The One-in-a-Million Boy - Rilegato

Praise for When We Were the Kennedys:   “On her own terms, wry and empathetic, Wood locates the melodies in the aftershock of sudden loss.”—Boston Globe "A tender, plaintive memoir about the impact of a beloved father's demise on a blue-collar Irish Catholic family...The author provides a genuinely compelling depiction of family grief...Bittersweet end-of-innocence family drama." —Kirkus    "[When We Were the Kennedys] goes much beyond the story of [Wood's] family’s grief. The book is a meditation on time... It’s also a record of a vanished way of life... it avoids sentimentalizing small-town life... By bringing such a town to life, with all its complexities and imperfections, it’s to Monica Wood’s great credit that she goes a long way to answering these questions. —The New Yorker   "[An] intimate but expansive memoir...Braiding her own story of mourning together with the heartbreak all around her, Wood has written a tender memoir of a very different time." —O, the Oprah Magazine   "A specific sense of time and place pervades the tale...This is a beautifully composed snapshot of how a family, a town—and, later, a country—grieves and goes on...The bonds between family members, neighbors, and coworkers, as well as men and their professions, are explored here with sensitivity and a sweetness that isn't saccharine...Readers will feel like they know the town and its people too." —Library Journal     Praise for Any Bitter Thing:   “A complicated, surprising story of love, loss and sacrifice...mesmerizing. Wood's story unassumingly builds in power, right up to its moving final page.” —Publishers Weekly    “If you liked The Secret Life of Bees, try Any Bitter Thing.” —Glamour “Wood illuminates the grace in the average and the everyday, the miracles that lie within the ordinary life...[An] intimate exploration of love and faith, betrayal and penance.” —San Francisco Chronicle    

"This is a book of heartbreaking beauty. That an 11-year-old boy could bring together so many people of starkly contrasting interests is, in itself, amazing. But that he could bring them together in such a way as to form deep, lasting bonds is truly remarkable. Monica Wood has accomplished a feat of staggering wonder with THE ONE-IN-A-MILLION BOY."—Bookreporter "Wood dishes out tragedy and charm in equal measure with an intergenerational friendship that retains its beauty despite death...although most readers will find tissues often necessary while navigating the layers of this story, the conclusion will leave them smiling through their tears."—Shelf Awareness "Wood (Any Bitter Thing, 2005) tells a simultaneously sad and joyous story of a unique 11-year-old boy and the legacy he leaves behind. Known only as “the boy,” he has no friends, and spends his time obsessively compiling mental lists and memorizing countless Guinness world records. As part of his work to earn a Boy Scout badge, the boy does yard work for 104-year-old Ona Vitkus, a Lithuanian immigrant living nearby. They forge a close bond over the course of seven Saturdays, then the boy dies. His mostly absent musician father, Quinn, volunteers to finish the last three of the boy’s weekends. Quinn becomes aware of his son’s and Ona’s plan to get her into a Guinness records book—hopefully, as the oldest licensed driver—and this leads first to a road trip to find Ona’s only living son, now 90, and eventually to a visit to her homeland at age 109. Wood’s portrait of a fractured, grieving family is peopled by endearing characters and should appeal to readers who enjoy the family-centered novels of Jodi Picoult and Kristin Hannah."—Booklist In The One-in-a-Million Boy, Monica Wood tells a magical, beautifully written story about the healing  power of friendship, music, and unexpected, generation-spanning connections. As emotionally resonant as The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, this novel hums with energy, warmth, wisdom, humor, and soul.  —Christina Baker Kline, author of Orphan Train

"Wood (Any Bitter Thing, 2005) tells a simultaneously sad and joyous story of a unique 11-year-old boy and the legacy he leaves behind. Known only as “the boy,” he has no friends, and spends his time obsessively compiling mental lists and memorizing countless Guinness world records. As part of his work to earn a Boy Scout badge, the boy does yard work for 104-year-old Ona Vitkus, a Lithuanian immigrant living nearby. They forge a close bond over the course of seven Saturdays, then the boy dies. His mostly absent musician father, Quinn, volunteers to finish the last three of the boy’s weekends. Quinn becomes aware of his son’s and Ona’s plan to get her into a Guinness records book—hopefully, as the oldest licensed driver—and this leads first to a road trip to find Ona’s only living son, now 90, and eventually to a visit to her homeland at age 109. Wood’s portrait of a fractured, grieving family is peopled by endearing characters and should appeal to readers who enjoy the family-centered novels of Jodi Picoult and Kristin Hannah."—Booklist In The One-in-a-Million Boy, Monica Wood tells a magical, beautifully written story about the healing  power of friendship, music, and unexpected, generation-spanning connections. As emotionally resonant as The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, this novel hums with energy, warmth, wisdom, humor, and soul.  —Christina Baker Kline, author of Orphan Train

