Publisher: Poppy/Little Brown
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Purchase: Amazon
It's the good sort of insta-love.Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything? Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan's life. She's stuck at JFK, late to her father's second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon to be step-mother that Hadley's never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport's cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he's British, and he's in seat 18C. Hadley's in 18A. Twists of fate and quirks of timing play out in this thoughtful novel about family connections, second chances and first loves. Set over a 24-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver's story will make you believe that true love finds you when you're least expecting it.
The Statistical Probability of Love at First sight was a bit of an eye-opener for me. My initial reaction after seeing the title was 1. 'cool title!' then, quite rapidly, 2. do I want to read a book where the insta-love, one of my greatest YA pet peeves, is immediately addressed in the title? I finally came to the conclusion that, 3. I did want to read this, because the cover was stunning, everyone was loving it, and it sounded unique, fresh, and quirky. And I'm glad I picked it up.
I never even noticed that this book was set in the space of 1 day. It felt so much longer than that--perhaps it was the complex backstories of the characters, and the sharp contrast between the broken Hadley and the intelligent and slightly mysterious Oliver (what is he studying?), and the fact that Hadley was such a real character. I never exactly felt like it was annoying insta-love; Oliver was charming, witty, funny, and such a fantastic love interest.
I have to say, however, that I was expecting this book to be completely set on the plane, which would've been really awesome. I guess that there's a limit to what you can do on an aeroplane when your characters are unable to connect with or contact with the outside world, and so the author had to move them off, which disappointed me a little. As much as I loved the British setting, I didn't think the part on the plane went for long enough!
It's not often that I say this for YA, but I don't feel that there was enough romance. While Hadley and Oliver did have their moments and I understand that too much romance in a 24-h novel would've crossed the line to irritating, I felt as though the kissing scenes should've been longer. Or maybe that's just coming from a die-hard Oliver fan :P.
This book isn't about love at first sight. It's about youth, and family, and learning to heal and move on. Jennifer Smith puts a new spin on an old story by creating a memorable cast of characters, heart-clenching romance, and insta-love that brightens your day. There's someone out there waiting for you--all you need to do is find him. Four and a half stars.
★★★★
It was good/It was amazing
I have this one on my shelf, but I keep putting it off. And then I see another review like this and it makes me want to read it immediately! :P
ReplyDeleteHey, thanks for stopping by YAF and WS! I JUST ordered this from the library, and your review makes me so excited to read it!
ReplyDeleteI have this one waiting for me on my bookshelf, I really need to read it sometime! Your review has made me want to read it all the more :).
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment on my review for The Selection, and yes America Singer is a singer lol. Perhaps Kiera Cass knew she was a singer before she got her last name and for lack of a better name, she named her Singer? :P
I really enjoyed this book :) I definitely agree though, I really thought a larger part of the story was going to take place on the plane. Great review.
ReplyDeleteThis book looks really interesting. I think that the theme is something not many writers dare to explore. ;)
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