About a boy door Nick Hornby

Book report  - About a Boy

1. What is the title?
The title is ‘About a Boy’

2. Who is the author?
The author is Nick Hornby.

3. How many pages?
This book contains 92 pages.

4. Who are the main characters? Describe them briefly (character and appearance).
The main characters are Will Freeman and Marcus Brewer.

Will Freeman: He’s a single adult and he’s the ‘cool guy’. Will dresses well, his haircut is nice and he’s liked by the girls. His father once made a very good Christmas song and now he lives from the royalties he earns.

Marcus Brewer: He’s a teenager who is being bullied, because he behaves in a strange way. He is also very shy, because his home situation is really bad. He wears strange glasses, an ugly haircut and the wrong clothes.

5. Where does the story take place?
The most of this story takes place in the streets of London. Another small part plays in Cambridge.

6. When does the story take place? How do you know?
This story takes place in the present, because it talks about the abilities to join a group single mothers and this was not possible in the past. This book also faces a lot of problems which young people could undergo.

7. Give your opinion on the book and explain what you liked or disliked about it.
I really liked this book, because you saw Will Freeman changing over the story. In the beginning he was just a cool, young guy who didn’t ever want to have children, and in the end he finally saw the good sides of having children and he had experienced a real love in his life. But the book was quite easy and it used easy words, so that was a pity.

8. Give a short summary.
Will Freeman was watching Countdown (his favourite TV-programme) when he was thinking of how boring his life actually is. He hasn’t got a job or hobbies. He drives a fast car and he likes women a lot, but he never get too involved with them. But this life began to annoy him, he wanted some more action in it. So he joined SPAT (Single Parents – Alone Together) where he could date women with children. He had several dates, but at a date with Suzie they went to the park for a picnic with her little daughter Megan and Marcus. Marcus is her friend’s son. It was a nice picnic, but when they went back, they found out that Marcus’s mother, Fiona, had tried to commit suicide! When she was getting better again Will decided to talk to her. Will thought she was quite strange, but Marcus thought that Will was going to marry his mother and that all problems would be solved. So he visited Will a lot after school. They watched Countdown a lot and they talked about Marcus’s problems. Marcus was getting cooler and more popular at school. He made friends with Ellie and Zoe and one day Marcus and Ellie went to Cambridge, but Ellie had drunk alcohol so she was doing really weird things. At the end she even broke the glass window of a shop, and they got caught. Happily, things worked out well and Marcus and Ellie were free again. At that day Will found a new girl called Rachel. He wanted to be deeply involved with her as never before and they lived happily ever after!