Book Reviews / YA Contemporary

Book Review: We Are Okay by Nina LaCour

Dini @ dinipandareads12 Comments

We Are Okay
Publisher: Penguin Books
Pub Date: 14 February 2017
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Fiction

Panda Rating:

(3.5 pandas)

📖 SYNOPSIS

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.

An intimate whisper that packs an indelible punch , We Are Okay is Nina LaCour at her finest. This gorgeously crafted and achingly honest portrayal of grief will leave you urgent to reach across any distance to reconnect with the people you love.

⚠️ CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS

Death of parent, death of a grandfather from drowning, mental illness, grief

I put off reading this for years because it gave such sad read vibes that I knew I had to be emotionally prepared for it. But seeing as January 2024 seems to have me in my sad reads era, I finally picked it up and yep, we are not okay, Nina LaCour. 🥲 That is, this book was beautiful, sad, touching and healing and I’m so glad that I finally read it.

This was a short, well-paced and fast read. It’s a character-driven story and it focuses on Marin’s journey of acceptance and the beginning of her healing. Despite being incredibly heartbreaking, profoundly sad and achingly lonely, there is hope at the end of this book and it is much needed after the last 15% hits you with all the emotions. There’s nothing particularly special about the writing but LaCour infuses this deep sense of quiet stillness and grief in her very simple words that set the atmosphere well. We’re not distracted from the pain by pretty overly philosophical words, it simply is what it is.

The author steadily builds up our curiosity (and admittedly dread) as to what happened with Gramps and how Marin got to where she is today, separated and alone from everyone she loves. Although the incoming sadness is often alluded to in various flashbacks and as Marin unveils the tale to Mabel, we don’t find out everything until the very end. While flashbacks aren’t necessarily my favourite, in this, we don’t go back years only months and I thought it was well done to illustrate the difference in Marin before and after. As an emotional reader, of course, I cried buckets at the end and my heart hurt for her so badly. But I think anyone who has had to deal with grief, loss, and heartache in some form, will be able to relate to this story and our characters’ emotions. Ultimately, the story ends on a much-needed note of hope and healing and it was a touching and impactful conclusion to Marin’s story.

Have you read We Are Okay or is it on your TBR?

12 thoughts on “Book Review: We Are Okay by Nina LaCour”

  3. DINI I READ THIS TWO YEARS AGO AND IT’S ONE OF THE SADDEST, MOST BEAUTIFUL STORIES IVE EVER EVER EVER HAD THE PREVILEGE OF READING. i sobbed for like 3 hrs after, but it was so worth it. NINA LACOUR’S A GENIUS AND I NEED TO READ MORE OF HER WORK.

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