We Are Okay Book Review

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Marin runs away from home when she experiences grief beyond what any teenager should. Alone in her dorm during winter break, she thinks back on what she left behind. Then, in an interruption from her loneliness, her best friend, Mabel, comes to visit and Marin is forced to face her past. Flipping between past and present, we learn what Marin has been running away from and whether she will choose to confront it now, or let the fear inside her take hold.

I read LaCour’s Everything Leads to You a little while ago, and adored it! So I was really excited to read another one of her books (and pretty confident I would love it too). I think what’s important to know before going into this, is that it’s a slow-burn and one which will take you by surprise, but I promise it’s worth it to stick with it!

LaCour’s depiction of grief, and love, and hope, are truly beautiful and I loved how raw the emotions feel it in. Yes this is a young adult book, but Marin feels well beyond her teenage years and the depth of the narrative and the characters in it is something to behold. The relationship between Marin and Mabel is beautiful but also so real – it isn’t perfect and they don’t always know the right things things to say, but you could see how they just want the best for each other and there’s a lot of beauty in that.

Again, mentioning the slow-burn nature of the book, there isn’t much in the way of a ‘storyline’ per say, but the flashbacks are full of emotion and full of surprises, and even in the present too I just loved how painfully honest the book managed to be.

Ultimately, this is a book about the pain that life can bring but the sentiment that ultimately we will be okay. It’s a quietly impactful book and it will go down as one of my favourite reads of 2022. Even more excited now to read even more from Nina LaCour!