After the death of his lovely wife, Mia, Emmet’s daughter announces she is leaving her son with him for a few weeks to take a much-needed vacation. Emmet hasn’t had a lot of experience with “The Boy” and Colin is attached to his iPad the way many young people are, but Emmet is finding ways to introduce Colin to the beauty around him.
I loved the writing cadence of this beautiful story. O’Leary weaves it the way you would hear a tale sitting at your Grandfather’s knee. It’s clear, matter-of-fact and emotional while keeping you wrapped in a warm bubble. Emmet is thoughtful with his words and the way he shows Colin love without ever having to say it. In return, Colin is respectful and quickly learns lessons on how to be a good man. It’s a heartwarming and memorable story when your spirits need a lift.

If you are looking for a sweet, emotional relationship story. Emment and the Boy is your book. I am glad tgat netgalley gave me the opportunity to read this book.

This was a sweet story of a man nearing the end of his life, mourning the loss of his wife and then coerced into spending two weeks with his grandson. His grandson is 13 and is referred to mostly as "the boy". It was like the narrator was not sold on the name Collin for the child and so refrained from using it. I would not tag this book as Young Adult, the protagonist is the Grandfather and we are given only glimpses of the world through "the boy's" eyes. In my NetGalley copy there were a few grammar/ word choice mistakes and some repetition that needs to be cleaned up with some editing but overall it was a good sweet, tear-jerker about relationships.

This book leaves me so conflicted. The story itself caught my attention the moment I read the back blurb. An older man facing life without his beloved wife finds himself in charge of his teenage grandson. The author definitely made me feel the growing bond between the two characters, and I even found myself wishing for a similar cottage on the lake!
Unfortunately, the writing style and editing issues were impossible obstacles to ignore. Some words were repeatedly misspelled or misused- titled for tilted, our for are, etc. The author’s style of using short sentences and including every detail of a character’s movement was annoying.
I am glad I met these characters, but I won’t be recommending the book to friends.