One in a Million Boy Review in the New York Times

Monica Woods, writer

WINNER: 2017 Nautilus Award (Gilt) for fictionWINNER: New England Social club in the Metropolis of New York Book Award for fictionFINALIST: Book of the Twelvemonth, The World magazineA "FAVORITE OF THE YEAR" from Bookreporter: "...a feat of staggering wonder."

Published in U.S. by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Also appearing in 20 foreign editions, including the United kingdom (including Australia, S Africa, India, and others), Greece, France, Italy, Poland, Germany, Brazil, The netherlands, South Korea, Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Lithuania, Serbia, Croatia, Israel, Prc, Czech republic, Poland, and Slovakia.

The 1-in-a-One thousand thousand Boy revolves around a friendship between a 104-twelvemonth-old Lithuanian immigrant adult female and an 11-year-sometime Boy Scout obsessed with Guinness globe records. For seven Saturdays, the boy has arrived promptly to do Ona Vitkus's m chores, record her life story for a 5th-course school project, and talk her into gunning for the record of Oldest Licensed Driver. On the eighth Sat, the male child's feckless father arrives in his identify, setting into motion a story of loss, redemption, and the astonishing connections that happen between people in the to the lowest degree likely circumstances.

                                 Interview from Radio Gorgeous in the UK

SCROLL TO END FOR Discussion QUESTIONS REVIEWS FROM AROUND THE Earth:

"This is a book of heartbreaking beauty. That an 11-year-old boy could bring together then many people of starkly contrasting interests is, in itself, amazing. Only that he could bring them together in such a way as to class deep, lasting bonds is truly remarkable. Monica Wood has accomplished a feat of staggering wonder with The One-in-a-One thousand thousand Boy.   BOOKREPORTER

"The book expands to cover an enormous amount of emotional ground, as Woods treats a large bandage of fundamentally decent but struggling characters with a winning mix of sharpness and sympathy...Wood is able to convey the deepest of emotions in a few quietly devastating sentences."  READER'South Digest, UK

"Intricately woven ... The One-in-a-Million Boy is provocative, and information technology evokes Anthony Doerr's All the Light We Cannot See for its twin story lines and the theme of endless searching for an anchor point. The ending is a deeply affecting surprise. MAINE Sunday TELEGRAM, US

"This is a bittersweet page-turner that celebrates the everyday soul." SUNDAY TIMES, South Africa

'This is a novel about many things: isolation, community, music, language and friendship. Wood's prose sparkles with lyrical descriptions and sharp observations about people and their motivations. But the over-arching theme running through it all concerns 2nd chances. Fifty-fifty when y'all're older than a century, life still has the chapters to surprise you.'  THE HERALD SCOTLAND, UK

"If y'all're looking for a book that entertains and is idea-provoking at the same time, The One-in-a-Million Boy by Monica Wood has that wrapped upward in a brilliant red packet. Themes of ageing, regret, love and loss, ambition and unexplored dreams abound in the beautifully written The One-in-a-1000000 Boy. ... I loved this book." THE BLURB MAGAZINE, Commonwealth of australia

"A novel about a friendship between a 104-yr-old woman and a lonely male child obsessed with world records sounds as if it could be somewhat sentimental, but this story remains razor precipitous while packing a heart wrenchingly powerful emotional dial. It has large themes – family, bereavement and facing up to bloodshed – but they are addressed with a low-cal bear upon, and a beautifully judged acidic wit. As Ona decides to exploit her great age to secure herself a place in the history books with the help of her young assistant, a tragedy means unlikely bonds are forged. Beautifully written, cleverly synthetic, at times hilariously funny and ultimately deeply affecting – this should exist a smash." Sun MIRROR, UK

"BOOK WARS: The One-in-a-Million Boy wins it. Monica Wood's heartwarming story nearly a friendship that bridges the generations manages to edge information technology this week, with its clever, intricate plot, beautifully sketched characters, and life-affirming message of self-discovery....Wood reveals joyousness in the misreckoning complexity of humanity." STYLIST mag, United kingdom of great britain and northern ireland

"This is a beguiling, heartwrenching and funny book about families, and how they come up undone and are re-fabricated in unexpected means. In this example, there'due south ornery Miss Ona Vitkus, 104, sharp as a tack and hiding a earth of secrets; the sweet, odd little boy of the title, with his record-breaking obsessions; and Quinn, the befuddled father who can't do correct for doing wrong. Admittedly gorgeous." --PSYCHOLOGIES Magazine, Great britain

