mrs_mander_reads
Written on Jun 13, 2018
One single mom. One chaotic family. One quirky stranger. One irresistible love story from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Giver of Stars and the forthcoming Someone Else's Shoes
Suppose your life sucks. A lot. Your husband has done a vanishing act, your teenage stepson is being bullied, and your math whiz daughter has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that you can’t afford to pay for. That’s Jess’s life in a nutshell—until an unexpected knight in shining armor offers to rescue them. Only Jess’s knight turns out to be Geeky Ed, the obnoxious tech millionaire whose vacation home she happens to clean. But Ed has big problems of his own, and driving the dysfunctional family to the Math Olympiad feels like his first unselfish act in ages . . . maybe ever.
One Plus One is Jojo Moyes at her astounding best. You’ll laugh, you’ll weep, and when you flip the last page, you’ll want to start all over again.
- ISBN10 0143127500
- ISBN13 9780143127505
- Publish Date 31 March 2015 (first published 27 February 2014)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country US
- Publisher Penguin Putnam Inc
- Imprint Penguin USA
- Format Paperback (US Trade)
- Pages 400
- Language English
- URL https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780143127505
Reviews
jamiereadthis
Written on Jun 3, 2017
In the end, I think Moyes pushed a little too hard for the Hallmark-card morals, tying things up in a bow. That part could have been smarter and a bit more subversive, more like the rest of the book, and still been a happy ending. But that’s just personal preference. Somehow, she did desperate poverty without insult; a tech millionaire’s downfall without suspension of all disbelief; off-the-wall characters that felt mostly real instead of a collection of quirks. Basically, all the ingredients that would make me run far away, yet I didn’t find it insufferable. The slow (slow, slow) burn and the food poisoning bits were great. Road trips are my favorite trope for a reason. That alone could earn it four stars.
Sam@WLABB
Written on Jan 18, 2016
This is my second Moyes books, and I have officially added her to my go-to list. This book was a lot lighter than You Before Me, but still carried an emotional punch.
The story is told from 4 points of view:
* Jess, our struggling single mom, who is a beacon of optimism in a sea of unfortunate circumstances
* Nicky, Jess' 16 year old stepson, otherwise known as Goth Boy, who is repeatedly the victim of physical abuse at the hands of some neighborhood thugs.
*Tanzie, Jess' 10 year old maths prodigy, who wants nothing more, than to attend a posh private school , where she can eat, sleep, and breathe maths.
*Ed, a successful software developer (whose home is cleaned by Jess), who appears to have it all, but is actually on the cusp of losing it all.
An opportunity arises for Tanzie to complete in a Maths Olympiad with a large cash prize, and this is where the adventure begins. As the "family" travels to Scotland, we get to read about many of their misadventures, and see how their interaction with each other enhances their lives, and results in a lot of personal growth.
Moyes does such an amazing job creating this characters, that you just want to get to know better. Not only did I want to meet Jess, and hug her kids, I was rooting for them. I shed tears, when times were bad, and clapped, when things went their way. These people were all damaged and flawed, in some way, but they were better for these flaws. The flaws made them the whole person that Moyes presented, and made me love them more.
This is a story about family, and how it comes in all shapes and sizes. This is a story about not giving up, even when it looks like there is no hope. This is a story about survival, whether it be physically, mentally, or financially. This is story about being different, embracing those differences, and using them to your advantage. Most of all, this is story about love: love between siblings, parents and children, a man and a woman.
