The Statistical Probability Of Love At First Sight | Jennifer E. Smith | Review
Because there's nothing like an epically long title and a generous helping of young adult, here's my review of The Statistical Probability Of Love At First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith.
When Hadley misses her flight to London for her father's wedding she expects to spend the remaining hours waiting for the new plane and the flight over mulling over the fact that in 24 hours she'll have a new, supposedly, wicked step-mother. Instead by complete coincidence she meets Oliver. He's adorable and British...he's also scheduled on the same flight as her. And so ensues their story, it's one of luck and chance and just old school boy-meets-girl. The best part? Their story won't end in the departure lounge...it's just the beginning.
Despite its the book's genre Hadley is not quite your typical plain Jane teen girl with a low self-esteem. She's actually fairly popular at school, had an equally popular but douche-y boyfriend, gets on well with her mother and by YA standards is pretty normal - albeit rather book-ish. She's confident and witty, which matches almost perfectly with the dashing Oliver. Oliver is pretty much the embodiment of every teen girl fantasy. Tall, dark and handsome with striking eyes, he's intelligent and with a sharp sense sarcasm. He's older too, a student at ? University - coincidentally not too far from Hadley herself.
So what's my verdict?
'Stats Prob', as I've lovingly nicknamed it, is pretty much your standard YA novel of girl meets boy and they fall in love. But there's something about Hadley that's quite endearing and a lot less annoying than the usual female protagonists in this genre. She is perfectly happy on her own and has her own set of problems outside of her love life - namely the prospect of meeting her father's new wife for the first time at their wedding. In fact, I actually found myself caring more about whether Hadley's reconciles with her father and what Oliver's real reasons for being on a flight back to England. Their romance feels secondary to what will surely be a stronger friendship in the long run.
Reading soundtrack:
Jet Lag: Simple Plan ft Natasha Bedingfield; World Of Chances: Demi Lovato; Paper Aeroplane: KT Tunstall; If You Ever Come Back: The Script; Kiss Me Slowly: Parachute
For lovers of
Teen love stories, authors like Rachel Cohn, John Green, Meg Cabot and Maureen Johnson.
This review was written by regular reviewer Ria, get to know her here.
All photos (c)Ria Cagampang
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