Book Review of
The One-in-a-Million Boy
The incandescent story of a 104-year-old woman and the sweet, strange young boy assigned to help her around the house — a friendship that touches each member of the boy’s unmoored family.
For years, guitarist Quinn Porter has been on the road, chasing gig after gig, largely absent to his twice-ex-wife Belle and their odd, Guinness records–obsessed son. When the boy dies suddenly, Quinn seeks forgiveness for his paternal shortcomings by completing the requirements for his son’s unfinished Boy Scout badge.
For seven Saturdays, Quinn does yard work for Ona Vitkus, the wily 104-year-old Lithuanian immigrant the boy had visited weekly. Quinn soon discovers that the boy had talked Ona into gunning for the world record for Oldest Licensed Driver — and that’s the least of her secrets. Despite himself, Quinn picks up where the boy left off, forging a friendship with Ona that allows him to know the son he never understood, a boy who was always listening, always learning.
The One-in-a-Million Boy is a richly layered novel of hearts broken seemingly beyond repair and then bound by a stunning act of human devotion.
Grace's Review
I have been seeing this book recommended everywhere and I have seen it praised as one the best fiction books too. But to tell the truth, I did not really like this book. I was a fun/sweet/I don’t know what the point was tale. The problem I had with it was that it flipped back to the present, to the past, to further in the past. Oh and did I mention further, further in the past, but just to keep it simple it seemed to be kind of jumbled. It had a good storyline, yet the style was not the best in my eyes. There was also a lot of moral issues that I did not like. I may have enjoyed the story more if I hadn’t heard raving reviews that had gotten my hopes up. I also believe I would have enjoyed it if it was written in a different style. Over all the sweet old lady (who was really, really old), the kind boy (who had odd goals for the old, old lady), the interesting father (a musician none the least), the complicated mother, and a few others who helped coax the story along. All these characters made the story quaint, yet not quiet there for me. Overall this might be a good book for some, but it just wasn’t the book for me.