Addition | 
 enlarge | Author: Toni Jordan
Publisher: Sceptre
Category: Book
List Price: £7.99
Buy Used: £0.01
You Save: £7.98 (100%)
New (20) Used (43) from £0.01
Avg. Customer Rating:  20 reviews
Sales Rank: 16249
Media: Paperback
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5.1 x 0.8
ISBN: 0340963778
EAN: 9780340963777
ASIN: 0340963778
Publication Date: June 12, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews: Read 15 more reviews...
 A good easy read but sometimes inauthentic November 21, 2008
I liked this book, mostly for the way that being different is portrayed, and as another reviewer said "sympathy for diversity", which is the main theme that drives the book forward. The narrator is refreshingly cynical and has a very discerning outlook on life: she's also very intelligent, so while it's a fairly light read, there's nothing mindless about it.
The issues surrounding OCD are sensitively handled, though towards the end it started to scream a bit of having a "message", which I find off-putting, especially in a book with so much promise.
I just couldn't get away from the one thing about it annoyed the hell out of me - Seamus is far too perfect. The start is authentic and funny, but then he comes along to sweep Grace off her feet and it totally lost me: I found it thoroughly unbelievable and trite.
 Quirky November 17, 2008
Another review I read referred to this book as quirky which I think is a good description. It is a strangely disturbing but at the same time humorous read. It is certainly a novel with a very unusual theme.
Grace Lisa Vandenburg counts due to the fact that she suffers from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. This is a far from easy condition to live with and not an easy subject to write about in a humorous manner. Somehow Toni Jordan has succeeded and although I found the subject matter disturbing there is humour in this love story.
Grace counts just about everything in her life from letters in peoples names, steps she takes to get from place to another and the number of bites needed to eat a meal! The letters in her name (19) are identical to those of Seamus Joseph O'Reilly also a (19), the man she meets who befriends her, which helps her in those first tentative steps towards accepting his friendship.
Their relationship blooms but it takes Grace a long time to come to terms with the fact that although she will always have behavioural problems there are people who love her for herself. There is no doubt that Grace's OCD has interfered with her life for many years and she has more than once made unsuccessful attempts to overcome it. Seamus is incredibly patient with Grace and eventually it all works out for them thanks to Grace realising that `Average does not mean normal'
 Thoroughly annoying book! October 18, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is without doubt the most annoying book I have ever started to read. I only made it to the end of chapter 6 as I couldn't take any more. If anyone ever exists like this woman I pity them! I do not know how this got onto Richard & Judy's list.
Very Funny September 27, 2008
I got this book randomly in a special offer but it was much better than expected. Packaged as 'chick-lit', it's not normally a genre I would pick up but it turned out to be a light, romantic read with depth too.
I chuckled by the second page: Grace is a witty, flawed and likeable and the characters she describes are equally funny such as her mother and psychiatrist and her therapy group of obsessive compulsives. Seamus is the man every girl wants to meet and the romance very sweet. I rooted for Grace and loved how she manages to resist to conform despite the many well-intended pressures around her. Some of the sex-scene info is a little predictable but overall unputdownable. Also reminded me a little of 'The curious incident of the Dog in the Nightime'. Addition
I liked the concept...good to read something a bit different September 9, 2008
3.5 stars
When Grace met Seamus in the supermarket the story started to get mildly amusing and it really took off for me when Grace started therapy sessions. Until then I found it a little hard to get in to (especially the Nikola Tesla - Graces's hero - parts).
The book is all told in the first person, from Graces's point of view and she is a witty character. Her take on the people she meets, especially in her therapy sessions was an amusing look at how we all imagine therapy sessions would be and I laughed out loud a few times. However, the change in Grace is sad and you long for her to do something about the way her life has changed. The way medication can make people conform into how we think they should behave, yet can change their personality is quite a sobering thought...one thing Grace didn't seem to be able to have for a while.
If you persevere you should find this a lovely tale about the normal things in life and how important they are because they make us who we are.
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