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It has been great being on a reading kick lately, getting through two good books fairly quickly.

Breakfast with Scot was a quirky read. The story centers on a gay couple, Ed and Sam, who end up as guardians to Scot after his mother unexpectedly dies. Once they have Scot, they quickly realize the have a unique boy on their hands.

At just 11 years old, Scot has enough eccentricities that he might as well be 111. He arrive at Sam and Ed’s home in suburban Boston with a ton of odd possessions and a sensibility to go with them. He’s quite happy wearing eye shadow to school, turning a yellow sweater into a yellow dress or carrying a coat full of Chap Stick with him just because he (or someone) might need it.

Sam and Ed don’t know what to do with this. Their friends, even their friends with kids, don’t know what to do. Ed in particular is quick to stand up and defend Scot because he doesn’t want Scot judged on such superficial things. Ed wonders though if they are raising someone who can function well in society later.

I liked the book a lot. I liked Scot’s fearlessness that had a healthy dose of fear under it. I also like his mix of 11-year-old insights with some very adult ones. You know those kids who can just zing you with their insights? Scot has a lot of them.

This is a movie now too. Made in Canada, it hasn’t found its way to the U.S. yet. My guess is we’ll only get to see it on DVD (the DVD comes out in Canada in a couple weeks). The film stars Tom Cavanaugh (from Ed and who now turns up periodically on Scrubs and Eli Stone) as Eric (renamed from Ed in the book). A couple notable tweaks from the book: It moves from Boston to Toronto and instead of Ed and Sam being a magazine editor and chiropractor, respectively, Eric is a former Toronto Maple Leafs player and now a sportscaster and Sam is the Maple Leafs lawyer. (of note, this movie was endorsed by the NHL and allowed to use Maple Leafs logos and such). Even with these tweaks, the trailer looks like the movie captures all the great parts of the book…and of course I don’t mind that has some hockey in it too.

Next up: Riding Heartbreak Road by Kiernan Kelly