* * * *
Suppose your life sucks. A lot. Your husband has done a
vanishing act, your teenage stepson is being bullied and your maths 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 Maths Olympiad feels
like his first unselfish act in ages... maybe ever.
One Plus One is told from four POVs – Jess, Ed, Tanzie and Nicky. Entrepreneur Ed is in legal hell due to allegations of insider trading. Jess
is a single mom, trying to make ends meet for her daughter and stepson by
cleaning houses. Tanzie is a very gifted student and an incredible mathematician
who has the opportunity to go to a swanky private school that would nurture her
brain if only she can scrounge up the money for it. Nicky is her older half-brother
who would love to see her escape their neighbourhood and public school where he’s often picked on and
beaten up by the neighbourhood bully. The only connection that Jess has to Ed
is that she cleans his house. One day,
as he’s driving he sees Jess and her family by the roadside talking to the
police. Jess was pulled over (see she’s
not supposed to be driving and that car she was driving was a bit of a
disaster.) Ed jumps in to offer them a ride to Edinburgh so that Tanzie can
make the maths competition. Jess accepts out of sheer desperation and lack of a
better option. Ed does it for no other reason than to just do something good in
his already messed up life.
It's hard not to love this story that’s paced
so well allowing the characters to develop and open up. Everyone starts out
with an idea about themselves, what they’ve done with their lives so far and
how they fit into the scheme of things. Throughout the course of the book, each
character’s perspective is altered. Previous preconceptions are slowly stripped
away as they learn about what the other’s reality is. Being with Jess’ family
gives Ed a glimpse of what life’s like for a family on a very limited income. One
particularly enlightening conversation takes place when Tanzie recounts a list
of what a certain amount of money can buy them at the store. Ed is by no means
a millionaire but he lives comfortably. The point of that conversation being that
he doesn’t have to worry about money every day whereas Jess has to account for
every bit of it daily, and choose between which bill takes precedence over the
other. Same goes for Jess when she learns of the legal troubles he’s facing.
Just goes to show you that you can’t make assumptions about people. Tanzie and Nicky are quieter, offering introspective but illuminating
views of the world through their inner monologue.
This is a motley crew of awkward people who come together
through fate or coincidence – whatever you’d like to call it. It’s a big risk
for these strangers to trust one another and along the journey, they discover
more about themselves as they do about each other. There are laughs, tears,
ridiculous scenarios and also triumphant moments that’ll warm your heart. One
Plus One made a fan out of me, so much so that I immediately bought Moyes’
other book, Me Before You as soon as I was done with it. I really enjoy her writing
and how she allows her characters to tell their stories without feeling rushed.
If you’re looking for an entertaining summer read that leaves you feeling very
content, then add One Plus One to your list.
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