Reviews for Addition

• great book.....brilliant message

  External review by: Kerrie Creelman | Mar 21, 2008

  Couldn't put this book down. I laughed and I cried. This book is like a beautifully wrapped gift....inside is a clever and moving message about tolerance and understanding wrapped up in a history lesson and heart warming love story. Jordon delivers much, don't miss the opportunity! (view in context)

• 3.5 stars rather than 4

  External review by: SJSmith | Jun 26, 2008

  This is actually quite an odd book and I fluctuated between how I felt about it. Overall, it's not quite 4 stars for me as I feel it went on too long. As there isn't much product description the plot revolves around Grace Lisa Vandenberg who has an obsessive compulsive disorder - for counting. Naturally this consumes her life, from the simplest things like the number of bananas in her shopping trolley through to things like keeping the speedometer level when driving. She doesn't work, she can't drive and isn't in a relationship with anyone, nor does she have any friends.
  
  As the book progresses we know when and where the counting started and we are actually informed early on in the novel, but it didn't make sense to me initially. The first chapter is quite difficult to read. If you can get past that then you are in for a decent read. It isn't brilliant but it is certainly different. She has an admiration for Nikola Tesla, the inventor of electricity and this is where the novel fell down for me. We spend far too much time reading about him and his life, how he made his discoveries etc, whereas I'd rather have been reading about Grace.
  
  Her family have done their best to support her but the only one who really gets her is her niece Larry. She's actually called Hilary, the rest of the family call her Hilly but for some reason Grace calls her Larry. Early in the novel (the first chapter) in walks Seamus Joseph O'Reilly who could play a big part in her life if it wasn't for the counting. This was more interesting than Nikola Tesla but still more information was revealed about electricity and its uses, it just wasn't interesting but it might be for someone. A novel I'm pleased I've read, one that's certainly different from the norm but one I won't be shouting from the roof tops about.
  (view in context)