reveriesociety_
Written on Dec 4, 2013
Quirks of timing feature in this romantic novel about family connections, second chances, and first loves. Set over a twenty-four-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver find that true love can be unexpected. Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan's life. Having just missed her flight, she's stuck at JFK airport and late to her father's second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon-to-be stepmother 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 sitting in her row. A long night on the plane passes in the blink of an eye, and Hadley and Oliver lose track of each other in the airport chaos upon arrival. Can fate intervene to bring them together once more?
- ISBN10 0316122394
- ISBN13 9780316122399
- Publish Date 1 January 2013 (first published 1 January 2012)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Little, Brown & Company
- Format Paperback (US Trade)
- Pages 272
- Language English
Reviews
Ashley
Written on Apr 29, 2013
Nose Graze — Young Adult book reviews
4.5 Stars
Well this book was adorable! ..And not nearly as cute and fluffy as I thought it was going to be. It had a more serious undertone, that I really enjoyed!
I was nervous going into this book. I mean, The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight. Love at first sight? Doesn't that sound like insta-love? But miraculously, this book was nothing like insta-love. I suppose it probably helps that the entire book takes place over a period of 24 hours, so even though it's a short amount of time, it feels like a long time to the reader. But contrary to what I was expecting, The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight wasn't all hearts and daisies.
This book takes on one of the saddest topics: divorce. And not just divorce, but watching your father move on and start a new life with a new woman. That's absolutely terrifying! The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight takes us through Hadley's relationship with her father and her reluctance to accept his new life and fiancée. I really felt for Hadley. I know divorce is a sad topic, but man, I really got invested in her fears and disappointments. I was mad at her father the same way she was, and then maybe a little forgiving towards the end.
On top of that, we have a sweet and tender romance. This book really is about two people meeting on pure chance, and then unknowingly supporting each other through monumental events in their lives. And by the end we didn't have two people proclaiming their undying love for each other (like insta-love). We just had two people who were so happy to have met each other. There's something special about just being so grateful for another person's presence and support.
It was so easy to get lost in The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight. The writing was thoughtful and meaningful, and full of highlight-able passages. This book was everything I hoped it would be, and it certainly lives up to the hype! I seriously don't know why it took me so long to read it. If you've thought about it but haven't gotten to it yet, dive right in! Now!
Jyc
Written on Apr 7, 2013
jnikkir
Written on Apr 3, 2013
Can you tell I liked this book? Can you? Yeah I bet you can.
Yes, it's a contemporary romance, and it's light and fluffy. But I'm giving it five stars because I got exactly what I wanted out of it - an adorable story filled with sunshine and rainbows, but also given depth and meaning by dealing with some more serious subjects as well.
The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight has a lot going for it, on top of the sweet romance and awesome title. Hadley and Oliver are amazing main characters. They are adorable together; and the story of their unlikely meeting, and the 24 hours that follow, is wonderful and touching. But more than just that, the characters are great separately, not just because of their relationship. Hadley most of all, really. I feel like this book is her story, especially, and her journey toward understanding what love is, what it means, and also what it means to forgive those we love.
Smith writes Hadley in such a way that you can't help but feel (at least I couldn't) an instant connection to her, in a way that I don't normally feel unless it's told from first person (it isn't, it's in third). Even from third person, it's pretty much written from Hadley's POV, but somehow it had a narrative quality that made it seem like it was connecting the reader to the character like first-person has a tendency to, rather than having that normal distance of third-person narratives. (Ugh, did that make sense? I'm having a hard time describing it.) Anyway, I really liked that.
So yes - Hadley is a fantastic character, and I really loved seeing her progression from the beginning of the book, when she was so bitter and angry with her father, and at her situation in general, to her later acceptance and change of heart at the end. It was a fast journey, but one I felt was written really well, and really believably.
Oliver is also a wonderful character. He's certainly got all the best aspects of the quintessential British Boy, but he wasn't just a cute accent and a pretty face. I don't want to give anything about him and his story away, though, either, so I'm not going to go into much here. We don't see much of Oliver's side except when he's with Hadley (since it's from her POV); but the 24 hours that take place in this book are as much a journey for Oliver as they are for Hadley; though in a different way.
