The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith
Grade: A-
Release date: April 15, 2014
This ARC was provided by Edelweiss and Little, Brown for Young Readers in exchange for an honest review.
Summary: Lucy and Owen meet somewhere between the tenth and eleventh floors of a New York City apartment building, on an elevator rendered useless by a citywide blackout. After they're rescued, they spend a single night together, wandering the darkened streets and marveling at the rare appearance of stars above Manhattan. But once the power is restored, so is reality. Lucy soon moves to Edinburgh with her parents, while Owen heads out west with his father.
Lucy and Owen's relationship plays out across the globe as they stay in touch through postcards, occasional e-mails, and -- finally -- a reunion in the city where they first met.
A carefully charted map of a long-distance relationship, Jennifer E. Smith's new novel shows that the center of the world isn't necessarily a place. It can be a person, too.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: One of the best parts of this book is the premise and how it plays out. It's all very well-written. And the second best part is the romance. It's very slow burn. It takes months for any sparks to actually happen between Owen and Lucy, and they don't end up together until much later in the book (and boy, is the ending sweet). I would've liked a bit more permanence, as it felt like the characters flitted all over, but that's part of the book's charm. Edinburgh, Scotland really comes to life in Lucy's chapters and, besides New York, it's my favorite setting in The Geography of You and Me. The whole idea of Owen and Lucy sending postcards to each other was charming, and it played out well. They joked about postcards shortly after they first met, and I loved how that was the catalyst for their communication throughout most of the book. Their first kiss was sweet, and I definitely reread the moment many times. I enjoyed the scene in Prague and how Lucy gradually pressed at her parents to acknowledge her and spend time with her. I both liked and disliked chapters 25-34. They flowed well, and I sort of get why they had to be different chapters, but I think they probably would've worked all as one, especially since the book is in 3rd person POV. At times, Owen's relationship with his dad (and his dad in general) felt a bit cliche and perhaps a bit blah to me. However, I did like how Owen and Lucy found different people in their time apart. It was incredibly realistic. As for relationships I wanted to see developed further, I wanted more of Lucy and her brothers! Sibling relationships are always some of the best to me. And, as for the ugly, one of the things I love most about Jennifer's books is that the language and romance are always PG.
The Verdict: I think The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight is still my favorite Jennifer E. Smith book, but The Geography of You and Me is a lovely read - definitely one I'll enjoy for quite some time and one that is worth giving a chance.
And now I have a special treat for you. Jennifer has generously donated a hardcover of The Geography of You and Me and magnets that have quotes from her books on them. I'm a bit jealous of the winner - that is one awesome prize! You can enter the giveaway below.
I love that you do so many giveaways.
ReplyDelete(I'm also hoping to get lucky again ;))
I have been wanting to read this! Crossing my fingers! And good luck to all this who enter!
ReplyDeleteKylie
Does following via Google Friend Connect not count for the "follow my blog" option? (I'll do one of the others if I have to, since you already have my email, but I like to have one method of following blogs and stick with it.)
ReplyDeleteThe Geography of Love at First Sight sounds like a cool book. Not the sort of thing I usually read, but it sounds interesting enough that I'd give it a try. I've never read any of the author's other books, so . . .
I don't really use GFC anymore (since at one point, they were planning to remove it), so I'd prefer one of the other options. :)
DeleteI actually haven't read any of her books,but I was excited about "The Naturals". I'm incredibly excited about this giveaway!
ReplyDeleteI think you're thinking of a different author. Jennifer Lynn Barnes wrote The Naturals. ;)
DeleteI'm looking forward to this book a lot! The Statistical Probability of Love at First sight and This is What Happy Looks Like are two of my favorite YA books! Glad to read you enjoyed this book! :)
ReplyDeleteI've never read any of her other books before, but I've heard great things! This one definitely has grabbed my attention because my husband and I were long distance for a year and a half. He lived in Washington state and I was in Chicago. So I have a special place in my heart for long distance relationships. :)
ReplyDeleteOh, so sorry! I guess I was. Anyway I shared about this on my blog and mentioned that I am so excited about exploring her books!
ReplyDeleteI've read This is What Happy Looks Like, and I absolutely loved it. I'm hoping to get my hands on this one ;)
ReplyDeleteThank you for holding so many giveaways and having a lot of entry options! I've said this way too many times already, but I love your blog. It's so interesting and well-organized, and you post often~
Aw, thank you!
DeleteAs for your question about subscribing by email, I checked Feedburner, and you're following as of February 8, but it's unverified, so check your email. Otherwise, I can probably remove your subscription and you can try again.
Hmm, I really can't find anything in my inbox or spam about a subscription confirmation. Could you please remove my subscription so I can enter again? Thank you so much! Sorry for the inconvenience.
DeleteIt's no problem at all! I deleted your subscription so you can try again.
DeleteI've heard good things!! Can't wait to read it!
ReplyDelete