Terrific.

First, I think I should say two things: a)This review is going to be really cheesy, and b)THAT HORRIFIC COVER does in NO WAY this book justice. I don't care if this is a 'boy' book aimed at middle schoolers, it made this seventeen-year old girl cry and laugh and cry some more to the point that everyone else in my house was a little worried (thank goodness I didn't read this in public). If you've read my status updates for this book, it's indescribable.

I can't even quote the best parts in this book because each line builds upon everything you know about that character and their relationships with who they're talking to; it's so rewarding in the end because almost every conversation made me laugh and love the characters even more. Mrs. Windermere's (Skinny Delivery Boy, what ice cream did I order?), the science teacher (oh Clarence), the librarians, Doug's brothers (and there was a beautiful part where.. agh I can't, just read this book), the BIRDS, the play at the end where I was laughing like a maniac, I'm sorry, this review isn't very informative for people wondering what this book is about. You know those 'a-HA!' moments you get when you're reading and something brilliant happens? Like when Jellicoe Road actually starts making sense, or the entire ending to Unwind, or when Harry realizes where that Horcrux was all along, or when you realize who Lucy actually went on a date with in Graffiti Moon? OKAY FOR NOW has tons of these, in a brilliant, subtle, everyday way.

One thing that always makes me love a book, especially a book you can say is aimed for a younger audience, is not dividing the characters into Evil and Good. Yes, Doug gets bullied and is treated unfairly, but those same bad guys are people too, and they have depths that extend past being an antagonist for the main character. One thing that I did notice, however, was that the good characters actually don't work vice versa; they're pure and good through and through, so it'd be nicer if they could venture into that gray area as well. Not that I want Doug's mother to start beating people up or anything, but the characters that start out kind don't develop throughout the story.

The writing is subtle but I'm convinced that Schmidt has mad skills. There aren't any fancy words or self-indulgent descriptions. This is the perfect book to read if you want to get away from all that pretentious stuff, but that's just because Schmidt doesn't need to overload the reader with pretty adjectives and crazy elaborate metaphors. You can tell when writing is good when you're reading it on an e-reader; even good books lose my interest when I'm not reading it on print, but when the writing is truly, truly amazing, then, it doesn't matter if I'm reading it off the screen. It transcends that.

The emotion that Doug's simple narration got out of me... I don't even know. Every time he says 'Do you know how that feels?' I needed to take a break because WHAT DO YOU THINK I FEEL?! I FEEL WEIRDLY PROUD OF YOU AND it was like I could physically feel my heart... not breaking, because I was just so happy



Ya I know I'm using that meme photo incorrectly but that's what I looked like when I reading this book. So yeah. This book is amazing. I'm going to go make my little brother read it now. And then the rest of my gal pals. And my parents. Great books shouldn't be pigeonholed into one audience, after all.