Finally, the romance. <3 It must be said - I did go into this book expecting some insta-love. I mean, that 24-hr timeline is pretty much the definition of instant, and the words "love at first sight" are in the title. But Smith is able to stretch out that time into something that feels much longer (in a good way). And as for the title: In relation to Hadley and Oliver, the word 'love' didn't even come up until the end of the book (and it's not even in the context you're thinking).
Hadley and Oliver have an incredibly natural connection, one that is able to carry the first half of the book all on its own. This half is made up primarily of Hadley's and Oliver's time at the airport and on their long flight overseas. It might be considered slow by some people, but I found their dialog to be incredibly engaging. Their conversations are often funny and cute, but they also open up to one another almost immediately. I think it sort of started out as an, "I'll probably never see you again" honesty, but the more they talked, the more they grew genuinely interested in each other. It wasn't insta-love, more like insta-like - one which I could totally buy, and found completely, heart-meltingly sweet.
Though the bulk of their interactions are on the plane, they learn a lot about each other once they part ways at the airport, as well. I won't give away what happens after they're separated, but (spoilers!) they do find each other again (it's a contemporary romance, I mean come on, did you think she'd never see him again?).
Finally, one thing that I was weirdly happy to see: As wonderful as Hadley and Oliver's budding relationship is, Smith doesn't leave you with unrealistic expectations about their future together. They've known each other for 24 hours - they don't go and get married and live happily ever after. ;) The story ends on an incredibly sweet high, but no definite answers about where things go from there. And I really liked that. Because whatever happens after, no mater what it is, this was a beautiful start to Hadley and Oliver's relationship, however long that ends up being.
This is definitely one I'll be recommending for some time to come.
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{ This review can also be found at my blog, There were books involved... }
Kelly
Written on Sep 6, 2012
..."And he's been carrying my suitcase ever since."
lizarodz
Written on Feb 10, 2012
Hadley is a sarcastic, full of phobias, opinionated, and pretty girl that has been irrevocably affected by her parents’ divorce. I think that in her mind the problems grew out of proportion (like they do for every teenager!) at a point that it affected her more than either her mom or dad. The divorce changed her view of the world and turned her a little bitter. I am not saying that what she went through was not real and painful, only that it took her longer to overcome it.
Oliver is a handsome, British (have to love the accent, right?) student that happens to be headed to London in the same plane with Hadley. I wish I liked Oliver more, he had all the right ingredients for a great character, but for some reason I didn’t like him as much. He was obviously raised very differently and he bottled everything up and it wasn’t easy for him to share his feelings.
Other characters in the book, Hadley’s parents and the future Mrs. Professor were quirky and likeable. The plot was simple and great; it is amazing that so much happens in so little amount of time! From Hadley’s change of heart and view of the wedding, to her attachment to Oliver, to the adventure to the unknown, it has all the makings of a good story. It is a rollercoaster of feelings, attachments, friendships and love. Do I believe in love at first sight? Absolutely!
The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight is a great, easy to read contemporary read, which is romantic without being sappy or corny. Love it!
About the cover: I really like the cover and the font. It portraits that feeling, when you are with your one and only and you feel like you are the only two people in the world. Remember that feeling? I know I do!
Jo
Written on Feb 9, 2012
What I found really surprising is that The Statistical Probability is really two stories in one; the love story between Hadley and Oliver, and also the story of Hadey and her father's relationship. The story of Hadley and Oliver is really, really sweet and so very real; you can really imgine something like this actually happening. Oliver is cute and funny, and the effect he has on Hadley - both in how she feels for him, and how he helps keep her calm through her claustrophobia - is unbelievable. He is just the sweetest guy, walking into her life by offering to pull her suitcase for her as she's struggling. This chivalrous, thinking-of-her nature shows throughout the novel as he lets her vent a little about the wedding and her father. It's obvious that he has some issues of his own, but it's not until much later into the story that we get even an inkling what they could be, but when we do know, it's shown again just how lovely and selfless he was on the plane. There are some very sweet moments between the two, and it was great reading, trying to figure out what would happen with them.
