Author Monica Wood breaks your heart at the beginning of THE ONE-IN-A-MILLION BOY and then spends the rest of the story trying to mend it. Please don’t read the flyleaf, for it contains a spoiler that, while mild, has an impact that I believe the reader should discover for himself. Nothing about this book should be given away in advance. Let it unfold at its own perfect pace.

This is not a romance, but it’s a love story in many ways. To begin with, Quinn Porter married Belle --- twice. They were happy and adored each other, even after they divorced --- twice. But Belle always hoped she could change Quinn. In reality, she loved about 80 percent of him. And Quinn gave about 80 percent of himself. His work as a guitar player often took him on the road, and that may have been what he thought he wanted. Quinn professed to love his life as a musician, but eventually realized that it came at a price. And if he only gave part of himself to Belle, he gave even less to the boy. So why was that? Was Quinn afraid of something? Admittedly, the boy was quirky. But still.

"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..."

The boy wasn’t one who made friends easily. But at 11, he found an unlikely friend in 104-year-old Ona Vitkus, a Lithuanian woman who still lived on her own. The Scouts assigned her care to him as one of their “charity cases” that they helped out. He was to do odd jobs around her house on Saturdays. For herself, Ona has had only about one or two real friends over the course of her life. Not what one would call a sweet little old lady, she has a crusty attitude and a mouth to go with it. But the boy loved Ona’s straightforwardness, and he cherished his days with the old woman. Once his chores were finished, the two of them would spend time eating cookies and talking. Over the summer, Ona discovered that Guinness world records were an obsession of the boy’s. It didn’t take long before he’d convinced Ona that she could win one: Oldest woman, oldest licensed driver, oldest airplane passenger, oldest something!

One day, the boy didn’t show up and Quinn appeared in his place. He promised to finish what his son had started. Ona was vexed. But over the weeks that remained in the boy’s obligation, Ona found that another friendship was blossoming, this one with the father. Quinn took on the task partly to ease his guilt at not being a better father and partly to try to win back Belle. You see, Quinn was only ever partially present in their marriage. A musician, he had gigs to run off to, or maybe more like gigs to escape to. Why had he been so absent in the boy’s life? Sure, the kid was hard to relate to. He was, well, different. He didn’t like music, and who doesn’t like music? Quinn always had trouble talking to him; he never knew what to say. But how could a 104-year-old woman find it so easy?

As I said at the beginning, 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.