LiterariLeigh

When I was in Paris (much too long ago!), I saw a boy playing in the park. Perhaps ten years old, he was wearing brown shoes, plaid pants, a short brown coat, a red striped scarf and a fedora. None of it matched or looked at all like what the other kids were wearing, but he was able to carry off the look with such panache I took a picture of him.

That's how I picture twelve year old Marcus, only lacking in confidence. In Nick Hornby's About a Boy, Marcus is picked on at school and lives with a rather hippie mother who is dealing with depression, while Will Lightman is 36 and living a "sub-zero" cool life off royalty money from his father's hit song. Trying to meet women, Will passes himself off as a single dad at a SPAT (Single Parents - Alone Together) meeting and abruptly meets Marcus on a trip to the park. Though a highly unlikely duo, Will finds himself helping Marcus feel more like the "regular" kids and actually ends up learning a lot about himself. If you haven't read Nick Hornby before, this is a great one to start with. Funny and sweet. And I definitely recommend his other books, including High Fidelity and Juliet, Naked.