Title: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight
Author: Jennifer E. Smith
Published: February, 2012 by Headline
Thanks: Hachette, AU
Pages: 215
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan’s life. She’s stuck at JFK, late to her father’s second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon to be step-mother that Hadley’s never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport’s cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he’s British, and he’s in seat 18C. Hadley’s in 18A.

Twists of fate and quirks of timing play out in this thoughtful novel about family connections, second chances and first loves. Set over a 24-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver’s story will make you believe that true love finds you when you’re least expecting it.

Final Thoughts: I was so torn on rating this one, because while I really enjoyed The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, there simply wasnt enough. I loved the characters and the cute little romance, but the book itself was too short for me to get as invested as I would’ve liked!

Like I said above, it’s extremely short. I saw in someone’s review that they noted it could be read on an airplane flight – much in-tune with the character’s story – and they’re right. This book is just a fraction over the 200-page mark, which is good because it doesn’t look daunting, but bad because by the end of it you’re wanting more of Hadley and Oliver.

Another thing that didn’t exactly work in my favour with this book was the third-person, present-tense narrative it was written in. I think I would have preferred a first-person from Hadley’s point of view. I really liked her as the central female character and could relate to her a whole lot (panic attacks, ah!) and just the whole stressful ordeal she’d found herself in altogether. She was refreshing and I didn’t have any qualms with her whatsoever.

Oliver was also a great love interest, though I wish we would have spent more time with him and Hadley interacting. There were a few little ‘flashback’ memories from Hadley regarding their time together on the plane, and I wonder why we didn’t see it all play out ourselves. The time Hadley and Oliver spent together was sweet, but a little too minimal, and for a book of this size, it got crushed down underneath the weight of Hadley’s father’s marriage and so-on.

That being said, the ‘family portion’ of the book was well-played out and orchestrated, too. I’m shocked that Jennifer E. Smith could fit in as much as she did with that meager page count. I only wish everything could’ve been stretched out a little longer in hindsight. I managed to read this book almost in one hit (with just a pause for a nap, if I’m being honest!) and the ending did make me smile, which really counts.

I would have given this book a four-star if those few little niggling points I mentioned didn’t exist, but please don’t let my rating dissuade you from picking up the book. It really is a cute and sweet little finds, and fans of contemporary romance will be pleased with it. I’ve been wanting to read it for such a long time and it delivered in the sense of providing me with a quick escape from real life.

Recommended to: Fans of contemporary YA will enjoy. The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight proves itself as this years ‘set over 24-hours’ YA read!

About the Author Jennifer E. Smith grew up outside of Chicago and graduated from Colgate University. She earned her master’s in creative writing from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, and currently lives in New York City. Smith is an editor at Random House, and she previously worked at ICM.

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