Previous
Ellie McCrae
Children’s book illustrator Rachel is Ali’s mum and Will’s primary love interest. She meets Will at a New Year’s Eve party, where he intentionally leads her to believe that Marcus is his son and Fiona is his ex. When he eventually tells her the truth, Rachel points out Will’s evident fondness for Marcus, maintaining that he is clearly something of a father figure to the boy, after all. Rachel is the first woman who Will is interested in both sleeping with and befriending, as he enjoys what she has to say and genuinely wants to learn more about her inner life. She privately reveals that she previously struggled with depression, similarly to Fiona; through Will, the two women form a close friendship. Rachel’s honesty and directness have a profoundly positive impact on Will’s life, encouraging him to be truly vulnerable for the very first time.
Rachel Quotes in About a Boy
The About a Boy quotes below are all either spoken by Rachel or refer to Rachel. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 36
Quotes
But all three of them had had to lose things in order to gain other things. Will had lost his shell and his cool and his distance, and he felt scared and vulnerable, but he got to be with Rachel; and Fiona had lost a big chunk of Marcus, and she got to stay away from the casualty ward; and Marcus had lost himself, and got to walk home from school with his shoes on.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire About a Boy LitChart as a printable PDF.
Rachel Quotes in About a Boy
The About a Boy quotes below are all either spoken by Rachel or refer to Rachel. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 36
Quotes
But all three of them had had to lose things in order to gain other things. Will had lost his shell and his cool and his distance, and he felt scared and vulnerable, but he got to be with Rachel; and Fiona had lost a big chunk of Marcus, and she got to stay away from the casualty ward; and Marcus had lost himself, and got to walk home from school with his shoes on.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
