pifferdiff 's review for:

The One-in-a-Million Boy by Monica Wood

5.0

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I loved this book. Much like the movie The Station Agent, I treasured the time with these likable characters, seeing their friendships develop and watching them grieve. I thought it was brilliant to have the main character (the boy) someone who is largely absent from the actual storyline, and yet the reader gets to know him through the memories of the other characters. I particularly liked the recorded conversations about Ona's past where we only see her half of the conversation and we are left to fill in what the boy said - it was such a creative way to invest the reader in the intimacy of those exchanges (because it forces you to be the voice of the boy, to put yourself in his mindset and play his part in the conversation). Highly recommend this (but know there may be tears involved).