About A Boy

By Nick Hornby

I love the movie. Though it is about a man who becomes a surrogate father to a struggling boy, I love this story, so I took a leap and got the book. Why not? (I do this a lot actually because you know, the book is always better than the movie). Will and Marcus could not be further apart, their personalities, their lifestyles, their problems… Yet, when fate brings a womanizing, selfish 36-year-old man into the life of a struggling 12-year-old boy, their lives are never the same. It may seem an odd pairing, but these two need one another and form a strong bond.

This book is about the characters, they feel real and are well-developed without beating the horse. We often hear stories about kids like Marcus, the outcast, the weirdo, and the one who is very much lost in the world. And as a woman, I am all too familiar with Will’s type, the scumbag who will say anything to get what he wants out of a woman, then leave her out to dry. Plus, as a woman, this is a great book to get a different perspective on men like Will and boys like Marcus.

The book takes place in 1993, so obviously, the movie was shifted to fit the early 2000s when the film was made. But I am glad I went back almost 30 years, especially to see not much has really changed when it comes to relationships, communication, and the need for a real connection, even plutonic ones.