How a Dad Learned to Love his Son
The boy in this story actually dies before the book starts. We never learn his name, but we learn these things:
• He was eleven years old
• He was obsessed with the Guinness Book of World Records
• He was a scout
• As a service project he was making weekly visits to help a 104-year-old woman, Ona Vitkus
• His parents, Quinn and Belle, were divorced and he lived with his mom
• It is never said, but it is soon apparent that the boy had autism.
When the boy dies, the dad — who could never figure out how to connect with his son, and was not close with him — decides to fulfill the son’s commitment to Ona as part of a self-imposed penance. In doing this, he learns about his son and about himself. And the reader, who could hate him for having been a deadbeat dad, understands and loves him instead. We also come to love Ona and to feel great pain for Belle over the loss of her beloved son.
My verdict: This was a VERY good book!
*****
As you cozy up with a good book, make your experience even warmer with a Corn Cushion! Please visit my Etsy shop to learn more about these corn heating pads.
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