Customer Reviews

The One Plus One (Unabridged)

There's 'chick lit' and then there's 'chick lit' (sorry - I dislike the term too). Some I wouldn't touch with a bargepole - I like a bit of 'meat' and depth which is often lacking. Since reading a World Book Night copy of 'Me Before You', I've mentally added Moyes to my list of 'willing to try more' writers. This sounded promising.

And it was. Even though at the heart of it is a basic boy-meets-girl, it's really a story about families. As with Me Before You, it starts with a rich, successful businessman and his life-changing problem - computer whizz-kid Ed is accused of insider trading and banished from his joint directorship while the case is investigated. A million miles away on a council estate, Jess is struggling with two jobs, two children and no child maintenance from her estranged husband. Working in a pub and running her own cleaning business, one of her customers one day rudely shuts a door in her face, having a bad day of his own.

It's a pure romantic-movie shuffle that get these two main characters into the same scene. And then another. It's the kind of story where you WANT certain things to happen, and the characters are well-enough written for you to feel you know who they are, you understand them, you want things to turn out well for them.

This applies to the other two main characters - just as important to the story are the children. Teenage Nicky is everything a typical teenager often is - withdrawn, sullen, introspective. Favouring gothic make-up, he becomes a target for a vicious local family. Younger Tanzie is also struggling in her surroundings, having an affinity for mathematics but no way of climbing out of the local school system in which Jess knows she'll also become a victim. Nicky's growth in particular through the book is one of the most enjoyable facets of the story. Tanzie adds a lot of the humour and heart to the story. As does the drooling, shedding and rather flatulent dog mountain, Norman.

And the story turns on Tanzie - a maths competition in Scotland forces Jess's story away from the council estate, it could raise the money to send Tanzie to a private school where she could thrive. But how can they get there?

Jess is impossible to dislike. She's hardworking and self-sacrificing, ever-optimistic, and just trying to make ends meet and scrape together a decent life for her small family. Her relationship with Ed is believable - he's shaken into awareness of those around him by her response to his rudeness and his growing admiration for her and her children allows him to see both his own personal problem and tense family situation in a clearer light. Ed is not a perfect hero, but with flaws and tics (wearing identical clothes every day to avoid the effort of planning an outfit) he's also hard to dislike.

We have a family drama, a road movie, a tentative romance, all bound up in a car with our four characters (and of course Norman), in which each of them go on their own little journey inside the slowly northbound car. At times you don't want the road trip to end. I really came to like the four of them, could see each of them clearly as I read, and knew just what I wanted to happen.

And at the end (no spoilers), I was pleased with how Moyes chose to bring the strands together and settle the story. Realistic and without sappiness.

If you're a fan already of Moyes, you'll continue to be pleased. If you've never tried her, I can recommend this if you are looking for something that isn't a difficult read, treads a well-worn path with style and humour, and entertains with a touching little family love story.

Review of a Netgalley advance copy.

I always get very excited at the thought of a new novel by Jojo Moyes and thankfully I wasn’t disappointed in this one.

Jess’s life is a mess – her ex has left her with two kids (and a smelly dog) to bring up, cash is in very short supply and she’s juggling two jobs just to stay afloat. When her mathematical genius daughter Tanzie gets a chance to enter a competition with a huge cash prize, Jess will stop at nothing to get her there. Meanwhile Ed Nicholls is also going through a bit of a rough time. Tricked into a spot of insider trading by a dodgy girlfriend, he faces losing the software business he built from scratch as well as the affluent lifestyle that went with it.

When Jess and Ed’s worlds collide, a very entertaining road trip ensues. Jojo Moyes writes with such warmth and empathy that you can’t help but like the characters she creates, even if their actions are infuriating and frustrating at times. She manages to infuse her storylines with some heartwarming moments and feel-good vibes, without them becoming sickly or over-sentimental. Although both Jess and Ed’s lifestyles are nothing like mine, I still believed in them and was rooting for them almost from the off. There are some very funny moments (mainly thanks to Norman the flatulent hound) but at times it’s also quite a poignant and thought-provoking read.

My favourite Jojo Moyes novel is still Me Before You (which would take some beating) but that said I was thoroughly entertained and amused by this very engaging tale.

Jess Thomas is a single mum, working hard both as a cleaner and barmaid to make ends meet, caring for her young daughter Tanzie, a prodigious maths talent, and for shy bullied teenager Nicky, her absent husband’s son from a previous relationship, to whom Jess is the nearest thing to a stable parent. Affluent Ed Nicholls has a high flying career running a very successful software company with University friend Ronan, but an unfortunate encounter with a woman from his past is about to bring Ed’s world crashing down around him. Jess and Ed’s paths are destined to collide; what is surprising, funny, poignant and uplifting is how wonderfully this plays out.

I devoured this new tale from Jojo Moyes, it was a real delight to read. By turns a funny, sweet, honest and tender portrait of modern life in Britain; concerned with families, work, money and the lack of it, insider trading, and ultimately, heartfelt romantic love. It feels that this author lives and breathes her characters; the result is they feel so vivid, rounded and real to the reader; a sense greatened by including some chapters from each of four different perspectives. All five of the main protagonists are beautifully drawn, youngsters Tanzie and Nicky in particular. And Norman the dog is adorable! Aspects of the scenario reminded me a little of the lovely film Little Miss Sunshine.

Jojo Moyes has written another absolute winner here – marvellous, eloquent modern fiction.

