Me on The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight

Title: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight
Author: Jennifer E. Smith
Release Date: January 2, 2012
Publisher: Poppy (Hachette Book Group imprint)

Today should be one of the worst in Hadley's life. She's stuck at JFK, late to her father's second wedding taking place in London and to a woman she's never met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport's waiting area. His name's Oliver, he's British, and he's sitting in her row on the flight. A long night on the plane passes so quickly, and Hadley and Oliver lose track of each other in the airport chaos upon arrival.

Set over a twenty-four hour period, The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight is filled with twists and turns of fate and timing. It's romantic and theatrical, sweet, interesting, and completely adorable. Anchored by Hadley, the complicated and confused seventeen-year-old on her way to a wedding she never thought she'd have to attend, this single day in her life might possibly be one of the most important days.

The book is written in third person, but it's all Hadley, all of her confusion and anger. All her frustration and her feeling lost and confused. It's about Hadley being late, it's about Hadley meeting Oliver in the airport, but it's also about Hadley and her father, about their strained relationship and how, in her eyes, he ruined things when he left her and her mother. She's more than a little bitter, more than a little strained, and more than a little perfect for this book.

Writing this so takes place over a twenty-four hour period was so interesting and unique. The pacing was excellent, nothing felt rushed or bogged down. It felt longer that twenty-four hours, but it also felt like no time at all had passed. The best compliment I can give Jennifer E. Smith is that at the end of the book, I wanted another twenty-four hours with Hadley and Oliver.

At the heart of it, this book is about change, about that one thing that changes your life forever, about twists of fate and the coincidences and quirks of life. Hadley misses her original flight by four minutes. Can four minutes really change everything?

It felt like a holiday read, like Dash & Lily's Book of Dares which takes place at Christmas, even though this takes place in the summer. I imagine it's both how my mind was working and the sense that anything can happen on a holiday.

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight is an amazing story packed into twenty-four hours. It's such a journey for Hadley, it's second chances and first loves, and it leaves you wondering who you might meet the next time you're in the waiting area at the airport.

(I received a copy to review from Hachette Book Group Canada.)