We Are Okay

I first read Nina LaCour’s We Are Okay shortly after it was published, and now that it’s been released in paperback, I feel compelled to write about it. It’s a quiet, character-driven book about family, first love, loneliness, and grief. When Marin’s grandfather dies unexpectedly, she’s left with no one. She heads from California to New York for college, where she suffers in silence for months before her childhood friend Mabel comes to visit her over winter break. LaCour’s writing is beautiful and melancholy, her storytelling straightforward and intimate. We Are Okay is so much more than just a pretty cover—and it is indeed a gorgeous cover. (12 and up)