This was absolutely one of the best books of 2009. I know it is technically not 2009 yet. But the book will not be on sale until February 3rd. And trust me, I will remind you when the book hits the shelves.
Addition is a book about love. Love of our self, love of our family, love of significant others. And what we are willing to sacrifice for those we love. More specifically, what kind of change we are willing to encounter for those we love.
Grace Vandenberg is a 35 year old single woman in Melbourne, Australia. She is currently unemployed, but only because the administrators prefer that she teach the kids, as opposed to counting them. Her life is in complete order. She knows exactly how many steps it takes to get to the grocery store, how many steps it takes to get to the bathroom. She can only buy bananas in quantity of ten. She can only eat food after it has be cut into pieces divisible by three. Numbers are her world. Counting is her life.
She is in line at the grocery store when she realizes that she has nine bananas in her basket instead of ten. What is a woman to do? She takes the required tenth banana from the guy in line behind her. Which brings Seamus into her life.
"I used to be good at flirting. A lot of people think that
flirting is about sex. Well, flirting is about surprise, and surprise is
about sex. If someone can be unexpected using words, imagine how thrilling they
could be using their mouth."
Grace & Seamus are together only a little while when he discovers her quirks. And encourages her to see a therapist & join a therapy group of rehabbing OCDers. As the drugs kick in, the counting stop & Grace turns into someone that, while on the outside, appears normal. She is a dull, numb shadow of the woman she once was.
It takes a family emergency for Grace to emerge from her haze to realize that she LIKED who she was prior to the drugs & the therapy. And as much as she loves Seamus, she wants to go back to the way she was before he came into her life. The question is, can Seamus accept her & love her for who she was, not who he wants her to be.
Addition is a funny, intelligent book. The razor sharp wit is so dry it may be missed by the untrained eye. But make no mistake, it is there. Compromise is a part of relationships, it is a part of love. But what happens when the compromises we make turn us into someone completely different? Toni Jordan's book takes you into Grace's world. And what happens when Grace decides that even true love is not worth the compromises asked of her.
This is a do not miss book & I can't wait to discuss it with others once it hits the shelves!
This sounds really good! Darn you for getting all the advanced copies that I would want to read! :-P
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