June's Book: One Plus One by Jojo Moyes

[Metropolitan]

Talk about it here!

[Metropolitan]

Here's a link to some discussion questions from LitLovers:

http://www.litlovers.com/reading-guid...

Share your thoughts here if you like!

[Amanda]

This is the fourth Jojo Moyes book I have read. I have enjoyed them all. My favorite is Me Before You.

[Metropolitan]

I'm about half through it right now and it's very funny! I've never read any of her other books, are they all standalones or does she have recurring characters?

Someone said it reminded them of the movie Little Miss Sunshine, and I can definitely see some parallels. This is a good summer read, I think.

[Metropolitan]

Wow, I'm approaching the end and it's really taken a turn. I'm quite sure it will have a happy ending though...

[Metropolitan]

*spoiler alert* it does have a happy ending. :)

[Metropolitan]

A couple of the questions from the above link that stood out for me:

Q: Do you support Jess’s decision to go into debt to pay for Norman’s hospital bills rather than put him to sleep?

I strongly do. Not just because I like animals, but because that dog was Tanzie's lifeline. Their relationship was so close that if she had lost him after all the other disappointments she'd experienced in such a short time, she might not have recovered. Economically maybe it wasn't the smartest choice, but emotionally it really was.


Q: Even though Marty himself is reluctant, Jess opens her home to Nicky, Marty’s son by “a woman he’d dated briefly in his teens” (p. 9), after his birth mother essentially abandons him. If you were Jess, would you be willing to raise Nicky as your own child?

I would have, because the poor kid had literally no one to care about him. The genetic tie to Marty was the reason he came to live with them, but the emotional connection to Jess and Tanzie is why he wanted to stay there. As a stepparent myself, I know that it doesn't really matter who the biological parents are if you care deeply about a kid's well being and have the ability to support him or her.

What do you guys think?

[Allison]

I enjoyed this book even if it did seem a bit like a little Miss Sunshine. I thought the backstory of the central family was deeper and key to making it an emotional read.
Q1: I would absolutely go in debt to save a beloved family pet. Especially since the pet has such a connection to Tanzie who is vulnerable at this time.

Q2: I don't have or want kids so I can't really say what this would be like but If I did decide I wanted to raise children I think I'd be okay with them being stepchildren or even foster children.