Boy 21 by Matthew Quick

I am beginning to believe that Matthew Quick doesn’t write anything not worth reading. In Boy 21, Finn; a rising high school basketball star; is approached by his coach and asked to do a favor.  Coach asks him to take care of his friend’s son who is going to move into the area, live with his grandparents, and attend school with Finn.  However, it seems that the boy’s parents were murdered and this boy (Russell) will be living under an alias because he was the top college basketball recruit in the country.  In other words, Finn is going to be harboring a huge secret, but Boy 21 is harboring an even greater burden.  Since the death of his parents, he now goes by the name Boy 21, because he believes he lives in outer space. And, that is how he talks to Finn most of the time, like an alien. 

While this may seem like a cheesy storyline, Quick handles this with his usual grace and adeptness.  The relationship that blooms between Finn and Boy 21 grows and blossoms as Finn tries to bring him back down to earth to deal with the reality of his life.  While coach has told Finn that Boy 21 refuses to play basketball since the tragedy, Coach convinces Russell to play and opens an entire Pandora’s box of issues for Finn and his chances at college basketball.  On top of all of this, Finn and his girlfriend are growing further apart and his legless, alcholic grandfather seems to serve almost as his Jiminy Cricket conscience through the entire novel.

This is a beautiful novel about humanity, friendship, love and integrity.  And, like all of Matthew Quick’s novels, there emerges hope at the end.  I would LOVE to see this one go to the screen too!