Title: One Plus One
Author: Jojo Moyes
Source: from publisher for review
Rating: ★★★★★
Review Summary: Yet another awesome read from Jojo Moyes, with unique but believable characters, lots of emotional ups and downs, and a fun plot.
“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.” (Source)
I loved Jojo Moyes’ Silver Bay and The Girl You Left Behind, but I think One Plus One is my favorite book of hers yet. Across books, the diverse characters she brings convincingly to life is astonishing. In this book in particular, the characters had the potential to be stereotypes–the math geek girl, the goth misfit guy, the single mom, the business man–but I finished thinking that they were each incredibly unique. The characters personalities were so fleshed out they felt like really people, completely unique from any other characters I’ve read about.
The plot was also very believable. Sure, the initial situation was bit contrived, but I loved the end result. It was one of those books which felt as though the author created the situation and then just let the characters go. I think this was the case because the characters were so well rounded and acted in a way consistent with their personalities. Although Jojo is an author I count on to leave me with warm, fuzzy feelings, I didn’t feel as though a happy ending was foregone conclusion. . Lately I’ve enjoyed books such as this one which make me worry for the characters. The characters dealt with a variety of tough issues and all were overcome in believable ways. This may seem like a funny thing to say about fiction (perhaps this is my love of nonfiction showing), but my favorite thing about this book was how real it seemed.
Leah @ Books Speak Volumes
Moye’s books have always sounded a little too rom-com-y for my taste, but now I’m intrigued. I’m glad to hear the characters are so well developed!
DoingDewey
It’s definitely got a little bit of rom-com to it, with characters falling for one another in an improbable situation, but it felt a little weightier and a little more real than most chick flicks.
Ellie
I love Jojo Moyes. Yes this one was very topical and I think it’s good to see a normal character struggling with money now and then. So many books in the same vein have characters that seem to have magic money or cushy jobs!
DoingDewey
It’s true! In many books, especially contemporary books with some romance, money just isn’t an issue. It was nice to read a book where characters had to deal with tough problems that didn’t feel contrived.
Andi @ Estella's Revenge
Yay! I’m glad you liked this one. I haven’t read it yet, but I tend to adore anything Moyes writes.
DoingDewey
This is the third book of hers that I’ve loved, so she’s definitely going on my must-read list!
Monika @ Lovely Bookshelf
I don’t think the realistic side is a weird thing to say about fiction at all (thought I’m a fellow non-fiction lover so, I’m biased). If I go into a fiction book knowing it’s magical realism, or sci-fi, or whatever, I expect fantastical things. Otherwise, if we’re talking regular fiction, I usually look for it to be realistic and believable. (Hope that makes sense, I think you know where I’m coming from)
DoingDewey
That’s a good point! It’s true, if a fictional book is supposed to take place in the real world with no magic, it really should be believable and in any fiction, I like to believe that the characters would act the way they do 🙂
Anita
I loved this book so much. It’s like I want Jojo Moyes to just keep writing this type of book, some humor, lots of heart. I laughed and cried.
DoingDewey
Me too! I’ve loved all of her books that I’ve read, but this one was by far my favorite.
Jennine G.
Oh this makes me even more excited for my next read, which is JoJo Moyes’s Me Before You. I requested this one too, but on a site that wasn’t giving it to bloggers
DoingDewey
Oh, wonderful! I liked Me Before You a lot too, so I’ll be excited to see your review 🙂
Katie @ Words for Worms
I loved it too! Moyes is my homegirl!
DoingDewey
Haha, yes! She’s awesome 🙂
Melinda @ The Book Musings
I’m so excited that you named The One plus One your favourite book of Moyes! I have it, for months now. I might read it in Aug, I think.
DoingDewey
Wonderful! I’ve loved all of her books, but I thought the characters in this one were her most unique yet. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did 🙂