The latest book by Jennifer E. Smith is much like the last book I read by her, The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight. If you enjoyed that one (I did) then you’ll probably enjoy this, too. Travel, chance meetings, lost-loves; this book is a romantic teenagers’ wet dream.
The action starts on a sweltering New York City day where two teens, Lucy and Owen, get trapped in the elevator of their apartment building when the power goes out. Once rescued, the two spend the night roaming a blacked-out New York and learning the smallest bits of information about each other. It’s then that fate intervenes and they’re left wondering if one night is enough to make something out of. Owen ventures West with his father as they search for work, stability, and something to fill the void left by the recent death of Owen’s mother. Lucy goes East to Scotland, then England, as she learns that sometimes in order to get what you want in life, you have to ask for it.
While the premise isn’t the most plausible, it does create an interesting jumping off point. The story is never really about Owen and Lucy together, but rather how one night can influence your decisions and life over the course of a year. For me, Owen’s side dragged a bit at times and there were moments that left me rolling my eyes more than anything. Lucy, on the other hand, really interested me. The exploration of her relationship with her mom was something I don’t think you see too often in more romance-geared teen books and it was something I wish they had done more of. The ending was also something I really liked. All too often these books end with the idea of Happily Ever After and, in reality, these are teenagers. I’m not saying it was ambiguous, but rather they accepted that sometimes the now is all you have and you just need to make the most of it.
This isn’t a book that’s going to change the world, but it was a nice escape from the evilness of this semester of school.
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