Reviews

One Ordinary Day At A Time by Sarah J. Harris

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melaniesreads's review against another edition

5.0

There is nothing ordinary about this book. It begins with Simon as a young boy taking part in Little Einsteins and he has to answer all the English literature questions correctly in the sudden death round to win. After spotting his mum in the audience crying he has a lapse of concentration and answers incorrectly.

Fast forward to present day and child genius Simon is now a fry cook at Prince Burger and still having lapses in concentration (resulting in burnt french fries). Single mum Jodie starts working at Prince Burger and after years of being told she will never amount to anything she aspires to study English at Cambridge.

What happens next is magical. I don’t think I have ever wanted two fictional characters to succeed so much. Neither of them have had it easy and they have closed themselves off and are just going through the motions of life.

They aren’t slushy characters that you instantly fall in love with. They are real fully fleshed human beings with flaws and it’s all down to the talents of the author that she brings them completely to life and melds them into your heart.

In my opinion the cover portrayed this as a feel good book and don’t get me wrong in many ways it is, but it also has some darkness. The best way I can describe this book is that when life gives you both rain and sun it creates a beautiful rainbow, that’s how I feel about Simon and Jodie. They are the blend, their friendship is the rainbow and the author has created the pot of gold to be found at the end of this story.

ruthie_the_librarian's review against another edition

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4.0

This was very readable, and deals with a variety of difficult and dark topics, though manages to remain hopeful. I thought perhaps it was another Rosie Project reworking, but in the end it turned out to be more than that, and I was intrigued throughout as to what had happened to Simon, as each time you think you've guessed something, there's still a little bit more.
I did feel it ran a little long, and the point at which I thought I must be at the end turned out to still have a quarter of the book to go. This almost pushed it to 3 stars for me, and in some of the final unravelling I did keep thinking 'wait, what?!' But on the whole it was engaging, I cared about the characters, it had both humour & sadness, and I stayed up far too late to finish it!

hels08's review against another edition

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3.0

I really loved the colour of bee larkhams murder and was excited to read one ordinary day at a time.

I did enjoy reading the book, struggled at times, but I'm glad I kept on. I preferred the colour of bee larkhams murder to be honest. However this book was a heartwarming but also thought provoking read!

Follows the story of the 2 main characters Simon and jodie. Lots of feels!

Thank you netgalley for a copy of this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

llivsbooks's review against another edition

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3.0

One Ordinary Day at a Time is told from two perspectives; Jodie is a single mum who begins working at fast food restaurant Prince Burger whilst doing an Access to Uni course - her goal is English Lit at Cambridge. Simon is a socially awkward genius, obsessed with maths and judging the IQ levels of his peers, often to their disdain. He’s working at Prince Burger but feels as though he’s going nowhere, hoping to improve his life and prospects once he solves a decades-old mathematical problem which he dedicates much of his spare time to.

This story follows the two characters as they navigate their new and unlikely friendship. Simon has agreed to tutor Jodie before her Cambridge entrance exams in exchange for lessons in conversation and socialising.

Simon and Jodie are both fighting their own inner demons, too. Jodie’s abusive ex has recently left prison and is seeking contact with her son again, while Simon is plagued by insecurities as a result of abuse at the hands of his father throughout his childhood.

One Ordinary Day at a Time tackled some serious issues very well. Both characters learned that their past does not have to define their abilities or life prospects later on in life, and that they can both achieve great things if they believe in themselves.

I enjoyed most elements of this story but unfortunately some parts dragged for me. Some of the dialogue and story felt cliché and predictable.

Regardless, I would recommend this book for fans of The Rosie Project and Half a World Away!

thereadingparamedic's review against another edition

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4.0

One Ordinary Day is such an adorable book. Simon and Jodie are two wonderful characters, who find they have more in common than they think. Simon reminds me of David from Legally Blonde - super smart but struggles with social interaction. Jodie is a fighter & has an inner strength she herself is unable to realise. Together, they can take on the world!!

A truly lovely book. I recommend!!

sambooka23's review against another edition

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4.0

I was really looking forward to this and thought it would be right up my alley but I thought it was a little bit of a slow burner. However, I did enjoy the obvious chemistry between Simon and Jodie and how they came into each other’s life.

It was very much a cute, real story and I felt, very cliched but it worked!

There was a few twists and turns that I didn’t expect especially with Simon which kept me gripped to the story. I think Simon and Jodie have both had their hurdles but they’ve somehow managed to work through them all and get their happy ending.

Very cliché with some twists and turns, I did enjoy the book. A huge thanks to Anne for allowing me a stop on this book tour and to Sarah J Harris for a copy of her new book!

salreads's review against another edition

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5.0

This book came very highly recommended and it didn’t disappoint. I went into the read ‘blind’ and within pages was hooked, the characters twirled around my heart and sucked me in.
This is the story of Jodie and Simon, both employees of a fast food outlet. Jodie is the single Mum of the very cute Zack. She was raised in care, abused by Zack’s Father and is desperate to get to Cambridge to study English Literature and become a teacher. Simon is socially awkward, incredibly clever but doesn’t know how to interact with others. He was raised as a child prodigy, paraded in childhood genius competitions, tutored and coached mercilessly. Both of them have secrets, both of them have dreams. Simon and Jodie need something from each other - Jodie needs help preparing her application for Cambridge, Simon needs help interacting with others..A friendship of sorts is forged, but as the secrets start to emerge everything is threatened.
I loved this book for so many reasons. The characters are so fully fleshed you could predict what they might eat on a Wednesday, wear on a night out, what film they would choose to watch. I wanted to wrap all of them up in my arms, I wanted a happy ending where Zack had a garden and chickens, Simon had found his happy place and Jodie was teaching English Literature. But this isn’t a cosy world that they inhabit and I felt the constant threat of Jodie’s ex partner whose violence is evidenced on the scars on her arm. Simon’s mental health is clearly unstable and his sense of purpose is hanging on discovering the answer to a previously unsolved mathematical equation. My heart ached for Simon and Jodie…but in the midst of it there were the gorgeous uplifting moments - when Simon and Jodie join a quiz team of pensioners who have pooled their great life wisdom but never won.the quiz, where Jodie has her interview for Cambridge…And best of all the moments when Simon looks after Zack and learns to swing on a swing and teaches Zack about the beauty of a mathematical universe. A very very gorgeous read. Thank you so much to Netgalley and Harper Collins for a digital copy of this wonderful book.