Angela M's Reviews > The One-in-a-Million Boy

We never know his name but we come to know almost immediately the fate of the eleven year old boy who has a thing for world records and for counting and making lists and collecting things by 10. Is he just quirky or anxious or obsessive compulsive or lonely? Maybe a little of all of these but what we know for sure - he's smart and perceptive and has a special capacity for understanding as he connects with the lonely 104 year old Ona Vitkus , who he helps each week as he works toward his Boy Scout badges. Throughout the book we come to know just how much the boy gives to Ona - mostly it's the gift of friendship, but it's also the ability to come to terms with her past and her future. Telling the boy her story for a school project, she also somehow finds her native language, Lithuanian, even though she has been in the US for 100 years . The interview, the amazing interview tells us a little about the boy's life as well - his parents are divorced, he's bullied and has no friends, except of course, Ona Vitkus. The story is also about grief, regret, forgiveness. This is somewhat sentimental and sweet, and sad but I loved every word . It's also uplifting and a story I probably won't forget soon largely because of the boy and Ona, two characters that it took me all of a minute to fall in love with. I can't make a list of complaints because there is only one - I wanted to know his name .