The One-In-A-Million Boy

February 22, 2016
Wood never names the 11-year-old boy at the center of her bittersweet new novel; he is referred to as “the boy” from the start. This idiosyncratic and earnest list-making boy without friends dies as strangely—“the first symptom is usually death”—as he lived. His father, an itinerant guitarist named Quinn, decides to finish earning the child’s Boy Scouts badge by doing yard work for the 104-year-old Ona Vitkus. This penance for being an absentee father turns into something even greater as he and his grief-stricken twice-ex-wife take up the boy’s hope for Ona to set a world record as the oldest licensed driver. The author (Any Bitter Thing) reveals the prickly old woman’s life story, beginning in Lithuania, through the boy’s 10-part recorded interview with her; Ona slowly comes to realize what a gift his questions were, while the reader gains understanding into her character. Wood maintains the boy’s unknowability by allowing just one (heartrending) scene from his point of view, which walks a thin line between sweet and saccharine, resulting in a devastating story. Agent: Gail Hochman, Brandt & Hochman Literary.

March 1, 2016
Woods (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 bookhopefully, as the oldest licensed driverand 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.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)