We Are Okay by Nina LaCour

Hardcover, 234 pages
Release Date: February 14, 2017
Published by: Dutton Books for Young Readers
Read from: March 27-30, 2017 
Stand-alone
Source: Library
For fans of: Marginalized Voices, Contemporary, LGBTQIA+, Mental Illness, YA

     You go through life thinking there’s so much you need…
     Until you leave with only your phone, your wallet, and a picture of your mother.
     Marin hasn’t spoken to anyone from her old life since the day she left everything behind. No one knows the truth about those final weeks. Not even her best friend, Mabel. But even thousands of miles away from the California coast, at college in New York, Marin still feels the pull of the life and tragedy she’s tried to outrun. Now, months later, alone in an emptied dorm for winter break, Marin waits. Mabel is coming to visit, and Marin will be forced to face everything that’s been left unsaid and finally confront the loneliness that has made a home in her heart.

*MY THOUGHTS*

     I've only read one book of Nina LaCour's so I was ready for another. When I heard this one was coming out and there was so much buzz about it, I decided I needed to put it on my TBR. I was hooked and I couldn't stop reading it! One day Marin picks up and completely leaves her old life behind. This includes her best friend who has texted and called her constantly, just to see how she's doing. Now after so many months apart, Marin is finally ready to let Mabel back in her life. 
"I mean there are too many failings. Not enough hope. Everything is despair. Everything is suffering. What I mean is don't be a peprson who seek out grief. There is enough of that in life."
pg. 87
     Y'all, this book is SO SAD. But it's also SO ENGROSSING. I could not put this book down. Everytime I had to, I had a tantrum like a two year old. I wanted nothing more than to figure out what was up with Marin. I could've binge read this in a day, but of course this week I've been swamped with homework. 
"I can't tell," I say, "if the trouble is coming or if its passed and already left them."
pg. 95
          Also, the characterization was on point. Really liked how they were developed for themselves as well as how they interacted together. I loved finding out more about them as the story went on. Most novels give an "info dump" on the character in character driven stories, but not this one. It was interesting to see how Marin succeeded on her own in every situation she faced. 
"What did it mean, to be missing? What did it mean, to believe?."
pg. 172
          And last but not least, I loved the writing style. I enjoyed this one much more than her other one I read. I guess you could say I'm more prepared for this one. I'll admit it, I'm more drawn to books that feature a great romance and since the other one I read didn't have one, I was really that into it. Coming into this novel, I figured it mught be like the last one so I knew what to expect. (Even though I said all that, I still liked the other book by her that I've read and I really liked this one too!)
"Sometimes its difficult to know the right thing to do."
pg. 197
     This book is all about saddness, grief, and still making a way when you think you don't have one. Although I need something light and fluffy to read after this, I really enjoyed it. Now that I know what to expect from her other books, I may go and read the others!
Overall, I give this

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