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The Only Boy for Me
  
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The Only Boy for Me (Paperback)

by Gil McNeil (Author)
4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Paperback
  • Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC; Export Edn. edition (6 May 2002)
  • ISBN-10: 0747558574
  • ISBN-13: 978-0747558576
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 1,669,282 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Review
'Funny and sparkling a profoundly moving study of motherhood and true love. Charlie is its hero, more lovable than any fictional lover, worth any sacrifice, absolutely the only boy for me. Breathless for more, you have to read it at one sitting' Ruth Rendell 'A portrait of childhood to rival Roddy Doyle's and an angst-ridden love life to match Helen Fielding's You'll laugh till you cry' Glamour 'A joy: a laugh-out-loud account of Annie Baker's life and loves a heartbreaking, funny look at parenting and passion' Elle 'Imagine what might happen to Bridget Jones if she'd grown up a bit, got married, had a kid and still wasn't quite ready to give up her boozy nights out with the girls Anyone who thought Paddy Clarke and Nick Hornby had cornered the market in cute kids should think again' Hello! --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Elle
'A joy: a laugh-out-loud account of Annie Baker's life and loves ... a heartbreaking, funny look at parenting and passion' --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Customer Reviews

11 Reviews
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 (5)
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 (4)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:
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Average Customer Review
4.1 out of 5 stars (11 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A modern fairy tale with a different type of hero., 6 May 2002
This review is from: The Only Boy for Me (Paperback)
A must-read for any mum. It's an acturate portrayal of the habits and manipulations of six-year-old AND middle aged boys, and how to juggle between them all. As you follow Charlie through his parties, swimming lessons and inappropriate phrases, like his mum, you'll be totally exhausted but in love with this little character. The book is witty, gritty and heartbreakingly real. Compelling reading.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Single mums only need apply, 10 Mar 2003
This review is from: The Only Boy for Me (Paperback)
Annie Baker is a single British mum living in a little town near Kent with her irresistible, quick thinking, oh so precocious six-year-old son, Charlie. Like many kids, Charlie hates going to bed, but unlike many kids, Charlie turns bedtime avoidance into a real art. In fact, everything Charlie does is a production. Although Annie has lots of help from her parents and friends, sometimes she doesn't know how she manages. But she does because she loves her Charlie more than anything -- even, it turns out, more than the hopeful, handsome, oh so charming guy, Mack MacDonald, who shows up wanting to share her life.

THE ONLY BOY FOR ME starts out as irresistible as Charlie, and entirely because of him. Gil McNeil obviously has a son (a quick check of the book jacket reveals yes, quite so) because she has created in little Charlie a character any mother will understand. Annie herself isn't such a bad mum either; a little weak but definitely well intentioned. Where the story goes wrong -- for me anyway -- is when it shifts from Annie and Charlie to Annie and Mack. Good old Mack, as nice as he is, just can't hold up his end of the book. With his needs or desires or demands -- whatever you want to call them -- conflicting with Annie's life with her son, the romance quickly turns sour while failing to permit Charlie enough room to redeem the narrative.

Though definitely a good portrait of a small boy and his mum, THE ONLY BOY FOR ME lacks the staying power to be a truly brilliant novel. Still, other mums may find it an entertaining read.

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars you'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll laugh again, 21 May 2002
By Patricia Hill "triciahill" (Hanwell, London United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Only Boy for Me (Paperback)
I loved this book. Laugh-aloud funny and real-tears moving. Who is this Annie, because she's living my life! Okay, I'm not a single mum, but I recognised all the attitude problems one gets with young children - they suddenly won't eat the breakfast cereal they've eaten happily for weeks, needing to be bribed to go to bed etc. It doesn't fall into the cliches of so many chick-lit reads, for example, Annie and Mack argue about the little things that arguments always start with. I hope that Gil McNeil writes another book soon.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Funny Book for Non Parents Too
Review for The Only Boy for Me (Paperback)
The boy of the title is single mum Annie's 6 year-old son Charlie. I picked this book up in a hurry to read on the train. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Cod

4.0 out of 5 stars Responsibility vs romantic love
Annie Baker is a single, working mother to 6 year old Charlie. With Support from her friends, she manages to keep her life on an even keel, until she meets Mack, who seems to be... Read more
Published on 6 April 2007 by maria1971

5.0 out of 5 stars Great read for any parent, single or otherwise!
I have just finished reading this book and I couldn't put it down, I really enjoyed it. I have a little boy who is almost three so could project forward three years and see a mini... Read more
Published on 17 Jul 2003

5.0 out of 5 stars The only boy for me,Gil McNeil
I absolutely loved this book!It starts off as a very light portrait of a modern single mum and her little boy Charlie. Read more
Published on 27 Dec 2002 by khayward29

1.0 out of 5 stars Irritating and predictable
Maybe you need to have kids to get the point of this book. It is mildly entertaining in parts, but mostly irritating. Read more
Published on 19 Jan 2002

4.0 out of 5 stars This book is so realistic it is funny!
This book took me only two days to read because once I had read the first page I just couldn't put it down. Read more
Published on 2 Jan 2002

4.0 out of 5 stars In the end i think he'd be the only boy for me too
Gil MCNeil's Annie Baker will make you laugh and cry along with her. Annie is the loving single mother of 6yr old Charlie who asks to many questions but who she loves to death... Read more
Published on 13 Dec 2001 by twiceice

4.0 out of 5 stars Bridget Jones for grown-ups
The boy of the title is single mum Annie's 6 year-old son Charlie who claims he's a Pagan since he saw it on Blue Peter and makes his mother stop the car so he can chat to... Read more
Published on 12 Dec 2001

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