Review: The Geography of You and Me

The Geography of You and Me
By Jennifer E. Smith
Published 2014 by Poppy

You don't expect to meet a new love interest while stuck in an elevator during a city-wide blackout but there Lucy and Owen are. They become friends during the blackout but, as life sends them to increasingly far-flung locales, they both wonder if that friendship is actually something more. Will they ever have a chance to find out?

I was a big fan of The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight and have been meaning to read Smith's subsequent books. When this, her latest, was available at ALA Midwinter, I happily snagged a copy and worked it into my reading schedule recently.

As I said in my review of that earlier title, it's always nice to get a lighthearted contemporary read in among all the usual dark and depressing stuff I read. And, I don't really think it's a spoiler to say that everything works out happily in this book, which, though perhaps unbelievable, is still nice to see every once in a while.

My main problem with this book was the first part. The first section of the book takes place during the blackout and introduces both Lucy and Owen. They meet, they start getting to know each other, and they realize they have some sort of connection. It's obviously necessary to the plot of the story for this section to exist. Unfortunately, I found this the least interesting part. I thought it lasted a bit too long and I was ready to move onto the story of how they were going to fall in love and end up together.

Once I got past the first part, I loved the way the story unfolded. The chapters alternate between a view into Lucy's life and one into Owen's and it's nice to see how their lives are unfolding in parallels. I love that they keep in touch through postcards (well, Owen does, at least) and I love that they are both on journeys, both physically and mentally. I love that their journeys are similar as well, of understanding who they are and of understanding their parents and how they relate to them. I liked that this book was about more than the romance between the two leads, but also that the romance developed so slowly. I'm not sure how believable any of it is, but it's still a sweet story to read. This is sure to please romance fans.

Thanks to the publisher for an advance reader's copy.