Who knew you could jam THAT many plot twists into one book? This suspenseful thriller will prove to you that the grass is not always greener. Taking a critical look at love and relationships this book plays on our human desires and fears; finding our soulmate or our perfect match. The One by John Marrs gets 4/5 stars. Although I struggled to get started, I found it to be a thought provoking read through to the last chapter.
In The One, society has discovered the part of our DNA that can match us with our perfect partner. The single human being on the planet that we are genetically designed to be with, with 99% accuracy. Five individuals have received their match and are about to discover that meeting their true love doesn't guarantee a fairytale ending.
The concept of meeting your perfect match is an intriguing one. Some of us spend incredible amounts of our time and energy yearning for nothing more. What I loved about this book was that it showed you all the ways it can go wrong, despite being paired with your genetically determined person. Being scientifically matched does not mean that person will check all of the boxes on your dream list of qualities. They could be in a drastically different age bracket, gender, or place in the world than you ever would have chosen for yourself. What happens when that person is not what you envisioned for your life? Do you stay with that person even if it means changing one of your core values?
This book forced me to think about relationships from a different lens. It made me think about creating the life I want rather than waiting for it to come and find me. At first, when I asked myself if I would sign up to meet my perfect match, I said yes. It seems as though meeting one's match would simplify things and end in a fairytale romance. But at second glance, it is equally possible to be detrimental to us. If we relied on a genetic match to find romantic fulfillment, we risk ignoring potentially wonderful and life-changing opportunities right around us. Opportunities for personal growth and happiness, which could be equally fulfilling, but we don't invest in them as fully because it's not scientifically backed up. Why wait around for something to tell you who to be with, when you can be out there creating your happy ending for yourself? Building a life that you want and growing as an individual because of it.
The initial challenge for this book is introducing 5 separate storylines, keeping each one straight, and equally engaging as the one before it. I believe this is the reason it took me longer to get invested as I often had to flip back a few chapters to remember who was who. If you are reading the one and feeling the same way, keep going because it is definitely worth it. Once I was able to keep the various storylines straight I was hooked. There was an incredible amount of surprises in store for each character, somehow I never became bored with anyone's story, although I did have favorites.
If you are interested in stories relationship drama and intensity this would be a great selection. There is plenty of suspense to keep you turning the page and parts that read like a thriller. I found the concept fascinating and I couldn't stop talking about it with my friends and the family. Comment below if you have read The One and whether or not you would find your match if you could!
Yours Literarily,
Lauren.
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