The One In A Million Boy

A totally exquisite book.It tells the story of an 11year old boy who as a scout first to help a 104year old Lithuanian lady. After 9 days he no longer returns even though they had decided to get Ona Vitkus into the Guinness book of records. Why does he not return and how does his father become involved? A lot of the story is written in a very clever way enabling the reader to become totally involved with the story. A truly heartbreaking yet heartwarming novel Absolutely loved it. The best one I've read this year.

This book tackles a lot of sensitive issues - ageing, parenting trouble, marital trouble - and it tackles them all with a surprising amount of grace and compassion, telling a wonderful story with engaging characters. A real treat of a read. I particularly enjoyed the stories left unsaid by the end, prompting plenty of room for discussion and reflection for readers.

A charming, emotive and powerful tale about loss, love, aspirations and friendship seen through the tapes and recollections of a young boy and his friend Ona, who is a hundred and four, and their loved ones.
A must read!

This is a story of friendship between an 11 year old scout and a 104 year old lady called Miss Ona Vitkus, set in the United States. The "boy" as Miss Viktus refers to him during the first few chapters has been assigned to help her with household chores as part of his scout work.

During these weekly visits he tops up her bird feeders, tidies the lawn, and afterwards they eat cookies and talk. It doesn't take long for Miss Viktus to discover his love of Guinness World Records (and for putting things in the world in order generally). By sharing their respective life stories, they are soon on their way to becoming fast friends and eventually hatch a plot to break a world record or two of their own.

However, one week the boy doesn't show and 2 weeks after that Quinn Porter, the boy's father appears to inform Ona that he would be finishing off his son's chores. It is only then that we begin to learn what has happened to Ona's newest friend.

The story is truly heart-warming and I enjoyed it a lot. The developing friendship between Ona and 'the boy' was really well done and the other characters are also well described. Monica Wood makes us care for each of them very early on in the story, which makes some of the twists and turns more emotional later on in the plot. I received a copy of this work from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I rated this novel as 4 out of 5 stars. - See more at: http://publishing-adventures.blogspot.co.uk/2016/

Imagine living to the grand old age of 104, all your faculties well and truly intact!! I want to be Ona Victus, the main character in Monica Wood's sublime novel.
She is the protagonist or rather the catalyst in a novel that revolves around the relationship three people have with her.
Quinn and Belle are the divorced couple, parents to a son who has unique characteristics and as part of his Scout duties spends Saturday mornings doing jobs for Ona. They forge an unlikely relationship based around the boys obsession with the Guinness Book of World Records. When he unexpectedly dies his Father, Quinn steps in to carry out his remaining duties.
What happens next is wonderful! The grief and anguish felt by Quinn and Belle beautifully portrayed and Ona's history revealed slowly throughout.
It is the relationships between the characters that is at the heart of this novel. It is both touching and emotionally charged.
I loved it

Engaging well told story full of facts, and conveys the difficulty of grief and ageing in equal measure with great dignity and fluidity....easy to read at leisure