About a Boy

I started About a Boy this week. It is written by the same author who wrote my last book namely, Nick Hornby, and is starting off more interesting than the last. Many of the character's actions make me wonder not whether or not this really happens, but rather how often it happens in real life. The boy, Marcus, who is twelve, is basically a geek. He just moved and is living with his depressed single mother. His mother is to sad to really help him with his problems and he has no friends. Well he kind of had friends, but they started to get bullied, just like him, and so they asked him to never hang near them again. Pretty harsh for a kid around the seventh grade. He is also made fun of for a time when he started singing a song during English class, you know one of those pesky tunes that wont get out of your head, and it just happened to be during a silent reading time. He is now made fun of by his whole grade and the upperclassmen. His infamy is spreading. What a life, aye?

The real character is Will. He is a single, thirty six year old guy who, because of one mix up, is trying to get with single moms. He really enjoys his life, not displeased at all, when he mixes up two blondes. One he sees in a record shop, and the next, who he thinks is the first, he sees at a coffee shop and approaches. He starts off embarrassed but they quickly become buddy buddy and arrange for a second date. At the next encounter she tells him that she has kids. He says it doesn't bother him even though he turned down being a godfather and is trying to never talk to some of his friends again because they have kids and are "boring". He lies to her and keeps up the routine for about six weeks when she breaks up with him. The reason for the split is that her son isn't ready to be on good terms with anyone because he is still upset at his parents divorce. Now comes the kicker: 1) Will's favorite part of the relationship is the break up because she cries and its not really his fault 2) his only disappointment is that he will no longer get to share physical intimacies with a single mum 3) He plans on trying to now prey on single moms instead of just single women. He tries, unsuccessfully, for the next few weeks to meet up with single moms. Because he has gotten nowhere, he hatches a new plan: join a single parents group (called SPAT) after making up a fake child (a two year old son named Ned) so he can hook up with the single moms of the group. This is as far as I've gotten but it is very well written so far and also humorous, hopefully Will doesn't get himself mixed up in too much trouble?