Connie G's Reviews > The One-in-a-Million Boy

"The boy", an eleven year old Boy Scout, is helping 104 year old Ona Vitkus fill her bird feeders and do some yard work. He's intelligent and direct, but a little different (suggesting Aspergers, but not identified). He loves to divide tasks into ten parts, and is fascinated by the Guiness Book of World Records. Ona is charmed by the boy and shows him magic tricks. He gives her a goal in life by suggesting that she go after the world record of the oldest licensed driver to achieve immortality. He also helps her record her life history as a school project. Ona, a Lithuanian immigrant, tells him secrets that she had buried for years.

We find out in the first few pages that the boy had died unexpectedly, and his father, a guitarist named Quinn, came to complete his son's obligation to Ona. Quinn had been on tour with bands for much of his son's life, and never really connected to him. The boy did not understand the nuances of the music his father loved, but loves the songs of the birds at Miss Ona's house. Quinn feels his son's presence at Ona's, and sees another side of the boy through Ona's eyes.

While Ona and the boy's parents take a road trip, their memories of the boy forge a connection between the three travelers. Their lives are revealed, layer by layer, in the coming days. A strong friendship develops between Quinn and Ona, a curmudgeon with a soft heart, a dry wit, and an underlying vulnerability. People don't have to be related to feel like family. This was one of my favorite books this year--a story that is quirky and heartwarming, without being saccharine.