Book Review: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

Title: The Statistical Probability

      of Love at First Sight

Author: Jennifer E. Smith

# Of Pages: 256

Publisher: Poppy

Publication Date: January 2, 2012

Level: Young Adult

Rating: 4 Hearts

Synopsis

(From Amazon.com)

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.

My Verdict

Reading this book was like watching a romantic comedy.  It was cute, sweet, and funny, and thoroughly enjoyable.

Don’t let the idea of love at first sight deter you from reading this book. I am no fan of insta-love myself but that is not the case here. Yes, Hadley and Oliver fall in love in just a short amount of time but it does not feel forced or rushed at all.

The story starts out with Hadley missing her flight to London and having to wait at the  airport for hours before the next flight. This is where she meets sweet, funny, British Oliver. It only takes a matter of minutes before these two strike up a friendship. Although, they lose each other in the airport, fate brings them together again on the plane. They spend almost the whole flight talking; their conversations were fun and humorous leaving a smile on my face every time. 

I found Hadley and Oliver to be very likable characters. There wasn’t a thing about them that bothered me, They were both totally down to earth. Although I would consider this a light and fun read, both the main characters are dealing with some tough family issues, so the story isn’t all just a walk in the park.

The main downfall of this book for me was the writing style. It was written in a narrative style, Hadley walked to the counter. Hadley never felt like this before. I found this to be a very detached method and I felt as though I didn’t get to know the characters as deeply as I would have liked. 

Just like you re-watch your favorite chick flick over and over, I can see myself returning to this book again in the future.