Skip to main content

THE STATISTICAL PROBABILITY OF LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT by Jennifer E. Smith


copyright date: January 2012
primarily marketed for: young adults (12 and up)

After reading a few heavy books, I picked up The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith from my shelf of to-be-read books expecting a light, fluffy romance. 

I should know better by now.  I wouldn’t have purchased it if it were just a light, fluffy romance. 

Of course I was completely sucked in by the premise that everything happens for a reason, even if the reason is not apparent at first.  Hadley is on her way to London for her father’s wedding—the beginning of a marriage to a woman Hadley has never met because why would she want to meet the source of the affair that broke her family apart?  Anyway, she misses her flight because of a series of choices and mishaps. 

Now, having changed her path to London, Hadley encounters a guy.  An attractive guy.  A charming guy.  A guy who insists on keeping her company and happens to have a seat near hers on the next flight to London. 

The well-written, genuine, sometimes humorous voices of Hadley and Oliver definitely helped the story ring true, as well as the honest relationships amongst family members (and soon-to-be family members) Smith has crafted add to the authenticity. Although there are still many aspects of this story that are completely implausible, I just didn’t care.  In fact, while I was reading I didn’t even notice.  I was so wrapped up in Hadley’s journey that I wanted to believe it all. 

Hadley’s story is much more a coming-of-age story than a romance.  Through twists of fate and spontaneous decisions, she mends her broken relationships with each of her parents and learns how to be herself.

Comments

  1. I just bought this on my kindle the other night-I think it was maybe $3.99 at the most. So it's sitting on ready.....

    Right now I'm reading Skinny-about an overweight girl who chooses to have the gastric bypass surgery. It's a good one!

    Shannon
    http://www.irunreadteach.wordpress.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. Haven't been able to read this yet...it keeps getting checked out! Thanks again for gifting our classroom with it!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have two copies of this!!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I LOVE your blog. I come back to it time and time again to click on your categories and read your reviews. I have a new list for back to school now, thanks to you. I appreciate these great posts. Keep on reading! Heather

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

TAKE WHAT YOU CAN CARRY by Kevin C. Pyle

copyright date: March 2012 primarily marketed for: young adults (12 and up) Despite the fact that the teacher in me sees so many lesson possibilities in Kevin C. Pyle’s graphic novel Take What You Can Carry , you should read it simply for the grace of its stories.   The artwork is as striking as the stories it tells.   Using artwork in two different colors and styles, Pyle tells the stories of two teenage boys living years and miles apart.   And yet, he communicates the universality in their experiences.   One boy is a Japanese American forced to move into an internment camp during WWII.   His family struggles to maintain their dignity and sense of peace under unbearable conditions. The other is a rebellious boy with an attitude whose reckless behavior causes him to wind up in trouble with the law.   To make amends, he finds himself completing community service hours in the most unlikely place.   I found my...

ALL THESE THINGS I’VE DONE by Gabrielle Zevin

copyright date: September 2011 primarily marketed for: young adults (8 th grade and up) I wish I would’ve known this was the beginning of a series before I started this book.   Then again, I might never have picked it up if I thought I might be committing to multiple books… At any rate, this is not a story I will be sad to return to this fall when the sequel is released.   Anya’s story takes place in New York City, in the future.   Around the time you will be old enough to be grandparents. This is a sort of post-apocalyptic, dystopian kind of book in a mild way.   Basically, the United States has self-destructed, and yet life seems to go surprisingly similar to the way we live nowadays.   Except that water and paper are costly and hard to come by.   Chocolate is prohibited.   Caffeine is an illegal drug.   Which is all to say that the setting alone is intriguing. Add to that setting, the fact that Anya is the oldest daughter of the ...

CROSSING STONES by Helen Frost

copyright date: 2009 primarily marketed for: middle school and up Helen Frost is one of my favorite authors.   I have adored every book I’ve read by her.   In fact, the copies of some of her books in our school library have disappeared because I am apparently not the only one who appreciates her work.   Her stories, told in poetic verse, are always moving and then I am always amazed to discover there is a specific format she follows when writing the poetry for each book.   You might remember her book Diamond Willow , which was a recent Caudill nominee.   Crossing Stones is the story of four teenagers during World War I (two sets of brothers and sisters who are neighbors).   The boys, Frank and Ollie, end up going off to fight in the war, while the girls, Muriel and Emma, each face their own struggles at home.   The voices of all four characters are threaded throughout the book with grace.   The poetry alternates viewpoints and includes...