Join a club
Bookstore
Blog

Your cart is empty

About
Company
Community Policy
Learn more
Help & Support
FAQs
©2025 Fable Group Inc.
4.0 

Okay for Now

By Gary D. Schmidt
Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt digital book - Fable

Publisher Description

2011 National Book Award Finalist

As a fourteen-year-old who just moved to a new town, with no friends and a louse for an older brother, Doug Swieteck has all the stats stacked against him. So begins a coming-of-age masterwork full of equal parts comedy and tragedy from Newbery Honor winner Gary D. Schmidt. As Doug struggles to be more than the “skinny thug” that his teachers and the police think him to be, he finds an unlikely ally in Lil Spicer—a fiery young lady who “smelled like daisies would smell if they were growing in a big field under a clearing sky after a rain.” In Lil, Doug finds the strength to endure an abusive father, the suspicions of a whole town, and the return of his oldest brother, forever scarred, from Vietnam. Together, they find a safe haven in the local library, inspiration in learning about the plates of John James Audubon’s birds, and a hilarious adventure on a Broadway stage. In this stunning novel, Schmidt expertly weaves multiple themes of loss and recovery in a story teeming with distinctive, unusual characters and invaluable lessons about love, creativity, and survival.

Download the free Fable app

app book lists

Stay organized

Keep track of what you’re reading, what you’ve finished, and what’s next.
app book recommendations

Build a better TBR

Swipe, skip, and save with our smart list-building tool
app book reviews

Rate and review

Share your take with other readers with half stars, emojis, and tags
app comments

Curate your feed

Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communities
app book lists

Stay organized

Keep track of what you’re reading, what you’ve finished, and what’s next.
app book recommendations

Build a better TBR

Swipe, skip, and save with our smart list-building tool
app book reviews

Rate and review

Share your take with other readers with half stars, emojis, and tags
app comments

Curate your feed

Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communities

Okay for Now Reviews

4.0
default background

Lindsey

Created 18 days ago
Share
Report
“Nobody breaks my heart like Schmidt. Sam and I read this follow up to The Wednesday Wars together and I cried so many times, it’s embarrassing.”
default background

Lily Deuvall

Created about 1 month ago
Share
Report
“Potentially even better than The Wednesday Wars (one of my favorites by the way), I am so impressed by this book!! While I felt that some of the concluding scenes were a slightly unrealistic, I am satisfied with the ending and I wish I could continue to read about Doug’s story!!”
BelievableChange and growLikeableMemorableMultilayeredOriginalUnforgettable protagonistAddictiveFunnyRepetitiveTakes getting used toWhimsical toneWitty

About Gary D. Schmidt

Gary D. Schmidt is the bestselling author of The Labors of Hercules Beal; Just Like That; National Book Award finalist Okay for Now; Pay Attention, Carter Jones; Orbiting Jupiter; the Newbery Honor and Printz Honor Book Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy; and the Newbery Honor Book The Wednesday Wars. He lives in rural Michigan.

Other books by Gary D. Schmidt

Styx and Stones book cover

Styx and Stones

Gary D. Schmidt & Ron Koertge
$9.99
Mara's Stories: Glimmers in the Darkness book cover

Mara's Stories: Glimmers in the Darkness

Gary Schmidt
$14.99
A Day at the Beach book cover

A Day at the Beach

Gary D. Schmidt & Ron Koertge
$7.99
Jupiter Rising book cover

Jupiter Rising

Gary D. Schmidt
$7.99
A Little Bit Super book cover

A Little Bit Super

Gary D. Schmidt & Leah Henderson &
$7.99
The Labors of Hercules Beal book cover

The Labors of Hercules Beal

Gary D. Schmidt
$9.99
One Smart Sheep book cover

One Smart Sheep

Gary D. Schmidt & Elizabeth Stickney &
$14.99
Just Like That book cover

Just Like That

Gary D. Schmidt
$9.99
A Long Road on a Short Day book cover

A Long Road on a Short Day

Gary D. Schmidt & Elizabeth Stickney &
$15.99
Pay Attention, Carter Jones book cover

Pay Attention, Carter Jones

Gary D. Schmidt
$9.99
So Tall Within book cover

So Tall Within

Gary D. Schmidt & Daniel Minter
$14.99
Orbiting Jupiter book cover

Orbiting Jupiter

Gary D. Schmidt
$13.99
What Came from the Stars book cover

What Came from the Stars

Gary D. Schmidt
$9.99
Trouble book cover

Trouble

Gary D. Schmidt
$13.99
The Wednesday Wars book cover

The Wednesday Wars

Gary D. Schmidt
$9.99
Straw into Gold book cover

Straw into Gold

Gary D. Schmidt
$7.99
First Boy book cover

First Boy

Gary Schmidt
$2.99
Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy book cover

Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy

Gary D. Schmidt
$9.99

Start a Book Club

Start a public or private book club with this book on the Fable app today!

FAQ

Do I have to buy the ebook to participate in a book club?

Why can’t I buy the ebook on the app?

How is Fable’s reader different from Kindle?

Do you sell physical books too?

Are book clubs free to join on Fable?

How do I start a book club with this book on Fable?

Notification Icon
Clubs
Explore
About
Learn more
Follow us
©2025 Fable Group Inc.
Help & Support•Privacy•Copyright Policy•Terms of Service
•
Fable uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB