Review #155: The One Plus One by Jojo Moyes

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



“Heartbreak was a luxury too costly for the single parent.”

----Jojo Moyes

Jojo Moyes, an international best-selling British author, have spun yet another heart-touching tale about a single parent and her priorities in her life, in her latest book, The One Plus One. They say, it's hard for a single parent to stay strong and take care of her kids, but Jojo Moyes gives a whole new definition on being a single parent in a hard life.



Synopsis:

One single mum.
With two jobs and two children, Jess Thomas does her best day after day. But it's hard on your own. And sometimes you take risks you shouldn't. Because you have to...

One chaotic family.
Jess' gifted, quirky daughter Tanzie is brilliant with numbers, but without a helping hand she'll never get the chance to shine. And Nicky, Jess' teenage stepson, can't fight the bullies alone. Sometimes Jess feels like they're sinking...

One handsome stranger.
Into their lives comes Ed Nicholls, a man whose life is in chaos, and who is running from a deeply uncertain future. But he has time on his hands. He knows what it's like to be lonely. And he wants to help...

One unexpected love story.


Jessie Rae Thomas, is a single mother, left abandoned by her husband, Marty, who got scared of mature responsibilities of their two teenage kids, Nicky, a meek and geek boy, and Tanzie, the maths wiz. Jess tries hard to make ends meet by working as a cleaning lady in a glitzy and posh neighborhood houses and as a barmaid at a local pub. Nicky, Jess' stepson, is a subject to constant bullying by some neighborhood guys, and one fine day Tanzie gets an opportunity to participate in a maths competition in Scotland, unfortunately, Jess didn't have that kind of money to support for this competition. But in her already messed up life, Jess' path crosses with the dashing and rich computer techie, Ed Nicholls in a strange circumstance when Jess and her kids were waiting by the pavement to go to Scotland for the competition, while this Ed guy stops his car to help them, thus rescuing Jess from a difficult situation. But Ed has his own demons and crisis to fight for, and Jess' and her kids presence surprisingly makes things easier for him. Read the novel to know how Jess and Ed's relationship unfolds.

The writing style is absolutely fantastic, and the plot is layered with humorous moments and funny anecdotes. While reading the book, I felt that the author must have poured all her emotions into this book, at each and every step, my heart was filled with sympathy and content for Jess, who no matter how hard the situation became, she never lost her hope, and many a times, she almost lost it due to Nicky's constant being bullied by the local thugs situation. In short, the emotions run deep and the author have described those bullying scenes sensitively. The narrative is catchy and free-flowing, and with such an articulate prose, I was engrossed into this deeply emotional and at times funny journey of Jess.

The character are striking and I can say that Jess is the epitome of any single mother in this world, yes there's lot to learn from the way she handles her kids and at the same time trying to provide them roof and food. Her strong determination is one thing that will keep you hooked on the depth of this story. Her kids, Nicky is a nerd guy, struggles with bullying, meek, and he can be related to many boys of his age. The author crafted Nicky's character with enough realism. Tanzie is fabulous and will make a mark upon our hearts with her lively and intelligent demeanor. Ed comes across as the selfish and self-centered guy in the beginning, but as he starts to open up, we are only bound to feel sorry for his financial crisis. All the characters are, in short, thoughtfully drawn and they all are a package of their own flaws and burden and maybe that's what made so interesting to read about them!

This book is perfect for a lazy weekend read since it is romantic yet not too cheesy, emotional yet not too dramatic, funny yet not too comic and thoroughly engaging.

Verdict: With such a realistic and unpredictable storyline, this is a must read book for all chick-lit readers.
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Author Info:
Jojo Moyes is a British novelist.

Moyes studied at Royal Holloway, University of London. She won a bursary financed by The Independent newspaper to study journalism at City University and subsequently worked for The Independent for 10 years. In 2001 she became a full time novelist.

Moyes' novel Foreign Fruit won the Romantic Novelists' Association (RNA) Romantic Novel of the Year in 2004.

She is married to journalist Charles Arthur and has three children.
Visit her here


Book Purchase Links:

• Amazon US 
• Amazon India