"A lovely, quirky novel about misfits across the generations...There is humour likewise equally hope." --DAILY Postal service, Britain

"A whimsical and bittersweet novel nigh finding friendship in the most unlikely places." Good HOUSEKEEPING

"A stunner." Rut Magazine, UK

"Woods dishes out tragedy and charm in equal measure with an intergenerational friendship that retains its beauty despite death. Although rarely seen directly, the titular male child hovers at the edges of every scene, binding Quinn and Belle whether they similar information technology or not, drawing Ona'due south secrets from her lips. Readers won't be able to resist falling for Ona, whose many years and cultivated cynicism hide a great only vulnerable heart. Wood interweaves the lives of her cleaved heroes until they cannot uncrease from ane another, and then gives each the means to become, if not fully healed, at least whole. 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 Sensation, USA

"One of the most elegant, satisfying endings I've always read. An boggling volume." -- Allison Hill, CEO, Vroman's Books, Pasadena, California, USA

"Curl up and savour [this]...bewitching novel." Adult female + HOME, Uk

"In The One-in-a-Million Boy, Monica Wood tells a magical, beautifully written story most the healing ability of friendship, music, and unexpected, generation-spanning connections. Every bit emotionally resonant as The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime-Fourth dimension, this novel hums with energy, warmth, wisdom, humor, and soul." -- Christina Baker Kline, author of the international bestseller Orphan Railroad train"A simultaneously sad and joyous story of a unique 11-year-old boy and the legacy he leaves behind. Wood's portrait of a fractured, grieving family is peopled by endearing characters." -- Booklist, USA

"[A] bittersweet new novel ... resulting in a devastating story." -- Publishers Weekly, USA

'...life-affirming, touching and beautifully written.'
- Rut magazine, UK

'An exceptionally clever piece of storytelling which gently leads the readers through a moving story with an catastrophe that isn't predictable, only leaves you feeling satisfied and content. Very strong writing with a cardinal character that I'd love to meet and make a friend!'
- Annie Ashworth, Director, The Stratford Literary Festival, Great britain

'Wise, witty and incredibly moving…..magical and life-affirming. I was utterly overjoyed.'
Polly Samson, UK

'I loved information technology! The boy is one of my favourite literary characters always! I thought information technology was a jewel of a novel, heart breaking and heart-warming. Beautifully written, with characters that you lot want to go along by your side. Such a perfect book for lovers of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and The Universe Versus Alex Woods.'
- Adele Parks, Britain

'A jewel of a novel. Themes of grief, love, family and onetime historic period come together to form a novel that sits on that magical boundary between literary and commercial fiction, a volume that's both like shooting fish in a barrel to read and deeply profound as it swings between low-cal humour and wrenching sadness. This engaging and heartfelt novel is set to be one of the biggest hits of 2016.'
- The Media Center, Rising Stars, Uk

'Heartbreaking and vivid….if you lot loved Elizabeth Is Missing or The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry then I am sure yous'll enjoy this. I'd be surprised if it's not a hitting in 2016.'
- Sheila O'Reilly, Dulwich Books, UK

'A big, warm, winning care for of a novel, wholly believable but touched with magic. Sharply observed, deftly constructed and pithily told, this is a story well-nigh facing upward to the losses of the past and discovering that the most unexpected of allies can assist old dreams come true.'
- Alison Mercer, author of Afterward I Left You. Uk

'I loved information technology! Ona is such a bright heroine and Quinn is such a surprising hero.
And, oh - that ending... Such a life-affirming read - I only dear the way Monica'
story brings out the all-time in people.'
- Hannah Beckerman, Author and Journalist

'A book that you start reading at full tilt; it's so beguiling and sad and funny that you can't finish speeding through. And then you realize that at that place aren't that many pages left and that puts a halt to your gallop, and then you slow correct down to eke out the pleasure. I admittedly loved information technology.'
- Eithne Farry, The Simple Things

'Why aren't there more characters in literature like the 104-twelvemonth-old Ona, Monica Wood'south feisty heroine, a lady you'd be happy to spend time with from a wise and touching book...'
- Frances Gertler, Head of Content, Foyles.co.uk

"At the middle of [The One-in-a-Million Boy] is the very idea of human connectedness and its nature — all the joy, suffering and promise information technology comes with, and [the novel] reiterates the possibility of finding these connections in the oddest and to the lowest degree expected places." THE HINDU, India

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR YOUR Volume CLUB

1. In the opening pages, we discover that the boy of the title has died. And even so, he is a catalyst for everything that happens afterward. How did you perceive the boy's office in the story--as an absenteeism? A presence? A sort of invisible stage manager? Did yous sometimes forget that he was no longer live?

