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.
What a lovely little book.
I had heard many good things about Jennifer E. Smith's debut novel The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight before it finally made its way to me. So I was glad when I finally received notice that it was available at the library. It's not a very long book just over 230 pages and it took me no time to get it done. It really was a pleasure to read.
I love contemporary novels. They make me happy, and after reading The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, I was reminded of just how much I love them and why.
The story begins with Hadley (I just love her name), she's on her way to her father's wedding in London. A wedding that she does not want to be attending. Hadley is feeling incredibly emotional and dealing with a lot of things when she arrives at the airport- Anxiety over the wedding and guilt over a fight she's just had with her mother. So when she realizes she's missed her flight to London and is at risk of missing her father's wedding she's miserable.
It is at this time that we meet Oliver. Oh Oliver. Sweet, funny, sensitive Oliver, he was seated next to Hadley on the seven hour journey to London and he's exactly what Hadley needed to get through the flight and be at her father's wedding. Oh Oliver. In case you didn't notice I rather liked Oliver. He was a great character. And I really loved the conversations that took place between the two.
What made me appreciate this book more than anything was that it wasn't just about the romance between Oliver and Hadley. It was also about the relationship Hadley has with her father. It was broken and in much need of repair. Hadley hadn't yet forgiven her father for leaving her mother and inadvertently leaving her as well. She feels like he has this new life that she doesn't fit into. I could feel Hadley's confusion in this book. Her desire to have her father be a part of her life and her be a part of his, the anger she felt toward him and the resentment she felt toward his new wife. There was a plethora of emotions filtering this book and every single one of them I could sympathize with. Oliver was also dealing with issues that we do not discover until later in the story (I don't want to spoil). All his conflicting feelings were well written as well, and I could understand why he did/said some of the things he did.
I really liked how Smith was able to incorporate the wicked cute romance of Hadley and Oliver with dysfunctional family dynamics. I loved how Hadley and Oliver were able to garner strength from one another's situations and emotions. I like when books do that. When the story is about more than just the romance makes is a stronger book (in my opinion). That is what I found it The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight. A wonderfully written tale about forgiveness and growth and more than romance.
~Happy Reading
It sounds really cute, but I've gone back and forth with it for a while, so I guess I'll read it at some point but don't know where.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure this is a debut though