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azurascarlet 's review for:
The One Plus One
by Jojo Moyes
“When you put someone down all the time, eventually they stop listening to the sensible stuff.”
“The law of probability combined with the law of large numbers states that to beat the odds, sometimes you have to repeat an event an increasing number of times in order to get you to the outcome you desire. The more you do, the closer you get. Or… basically, sometimes you just have to keep going.”
“Sometimes, she told herself, life was a series of obstacles that just had to be negotiated, possibly through sheer act of will. She stared out at the muddy blue of the endless sea, gulped in the air, lifted her chin, and decided that she could survive this. She could survive most things. It was nobody’s right to be happy, after all.”
“Because she knew that something happened to you when your mother didn't hold you close, or tell you all the time that you were the best thing ever, or even notice when you were home: a little part of you sealed over. You didn't need her. You didn't need anyone. And without even knowing you were doing it, you waited. You waited for anyone who got close to you to see something they didn't like in you, something they hadn't initially seen, and to grow cold and disappear, too, like so much sea mist. Because there had to be something wrong, didn't there, if even your own mother didn't really love you?”
“Tanzie knew Nicky was thinking what she was thinking—that Mum had finally gone mad. But she had read somewhere that mad people were like sleepwalkers—it was best not to disturb them."
“They were like animals, men. They found too much direct contact threatening”
I liked this book. I didn't get frustrated at any point and wasn't disappointed by most of the turn of events. It took me a while to get into it, but I did, eventually.
But let me tell you, this book was not as good as 'Me Before You' which is one of my absolute favourites. It was funny at some points but I didn't feel for any character except Tanzie.
Tanzie, a girl of 10, is a math genius. I already liked her character even before starting the book. Math had always been one of my favourite subjects even though I admit I am nowhere near Tanzie's level. But the fact that a character like this got represented in a book like this-- without bragging or super-humanising her skills-- is a change from most bland characters we see in every other book.
The negative point was that this book didn't connect with me. I mean, practically, it shouldn't because it is meant for people older than me but given the amount of "wise quotes" about parent-child relationship are included, I thought I could've liked it more. Reading it felt like watching a movie, an overly used plot. But somehow, the lack of one person narrative made it more like a script. There wasn't much difference in the voices of all the characters. They all sounded same and honestly the author could have done better while sticking to one character.
Also, I hate how Jojo Moyes does this switching narrative thingy in all her books. I didn't like it in "Me Before You" either although that book had only 4 chapters with other characters' POV.
All in all, I think it is unfair of me to compare all her books with "Me Before You". This book was good in its own way. But it wasn't special and I won't particularly recommend it.
“The law of probability combined with the law of large numbers states that to beat the odds, sometimes you have to repeat an event an increasing number of times in order to get you to the outcome you desire. The more you do, the closer you get. Or… basically, sometimes you just have to keep going.”
“Sometimes, she told herself, life was a series of obstacles that just had to be negotiated, possibly through sheer act of will. She stared out at the muddy blue of the endless sea, gulped in the air, lifted her chin, and decided that she could survive this. She could survive most things. It was nobody’s right to be happy, after all.”
“Because she knew that something happened to you when your mother didn't hold you close, or tell you all the time that you were the best thing ever, or even notice when you were home: a little part of you sealed over. You didn't need her. You didn't need anyone. And without even knowing you were doing it, you waited. You waited for anyone who got close to you to see something they didn't like in you, something they hadn't initially seen, and to grow cold and disappear, too, like so much sea mist. Because there had to be something wrong, didn't there, if even your own mother didn't really love you?”
“Tanzie knew Nicky was thinking what she was thinking—that Mum had finally gone mad. But she had read somewhere that mad people were like sleepwalkers—it was best not to disturb them."
“They were like animals, men. They found too much direct contact threatening”
I liked this book. I didn't get frustrated at any point and wasn't disappointed by most of the turn of events. It took me a while to get into it, but I did, eventually.
But let me tell you, this book was not as good as 'Me Before You' which is one of my absolute favourites. It was funny at some points but I didn't feel for any character except Tanzie.
Tanzie, a girl of 10, is a math genius. I already liked her character even before starting the book. Math had always been one of my favourite subjects even though I admit I am nowhere near Tanzie's level. But the fact that a character like this got represented in a book like this-- without bragging or super-humanising her skills-- is a change from most bland characters we see in every other book.
The negative point was that this book didn't connect with me. I mean, practically, it shouldn't because it is meant for people older than me but given the amount of "wise quotes" about parent-child relationship are included, I thought I could've liked it more. Reading it felt like watching a movie, an overly used plot. But somehow, the lack of one person narrative made it more like a script. There wasn't much difference in the voices of all the characters. They all sounded same and honestly the author could have done better while sticking to one character.
Also, I hate how Jojo Moyes does this switching narrative thingy in all her books. I didn't like it in "Me Before You" either although that book had only 4 chapters with other characters' POV.
All in all, I think it is unfair of me to compare all her books with "Me Before You". This book was good in its own way. But it wasn't special and I won't particularly recommend it.