One Plus One: A Novel
*Starred Review* One Plus One equals one fine novel. With its ensemble cast of skillfully crafted characters—from single-mom Jess Thomas to tortured goth teen Nicky and gifted sister Tanzie to Ed Nicholls, technology millionaire—each person’s story flows on its own, yet they all meld together into an uncommonly good story about family, trust, and love. Best-selling Moyes (The Girl You Left Behind, 2013) gets things rolling as this hysterically mismatched mélange—along with Norman, a slobbering 80-pound dog of “indeterminate” breed—embarks on a road trip from the English shore to Aberdeen, Scotland, so that Tanzie can compete in a maths “Olympiad.” Her ability to enroll in a prestigious school rides on whether she can win the competition’s cash prize. She’s certainly earned the best education; her family just can’t afford it. In a riotous twist and momentary lapse of good sense, Ed volunteers his “top-of-the-range” Audi, complete with his services as driver. There are high jinks galore as perhaps one-too-many gastrointestinal problems arise, but, in all, the trip, with what Ed perceives as its terrifying “boundarylessness,” delivers on its promise, just not in the way anyone anticipated. Bravo to Moyes for delivering toothsome characters in a story readers will truly care about. Is that Hollywood calling? --Donna Chavez