2. For the first fourth dimension in her life, Ona gives away her secrets—to a child. What is it about the boy that Ona instinctively trusts?

3. Ona observes, "People like Quinn, ever running from themselves, loved the road." What does she hateful by this? Is Quinn the only character "on the run" here?

4. "You reveal a grapheme in two ways," the writer has said. "One, how the character views the world. Two, how the earth views the graphic symbol." Does this insight apply to the characters hither? Quinn, for example, is rightly regretful for his fatherly failings, and yet the boys in Resurrection Lane trust and rely on him completely. How do varying perceptions combine to make fictional characters feel real?

5. Talk over the various friendships in the book: Ona and the boy; Ona and Quinn; Quinn and Belle; Ona and Louise. What about Quinn's friendship with his bandmates in The Benders? Or with Sylvie? To what degree are all these friendships necessary to the people involved?

6. "I have deficiencies," the boy tells Ona. Does he? The author has said that she created the boy before the give-and-take "autism" or "Asperger'southward" entered the American lexicon. "He's merely who he is," Belle says, bristling against labels.  Is Belle right? Does it matter?

seven. When Belle says, "I figured you must accept worked," Ona is thrilled to have been recognized "as the employable type." Why is her career as a "professional person secretary" such a badge of honor for Ona?

8. The author has said, "In my novels I assemble families from broken parts." Is that true in this novel? Is friendship sometimes more powerful than family ties?

9. Quinn is "uneasy effectually the boy, troubled by the world in which he dwelled." Why practise you retrieve that is the case?

10. The author has said, "If a author can't make you similar a character, she must at least make you understand him." Despite Quinn'due south flaws, practice you like him? If not, did you understand why he behaves the mode he does?

xi. When Ona explains the Guinness World Records to Belle and Quinn, she observes: "How tranquilizing it was to arm yourself with information, how consoling to unpack the facts and so constitute them like argue pickets, building a sturdy pen in which y'all stood alone, cosseted confronting human fallibility." Is this why the boy made lists? Is there a calming aspect to list-making that appeals to a certain type of person?

12. Throughout the book Quinn makes several references to his mother, who died young. How does this early loss contribute to Quinn'due south growing affection for Ona?

13. At 104, Ona is young compared to the world's oldest citizens. This is a surprise to both her and the boy. Was it a surprise to you lot? Did meeting Ona change your assumptions about extreme erstwhile age?

fourteen. Before coming together the boy, "Ona had believed herself through with friendship." How does onetime age change Ona's ideas most friendship? Did reading the novel cause you lot to examine your own friendships?

15. Quinn refers to Belle, with whom he has a fraught relationship, as his "truest friend." What does he mean by this? Can nosotros be friends with those whom we have hurt? Practice you observe echoes of Quinn and Belle in the friendship between Ona and Louise?

16. The novel contains a big bandage of major and small characters. Who makes the most significant journey?  Is in that location more than one way to identify "the main character"? To whom does this story ultimately vest?

17. The boys in Resurrection Lane take an unshakeable religion in the Lord. What kind of organized religion grounds the other char acters?

18. Ona tells Quinn that the male child turned her from a "striver" to a "dreamer."  Who are the strivers in this volume? Who are the dreamers? Can you lot divide your ain friends and family members in the same way?

19. Afterward Ona tells the boy about seeing a thousand hummingbirds on a roadside, she adds: "This is the sort of affair Louise invited into my life." Was Louise a friend or an opportunist? What practise you call up was the nature of Ona'due south beloved for Louise?

20. The One-in-a-Million Boy has sold in over a dozen countries, from Brazil to South korea. What, if anything, about this American story strikes yous every bit transcending culture?

And more, just for fun: The Guinness World Records plays a role in the volume. If y'all were to set a record, what would it be?

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Source: http://www.monicawood.com/omb.html

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