One Plus One 
by Jojo Moyes Pamela Dorman Books, Juky 2014Another winner from JoJo Moyes. 

... a happy read!

This is a story set in England about a recently divorced software millionaire, Ed Nichols who has inadvertently run afoul of the law.  His high end life style is unraveling as he meets Jess Thomas, a woman working two job who is separated from her husband.  Jess is struggling financially to raise their daughter Taznie a math wiz and her husband’s son Nicky from an earlier coupling.  As Ed awaits trial for insider trading (he gave a stock tip to a pesky girlfriend) through some unusual circumstances he ends up taking Jess, Nicky, Tanzie and the family dog Norman to Scotland for the math competition.   Things happen on the road trip – I love road trip stories!

The story is told by four narrators (Ed, Jess, Tanzie and Nicky) but primarily Ed and Jess.  The character development is superb.  Jess grapples with her finances and tries to provide what Tanzie and Nicky need but falls short.  Her struggle seems very real.  Nicky her stepson is a Goth character with a kind heart subject to neighbor bullying, and protective of his sister.  Tanzie is a precocious pre-teen intent on a scholarship to an academy known for math.  The author has constructed a modern day family that feels authentic.  The love story between Ed and Jess is ever so slightly contrived but by that point in the story I was all in.

I highly recommend this book.  If you liked Me Before You by the same author you will like this book.  If you haven’t read Me Before You do so, it was one of the best books I read last year.  This story doesn’t have the ethical issues in Me Before You but it is a happy read.

I read a copy of this book provided by the publisher