One Plus One

One Plus One by Jojo Moyes

I didn't really like the other book I read by Moyes, Me Before You, but I enjoyed this lighthearted escape (and I've been looking for a fun escape, rather unsuccessfully before now).  After a rather challenging morning homeschooling my children (someone exchanged my relatively well-behaved children for some monsters this week), I escaped into this book during naptime and didn't come out until after my husband had grilled supper.

One Plus One reminded me that my challenging days aren't really so challenging when set beside a single mom of two desperately trying to make ends meet, while one child is being bullied and the other is a genius with math but they can't afford the specialized training her gift needs.

I most appreciated two themes in the book:

1) Normal is highly over-rated.  "Everyone I've ever met who was worth knowing was a bit different at school.  You just need to find your people" (145).  School is simply different from real life.  In the adult world, people's unique abilities and personalities are celebrated and lead them to their own brand of success.  In school, however, like in a herd of animals, those who are different are targeted by the rest of the pack.

2) "Rich" is a matter of perspective.  To one of the main characters in the story, he was merely "well-off" but not rich.  To a person struggling just to put food on the table, however, he was rich.  It reminds me that I am rich.  Instead of comparing myself to those who live in extreme luxury, I need to appreciate that "rich is paying every single bill on time without thinking about it.  Rich is being able to have a holiday or get through Christmas without having to borrow against January and February.  Actually, rich would be just not thinking about money all the bloody time (how to get enough of it to get through another week)" (135).