Overall rating: 4/5
NON SPOILERY SECTION
This is a simple yet deeply haunting YA novel that tackles loss and grief as its main themes. We follow our main character, Marin, as she struggles to cope with the aftermath of her grandfather’s mysterious death. The story begins with Marin’s best friend Mabel, someone she hasn’t seen since the passing of her grandfather months ago, coming to visit her at her university dorm room during the holidays. Slowly, we find out what happened between Marin and Mabel, why they drifted apart, and what happened to Marin’s grandfather. This story primarily tackles the question “how do you grieve someone whose death left you with more questions than answers?”.
This book is, without a doubt, simple. The prose is in no way complex nor does it have the flowery writing that seems to be growing more and more popular within the YA genre, but it still manages to pack a punch I have still yet to see in a lot of the other more complex and intricate books I have read. There is something to be said about how LaCour manages to condense such a deep, dark topic into a book that is so easily digestible to readers of most reading abilities.
LaCour successfully treats the topic of death in a sensitive manner without ever making the plot feel slow or feel like its lacking. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. This book does pacing so perfectly through its foreshadowing and dual timeline narrative. It was exactly what it needed to be and I think it accomplished all of its goals perfectly. I think a lot of books tend to be much longer than it needs to be, and authors have a tendency to write something in 300 pages that they could’ve written in 100 and LaCour is not only self aware enough to avoid that problem, but utilizes the short length of this book to her advantage.
We Are Okay also features some brilliant LGBTQA+ representation. As someone who is bisexual, I love having books where the representation is just a casual part of the character and not a defining part of the plot (although books like that are important too). I love seeing other bisexuals (and other LGBTQ+ people) just exist in books. It really helps towards acceptance, as it treats sexuality as just a casual part of a person as opposed to something taboo. Another trap a lot of authors fall into is making the character’s oppression their defining characteristic and their whole personality, and I just don’t really enjoy reading that. I adore the love story subplot that runs throughout this novel that I unfortunately can’t really elaborate on without spoiling the whole thing. All I can say is, the representation is blended into the characters’ arc so seamlessly, it never feels clunky or out of place at any point in the novel.
Overall, this book achieved everything it needed to perfectly. It didn’t ramble in a way that would draw you out of the story, the characters were deeply engaging and it’s one of those books that you just can’t put down. I picked up this book hoping I could read a chapter or so before going to bed, and it kept me up until 3am because I became so invested in the lives of these characters.
Heavy, heavy trigger warnings for this book, if you have any questions about them feel free to message me on Instagram. I will put these in white in case you don’t want to know and consider it a spoiler so just highlight to read them: suicide, death, parental death, drowning, depression, hallucinations. (ends here).
SPOILERY SECTION
This book had me on edge the entire time. I love the way LaCour portrays Marin’s grandfather’s death, and how we never really find out what happens. I'm someone who really likes cliffhangers when it comes to books about death because I feel like it perfectly encapsulates the way you just can't help but feel like your time with someone has been cut short. This is especially important in a death that is not so clean cut like Marin's grandfather.
I really like that this book deals with the question of how you grieve someone who lied to you so much? How do you grieve someone when you’re questioning whether or not you ever truly knew them? I thought the reveal of what happened to Marin’s grandfather was done at the perfect time and the room contained Marin’s mother things was set up perfectly. I think that room was the most haunting part of the whole story and really shows just how traumatising death can be, causing them to change parts of themselves they otherwise wouldn't. The foreshadowing in this book was done immaculately. I can’t say enough good things about the set up, the plot and the pacing.
I felt so many emotions and the fact that LaCour managed to make me feel so attached to Marin and Mabel within about 200 pages is so impressive. I loved their relationship dynamic. I was so worried at some point Mabel would cheat because that has a tendency to happen in books like this where two past lovers reunite, and I’m so glad that she never fell into that trope. When Mabel came back at the very end, I cried from relief because a part of me just felt so unsatisfied and incomplete when she left. A part of me was screaming “is this it? Is this really all the development between them amounts to?” so I’m very happy LaCour added that little bit at the end. Also, after so much devastation and bleakness, it’s nice to have a happy note.
If you have read this book, PLEASE come talk to me about it on my instagram (literaseabooks). I’m surprised it’s not more popular on booktube or book twitter. Thank you if you’ve made it this far, don’t forget to press the heart if you liked it and subscribe at the bottom of the page if you want to stay updated with my reviews.