Jess is a single mum to her own daughter and her husband’s son with a former partner. She’s holding down two jobs, lives in a rough area of town and never has enough money for necessities, let alone luxuries. Ed is a City high flier whose life is falling to pieces around him. They have little in common but when circumstances force them together they each begin to see how the other half lives, that life isn’t always fair and that families come in all shapes and sizes.

I absolutely loved Jojo Moyes’ previous book The Girl You Left Behind so I was really pleased to be sent a copy of The One Plus One by Real Readers. I was a bit worried when I started it however as I thought I might not enjoy it as much as the last book and that I might feel let down. I couldn’t have been more wrong as I loved this book too and am still thinking about the characters more than a week after finishing it.

All the characters are so realistic that you feel you’ve passed them in the street or met them around your home town. Jess is completely true to life and so sympathetic that you just want to help her. You can completely understand some of the more dodgy choices she makes in the course of the story. I loved her daughter Tanzie as well – it was great to see a young female character with an aptitude for maths – quite unusual in fiction! Her step-son Nicky is also a great character who grows up in the course of the book. Ed at first seems less sympathetic as he’s everything that Jess is not, but as she gets to know him we do too and start to understand why he acts the way he does and how he has ended up where he is.

It’s impossible to pin down in a sentence exactly what the book is about, as it’s about many things. It could be said to be a state of the nation novel as it looks at how society has split between the have and have-nots. It’s also about the fluid shape of modern families, the role of women in society, the impact of social networking on children and teenagers, and how money doesn’t necessarily make you happy, but the lack of it can definitely make you unhappy.

I read The One Plus One quite quickly with a mixture of dread and excitement. Throughout much of the book I was scared that more awful things were going to happen to Jess and her family, but I couldn’t stop reading it. Some sections of it made me laugh and one made me cry. When I finished it I felt I’d seen only a part of their lives and that they’re all living on outside the book. I like to think of them getting on with their lives quietly somewhere.

This is such a wonderful book that I would encourage everyone to read it. It’s got a lot to say about modern life, love and families, and does it in such a charming and moving way that you’ll be as hooked as I was.

By normal chicklt standards this was a good read - mainly as there's so much badly written chicklt out there. By Moyes' standards it was disappointing specially in light of Me Before You which was much better. This novel descended into farce with a very unlikely plot - I'm sorry but no virtual stranger offers to drive a family of 3 plus a farting dog all the way to Aberdeen from the south of England with no plan as to where to stay etc. And no random stranger - specially a rich one - sleeps in his car with the woman he's just met. Plot didn't stack up at all. Its redeeming feature was it was well written and I felt for the mother who was going thru a hard time financially. Equally well however she was a bit dippy inasumch had let her husband move out 2 years ago without even trying to get child support from him. Moyes can do better than this.

We open up the tale with Jess & Nathalie, Jess is our main character, well one of them, and Nathalie as they go about their job, cleaning. They are chatting and giving the reader an insight into Jess's life. The next few chapters bring in Tanzie, Ed and Nicky, each chapter has a name underneath the chapter so you know which person it is coming from or focusing on. The view point alternates between first and third person, this is done with ease though and actually adds to the joy of the story.

Jess is struggling to make ends meet, her husband is trying to sort himself out at his mothers whilst Jess keeps the home, finance and kids going. Working herself to the bone with two jobs, lack of time with the kids and money worries she still manages to maintain a positive outlook. When she gets an opportunity for her daughter Tanzie, to better her life, she will do anything she can to make it work.

Ed is our other big character, he has money, homes, cars and everything a geek could ask for. When his life and routine come to a halt whilst he is investigated and everything he knows is at risk, he meets someone in their hour of need. What follows is a journey that will highlight strengths and weaknesses in each of them and force them to question their chosen paths in life.

Oh.My.God I love this book! I thought after Me Before You I wouldn't be able to 5 star another book by this author as it was their peak book. I was wrong, although this is a totally different kind of book it stirred up a lot of the same responses as Me Before You. Gasping out loud (always a tad mortified when this happens, especially if people are around), smiling, laughter and tears, everything a great book should do. The ARC I got is 436 pages, I devoured it in 6 hours and it would have been quicker but I had to do some things to do in between. I was loath to put it down, I couldn't wait to find out where it was going, what else would come to light and how it played out for the characters. When I read the first few chapters, I wasn't convinced I was going to love it as I thought there might be too many characters. There are 4 centered ones, Ed & Jess are your big characters and Nicky and Tanzie feature heavily too, as well as their daft dog Norman, but as I said, the chapters are titled with their names and it is really easy to follow.

I didn't want it to end, I loved the characters and think there is someone for everyone to relate to. If not someone personally then at least one of the situations. The book covers a host of issues, single mum struggling to make ends meet, misfit kids, the misconception and judgments people make on each other, betrayal, honesty, love and loyalty to name but a few.

I will continue to buy up this authors works and this is a keeper for me! 5/5

A really good read. Jojo Moyes once again gives you a story with a beginning, middle and end but also something to think about as to how other people struggle with their lives through no fault of their own.

Excellent, because it deals with current issues, eg. Poverty in a single parent family, but also with human frailty. The treatment of these issues is what makes this book so readable-it makes you laugh and cry. There is an inherent optimism.You

Having read all of Jojos books I was really looking forward to this one and kept it for my 4 hour flight. It did not disappoint. Straight into the characters and story and even had me laughing out loud much to my fellow passengers amusement. Here's to the next book!

Loved the honesty of the characters in this book. Reminds me of Little Miss Sunshine with a love story thrown in