now, I’m just happy to be back.
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