The One-in-a-Million Boy

This book is a really lovely piece of writing, if there's any critique to be made, it may be a bit overlong. However, it's well worth your reading time.

The story revolves around the impact an 11yo boy scout has on several adults and how each individual's love for that child connects them to each other. When the story begins, the boy has recently died (that's not a spoiler) and the book deals with the grieving of the adults who love him, how they come to love (or at least have more empathy for) each other because of loving him and how the boy's love inspires each of them to heal or grow beyond their brokenness.

It's a different sort of love story that's uplifting without being saccharine and hopeful without being maudlin. Recommended, show more highly. show less

This beautifully crafted novel centers around the friendship between a 104 year old woman, Ona, and the young boy scout who is assigned to do good deeds for her for several weeks. After the boy's sudden tragic death, his father Quinn assumes responsibilities to help out instead. Because of his emotional and physical absence as a father, Quinn tries to make penance, both with Ona and with his twice-ex-wife. One of the boy's fixations was Guinness World Records, and since he and Ona had determined that she would break a record as the oldest licensed driver, Quinn and Bella set out to make that happen. Wood's writing is beautifully simple and lyrical, and the characters she portrays are wonderfully quirky, endearing, and complex.

I love books about disparate people coming together to make a sort of family, and this book touched on a lot of my favorite things. The main focus is the developing relationship between an elderly woman dealing with the isolation and loss of function that has come with aging while reflecting back on her regrets from her life, and a middle aged man facing the loss of his marriage, his son, and the final waning of his childhood dreams. The characters are brought together by the man's adolescent son, who has recently and suddenly died. This book is beautifully written, and the characters feel very real.

Oh. Oh, how I loved this book. It captured my imagination immediately, and it didn’t let go - not even for a moment - the entire time I was reading it. The writing is lyrical, poetic, and breathtaking. The plot heartbreaking, uplifting, and hopeful. The characters genuine, likeable, and so very, very human. I haven’t read a book like this in ages. I wanted to live inside the world Wood created. I wanted to be friends with Ona, and Quinn, and Belle. And most of all, I wanted to know the boy the way they knew him, because I’m sure my life, too, would be enriched by his presence. The One-In-A-Million Boy takes an honest, sweet, and lovely look at the challenges of loving someone with a developmental disability - while never naming show more the boy’s disability, or the boy himself. An absolute triumph of a novel. I can’t wait to read more of Wood’s work. show less

Ona Vitkus is 104 years old and lives alone in a house that belonged to her son. A local scout troop provides a continuous stream of 11-year-old boys to do basic chores in her house and yard. One day, a grown man appears -- the father of a scout taking over his son's duties after he suddenly and inexplicably dies. Quinn, still in the throes of grief, sets out to fulfill his the boy's service commitment. What follows is a multi-threaded tale of love, marriage, friendship, aging, and grief. Ona's life story is revealed slowly, through tape-recorded interviews made by the boy, and sometimes by her revelations to Quinn.The reader quickly becomes invested in Quinn's relationship with his former wife, Bella, and Quinn's pursuit of a career as show more a music performer, against the odds. The nameless boy is a constant presence, not only because of the obvious grief but also his dogged pursuit of a Guinness World Record for Ona.

This novel's characters were so real to me, and the story tugged at my emotions in a realistic (not sappy) way. The spirit of the boy seemed to pervade everyone and the ending was very satisfying. Highly recommended. show less

This novel traces the posthumous influence of an 11 year-old boy on a sympathetic set of adults, and traces the effects of his life and death to self-discovery, love, responsibility, and record-setting longevity. It’s a unique, gratifying read, written with intelligence, wisdom, and kindness. The author’s kindness extends to her characters as well as her readers: the love the characters feel for each other reaches the surface in unusual ways. And Monica Wood’s readers feel her kindness through the realistic strivings and the partial and sometimes surprising success they meet with. This is superb.

A shy, unaccomplished 11 year-old Boy Scout visits 104 year-old Ona to assist with chores and record her history, as part of an exercise show more to earn a merit badge. Ona is Lithuanian and sharp as a tack. She’s lived in the U.S. since 1913, was married to a dull, unloving man for nearly three decades, but has nevertheless lived an interesting life. After the boy’s passing, his father Quinn takes over. First he takes on the chores, and eventually he fills a void which the youngster’s passing has created.

Quinn is in many ways the focus of the story. He performs chores around the house for Ona scrupulously at first, before their relationship gels into a friendship. Quinn’s marriage has fractured - twice - but Ona observes Quinn’s continuing devotion to his ex-wife Belle. She finds she admires Quinn’s perseverance and kindness, and allows him to pursue her plan to re-qualify for her driver’s license. This license is a wonderful trope by Wood, a hard encapsulation of Ona’s determined will to continue to function normally despite her age.

“The One-in-a-Million Boy” has such a big heart: it has space for everyone’s ambitions, everyone’s failings, everyone’s redemption, everyone’s love. I recommend this book as heartily as I have before for Wood, one of my favorites. “My Only Story” is superb, “Any Bitter Thing” gratifying and balanced, but “The One-in-a-Million Boy” takes the cake. A multiple award winner, and my new favorite among Wood’s oeuvre, be sure to take this one up! show less

What a beautiful story! This book was such an unexpected pleasure. I loved feisty Ona, I felt for the heartbroken mom, I sympathized with the clueless but trying-hard dad, and I was enchanted by the boy. I often feel like stories about broken relationships try too hard and descend into cliches. I didn't feel that in this book for one moment. It felt true.

It's the kind of writing that causes you to pause and reread a passage - not because you didn't understand it, but because you did, and it speaks to you very clearly. I highly recommend to book clubs or to anyone who enjoys a well written story about love, loss, unlikely friendships, and how people can rise above their circumstances.