Karen R's Reviews > The One-in-a-Million Boy

A very special boy whose life was cut short at the age of 11 made a substantial impact on people he left behind, including the boy’s largely absent father, Quinn, and a 104-year-old woman named Miss Ona Vitkus.

The “one-in-a-million” boy was tasked with doing chores for Ona as a Boy Scout project. After his death, Quinn pledges to continue helping Miss Vitkus, a promise he makes to try and compensate for his failings as a father. The two form an unlikely friendship and their journey toward healing and self-discovery make for an uplifting story.

I especially liked the inclusion of the boy’s taped recordings of Ona’s life memories, which are interspersed in ten parts. The questions he asks are not included, only Ona’s answers. This is so cleverly done that I found myself especially looking forward to those sections, along with the peppered-in Guinness World Record lists that the boy was so obsessed with. The author explores relationships and love in a unique and gratifying way.