Praise for When We Were the Kennedys:   “On her own terms, wry and empathetic, Wood locates the melodies in the aftershock of sudden loss.”—Boston Globe "A tender, plaintive memoir about the impact of a beloved father's demise on a blue-collar Irish Catholic family...The author provides a genuinely compelling depiction of family grief...Bittersweet end-of-innocence family drama." —Kirkus    "[When We Were the Kennedys] goes much beyond the story of [Wood's] family’s grief. The book is a meditation on time... It’s also a record of a vanished way of life... it avoids sentimentalizing small-town life... By bringing such a town to life, with all its complexities and imperfections, it’s to Monica Wood’s great credit that she goes a long way to answering these questions. —The New Yorker   "[An] intimate but expansive memoir...Braiding her own story of mourning together with the heartbreak all around her, Wood has written a tender memoir of a very different time." —O, the Oprah Magazine   "A specific sense of time and place pervades the tale...This is a beautifully composed snapshot of how a family, a town—and, later, a country—grieves and goes on...The bonds between family members, neighbors, and coworkers, as well as men and their professions, are explored here with sensitivity and a sweetness that isn't saccharine...Readers will feel like they know the town and its people too." —Library Journal     Praise for Any Bitter Thing:   “A complicated, surprising story of love, loss and sacrifice...mesmerizing. Wood's story unassumingly builds in power, right up to its moving final page.” —Publishers Weekly    “If you liked The Secret Life of Bees, try Any Bitter Thing.” —Glamour “Wood illuminates the grace in the average and the everyday, the miracles that lie within the ordinary life...[An] intimate exploration of love and faith, betrayal and penance.” —San Francisco Chronicle    

"Wood dishes out tragedy and charm in equal measure with an intergenerational friendship that retains its beauty despite death...although most readers will find tissues often necessary while navigating the layers of this story, the conclusion will leave them smiling through their tears."—Shelf Awareness "Wood (Any Bitter Thing, 2005) tells a simultaneously sad and joyous story of a unique 11-year-old boy and the legacy he leaves behind. Known only as “the boy,” he has no friends, and spends his time obsessively compiling mental lists and memorizing countless Guinness world records. As part of his work to earn a Boy Scout badge, the boy does yard work for 104-year-old Ona Vitkus, a Lithuanian immigrant living nearby. They forge a close bond over the course of seven Saturdays, then the boy dies. His mostly absent musician father, Quinn, volunteers to finish the last three of the boy’s weekends. Quinn becomes aware of his son’s and Ona’s plan to get her into a Guinness records book—hopefully, as the oldest licensed driver—and this leads first to a road trip to find Ona’s only living son, now 90, and eventually to a visit to her homeland at age 109. Wood’s portrait of a fractured, grieving family is peopled by endearing characters and should appeal to readers who enjoy the family-centered novels of Jodi Picoult and Kristin Hannah."—Booklist In The One-in-a-Million Boy, Monica Wood tells a magical, beautifully written story about the healing  power of friendship, music, and unexpected, generation-spanning connections. As emotionally resonant as The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, this novel hums with energy, warmth, wisdom, humor, and soul.  —Christina Baker Kline, author of Orphan Train

Praise for When We Were the Kennedys:   “On her own terms, wry and empathetic, Wood locates the melodies in the aftershock of sudden loss.” —Boston Glove "A tender, plaintive memoir about the impact of a beloved father's demise on a blue-collar Irish Catholic family...The author provides a genuinely compelling depiction of family grief...Bittersweet end-of-innocence family drama." —Kirkus    "[When We Were the Kennedys] goes much beyond the story of [Wood's] family’s grief. The book is a meditation on time... It’s also a record of a vanished way of life... it avoids sentimentalizing small-town life... By bringing such a town to life, with all its complexities and imperfections, it’s to Monica Wood’s great credit that she goes a long way to answering these questions. —The New Yorker   "[An] intimate but expansive memoir...Braiding her own story of mourning together with the heartbreak all around her, Wood has written a tender memoir of a very different time." —O, the Oprah Magazine   "A specific sense of time and place pervades the tale...This is a beautifully composed snapshot of how a family, a town—and, later, a country—grieves and goes on...The bonds between family members, neighbors, and coworkers, as well as men and their professions, are explored here with sensitivity and a sweetness that isn't saccharine...Readers will feel like they know the town and its people too." —Library Journal     Praise for Any Bitter Thing:   “A complicated, surprising story of love, loss and sacrifice...mesmerizing. Wood's story unassumingly builds in power, right up to its moving final page.” —Publishers Weekly    “If you liked The Secret Life of Bees, try Any Bitter Thing.” —Glamour “Wood illuminates the grace in the average and the everyday, the miracles that lie within the ordinary life...[An] intimate exploration of love and faith, betrayal and penance.” —San Francisco Chronicle    

In The One-in-a-Million Boy, Monica Wood tells a magical, beautifully written story about the healing  power of friendship, music, and unexpected, generation-spanning connections. As emotionally resonant as The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, this novel hums with energy, warmth, wisdom, humor, and soul.  —Christina Baker Kline, author of Orphan Train

The incandescent story of a 104-year-old woman and the sweet, strange young boy assigned to help her around the house — a friendship that touches each member of the boy’s unmoored family.
 
For years, guitarist Quinn Porter has been on the road, chasing gig after gig, largely absent to his twice ex-wife Belle and their odd, acutely observant eleven-year-old son, who is obsessed with Guinness World Records. When the boy dies suddenly, Quinn seeks forgiveness for his paternal shortcomings by completing the requirements for his son’s unfinished Boy Scout badge.
 
For seven Saturdays, Quinn does yard work for Ona Vitkus, the spry, 104-year-old Lithuanian immigrant the boy had visited weekly. Quinn soon discovers that the boy had talked Ona into gunning for the world record for Oldest Licensed Driver — and that’s the least of her secrets. Despite himself, Quinn picks up where the boy left off, forging a friendship with Ona that allows him to know the son he never understood: a boy who was always listening, always learning.
 
The One-in-a-Million Boy is a richly layered novel of very real hearts broken seemingly beyond repair and yet still within reach of a stunning act of human devotion.