Overall: a fun, "awwww" invoking read. I was smiling, laughing, and feeling pretty optimistic at the end of this one.
ellieroth
Written on Apr 2, 2014
Soy muy prejuiciosa con los libros Románticos Contemporáneos, que lleguen a caer en lo cursi rosa-vomito-de-Barbie es bastante fácil. Jojo Moyes es muy conocida por su novela previa “Me before you”, creo que no hay nadie, de los que leyeron el libro, que no haya dicho que leer el libro no es terminar hecho un mar de lágrimas y pidiendo perdón por vivir. Y con esa buenísima referencia de la autora decidí leer The One Plus One
The One Plus One está narrado de manera tan bonita, no bonito cursi, bonito que aunque los párrafos sean bastante largos, en ningún momento me sentí aburrida de leer, por lo general, cuando eres un lector flojo como yo, párrafos muy largos tienden a desanimarme a continuarlo. Este libro es ágil, deteniéndose en los puntos exactos, no dando vuelta a lo mismo una y otra vez, la historia va evolucionando de manera bastante simpática.
La historia en sí no me ha impactado, no es que haya terminado decepcionada para nada, me ha gustado mucho, como siempre mi problema será con la parte romántica, ¿Las declaraciones? ¿Oh, te quiero mucho? Ñeeeeeeh, no son para mí.
¿Conclusiones? Definitivamente seguiré a esta escritora, de vez en cuando es bueno relajarse con una historia de amor... aunque por lo que leí de ella, de vez en cuando puede ser una maldita u.u
Leah
Written on Feb 15, 2014
The One Plus One is such a clever, enjoyable novel. I think there’s a real lack of novels set in the real world, with characters who aren’t well-off, who DO struggle day-to-day, and for who life isn’t all happiness and roses, and I really enjoyed getting to know Jess, Tanzie and Nicky. They’re such real, honest characters, and I loved their funny little family. How they weren’t the regulation 2.4 family and I very much admired Jess for taking on Nicky, despite the fact he wasn’t even her child, it takes a special person to do that and I loved how she treated Nicky as if he was her own. I was reading the book and I felt so bad for them – Nicky, being bullied, which is awful, no person should ever have to go through that; Tanzie, this brilliant maths whizz, the smartest kid you will ever come across, and since maths was my thing at school, I totally felt an affinity with her (although she is WAY smarter than me, I could barely understand any of the maths stuff Tanzie was dealing with, with ease, may I add?) and then there’s Jess, working two jobs and just trying to put food on the table for the kids. Her spirit and determination to do the best for herself and her kids was amazing, and I loved her never-give-up attitude.
I love road trip novels, they’re actually my favourite kind of novel, and I like road trip novels with strangers even more! And Ed, who comes into the novel, like a knight on a white horse (or, rather, a man with a functioning car) and helps Jess, Nicky and Tanzie get up to Scotland for Tanzie’s competition that will hopefully see them get a bit of financial help. I loved their road trip, how it was awkward in the beginning and how it just sort of started to make sense the more they were all stuck in the car together, going a sensible 40mph so Tanzie didn’t get car-sick. I was even more excited that Norman, Tanzie’s dog went on the road trip! I love when dogs are included in road trips, and in EVERYTHING basically because my dogs mean the world to me and I’d take them everywhere if I could. I just flew through the novel – I just wanted to know what would happen next, and I couldn’t believe that just when everything was looking up it all went rather pear-shaped, which made me so sad. But there were so many good bits, and it’s probably the most feelgood novel of the year, despite the troubles everyone is in.
The One Plus One is such an amazing novel. It made me so happy to read, and I could barely put it down, I just simply had to keep reading, JoJo is a stunning writer, so good at making you care for her characters, and she always writes such interesting, clever characters. Although it also made me cry. There was rather a moment that I thought I wasn’t going to stop crying, and I have to admit, I was quite relieved when it wasn’t what I thought it was. Let’s call it a hiccup. But, I do rather hate JoJo Moyes for putting me through that! (Although the relief after it was rather nice…) I can’t say enough about this book, it’s warm and witty, and it was just so real. I love novels about down-on-their-luck characters, characters who are proper down-on-their-luck, not just mourning the loss of a husband, or a job. What Jess goes through is something LOADS of people are going through at the moment, and this just highlights the fantastic attitude people like Jess have toward surviving. It’s not a want, it’s a need and I loved The One Plus One so much. Such an incredible cast of characters, so unique and amazing, people you can really root for.