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A review by lizbizfizz
The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith
4.0
I'd be lying if I said that every time I get to an airport, I'm not looking around at all my fellow passengers and hoping to be seated next to a handsome stranger (preferably British). Unfortunately for me, it's never happened. I've certainly had some interesting conversations on planes and in waiting rooms, but always with people who are too old or young or married or boring or female. Just my luck.
But I'm pretty sure almost all of us are hoping for that kind of connection, because we sure do love movies and books about it. It's Before Sunrise and An Affair to Remember and even When Harry Met Sally -- two people trapped in an enclosed space together who against all odds fall in love. And I know it happens in real life, too. I used to work with a girl who met her boyfriend in the seat beside her on an airplane. And a couple of people who met someone on a bus or a train. It seems like such an accessible, normal, average way to find true love that requires little effort on your part -- just show up to your flight, and the hard part's practically done.
That's the story here in this charming book. Hadley is on her way to London for her father's second wedding, to a younger woman she's never even met. Dragging her feet in anticipation of a terrible weekend, she misses her flight and ends up on the next one, fortuitously next to a cute English stranger named Oliver.
It wouldn't do to give up any more of the plot, but you've probably guessed what happens anyway. You're mostly right, except this is a little more of a family drama than a romance. Hadley is having a tough time accepting her father's new life, and our hero Oliver has a few things going on in his life as well.
The narration is sweet and straightforward. One small detail I liked a lot is that Hadley's parents are only referred to as "Mom" and "Dad," never by first names. It makes the story feel personal and contained, even though we are traveling across continents. Hadley is a refreshingly normal character -- sometimes after reading so many fantasies and dystopias, it's nice to read about someone who isn't destined to be anything except a regular teenager.
I used it already but the only word I can really use to describe this book is "charming." It's a quick read -- it only took me a couple of hours -- and a sweet story. And grading on the YA curve, the cover is great.
"Hadley doesn't feel like talking right now, not even to someone as cute as he is. She doesn't feel like being here at all, actually. The day ahead of her is like something living and breathing, something that's barreling toward her at an alarming rate, and it seems only a matter of time before it will knock her flat on her back."
But I'm pretty sure almost all of us are hoping for that kind of connection, because we sure do love movies and books about it. It's Before Sunrise and An Affair to Remember and even When Harry Met Sally -- two people trapped in an enclosed space together who against all odds fall in love. And I know it happens in real life, too. I used to work with a girl who met her boyfriend in the seat beside her on an airplane. And a couple of people who met someone on a bus or a train. It seems like such an accessible, normal, average way to find true love that requires little effort on your part -- just show up to your flight, and the hard part's practically done.
That's the story here in this charming book. Hadley is on her way to London for her father's second wedding, to a younger woman she's never even met. Dragging her feet in anticipation of a terrible weekend, she misses her flight and ends up on the next one, fortuitously next to a cute English stranger named Oliver.
It wouldn't do to give up any more of the plot, but you've probably guessed what happens anyway. You're mostly right, except this is a little more of a family drama than a romance. Hadley is having a tough time accepting her father's new life, and our hero Oliver has a few things going on in his life as well.
The narration is sweet and straightforward. One small detail I liked a lot is that Hadley's parents are only referred to as "Mom" and "Dad," never by first names. It makes the story feel personal and contained, even though we are traveling across continents. Hadley is a refreshingly normal character -- sometimes after reading so many fantasies and dystopias, it's nice to read about someone who isn't destined to be anything except a regular teenager.
I used it already but the only word I can really use to describe this book is "charming." It's a quick read -- it only took me a couple of hours -- and a sweet story. And grading on the YA curve, the cover is great.
"Hadley doesn't feel like talking right now, not even to someone as cute as he is. She doesn't feel like being here at all, actually. The day ahead of her is like something living and breathing, something that's barreling toward her at an alarming rate, and it seems only a matter of time before it will knock her flat on her back."