When I started reading, I was itching for more of the romance whenever Hadley would think about her Dad or have memories of them together, but as the story went on, I found their relationship to be the most emotional part of the story. Hadley is on her way to London to attend her Dad's wedding to a woman she's never met. She's really not his biggest fan right now. Smith tells the story so, so well, that I was really hating this man who seemed to have written his daughter out of her life, and going through every emotion Hadley goes through as well, and seeing how she let her anger cloud reason - but kind of having it cloud my reason too, because I felt exactly as she did. I found their relationship to be the sweetest, most moving story of the two, and it broke my heart so many times. It was just beautifully sad.
There was only one problem with this book - all the hype. If there was no hype, I would have read this book and really enjoyed it, and that would be it. However, everyone has been raving about it, so I was expecting to be wowed, and I wasn't. It was a lovely story, but it didn't blow me away, so I felt slightly disappointed that it was just a nice story, rather than an amazing one. As I said, I was more interested in reading about the relationship between Hadley and her Dad; the romance was sweet, but I wouldn't say there was any love there, and it felt so normal, I didn't find much to get excited about.
I absolutely love the cover for this book! The image used is just so beautiful! And the fonts used for the title are cute. It's really gorgeous, and might be one of my favourite covers of the year.
The Statistical Probability is a very short book, so it took me just over a day to read - as I started it late at night and ended up having to put it down in order to sleep. It's very worth a read, and was such a lovely story! Despite what I've said about my disappointment, I still really enjoyed it and highly recommend it! It would make a great beach read!
From Once Upon a Bookcase - YA book blog
Amber
Written on Jan 23, 2012
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As you can imagine, this is quite a quick read that takes place over the course of just 24 hours. It's about two people who meet at an airport, and it turns out they're on the same flight.
This is a really cute read, and I liked that it wasn't just a love story. There were also family issues thrown in there, and it covered those nicely. I personally don't believe in love at first sight so I was a bit skeptical, but to be honest I don't think they did fall in love at first sight. The two characters got to know each other and their feelings developed from there.
Oliver was quite funny, and his bickering with Hadley was so cute. I laughed out loud a few times, and I really enjoyed reading their scenes together.
Overall, this was a cute book but it lackeed anything majorly substantial. It's still a good read to pass the time, and I definitely recommend getting a copy if you think it's your kind of thing. This definitely helped feed my contemporary binge!
Angie
Written on Jan 13, 2012
Wait, the love interest disappears? Yes, he does, and the story focuses more on Hadley and her dad's relationship. She's angry with him for leaving and marrying someone else, but as the longest day of her life progresses, they come back together. I'd say this book definitely contained two separate love stories, and both were very sweet. I just wanted more Oliver and his wacky anecdotes and made up facts!
I don't really have much to say about this one. It was short, quick, fun, cute and sweet. I normally prefer first person narratives, but I think the third person worked really well for this one. It had this observer quality to it which I really enjoyed, and I hope you do, too!
Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.
Leah
Written on Apr 13, 2011
“Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?” is the question posed to us as Hadley misses her flight to London by that margin. (If she hadn’t missed the flight it would have been an entirely different novel, let me tell you). I’m sure the book is about a lot of things, but the one that sticks out for me most is fate. All those “What ifs?” that lead to Hadley’s missed flight, the fact Hadley ends up sat next to Oliver on the plane, the fact that Oliver helps Hadley with her suitcase while they wait for the plane, it all adds up to fate. For me, anyway. It has to be said, novels like these are my favourites. I’m a huge believer in fate and this book was just full of it. I was hooked from page one because, be honest, doesn’t everybody wish to meet someone and fall in love at first sight?
I’m a big believer in love at first sight. Of course you can fall in love with someone when you first see them. I’m sure it happens a hell of a lot, actually. I was enraptured by Hadley and Oliver. They sparked off each other brilliantly, despite the fact they were both a bit hesitant at first. Surprisingly, the book takes place over 24 hours. From beginning to end, it spans a mere day. A mere 24 hours. But there is so much packed into those hours that it seems as though Hadley and Oliver have known each other for years. Seriously. But it’s not just about Hadley and Oliver, Hadley also has to deal with the fact her father’s re-marrying – in England no less – and Oliver himself has issues to deal with. I really felt as if I was there with Hadley and Oliver, as if I had a front row seat to their story.
I do believe The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight will be massive when it’s released. It hit me the way Lauren Oliver’s debut novel Before I Fall did. The romance was just as exciting as The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson. Both of those books blew me away last year when I read them, both blew a lot of people away and I think Jennifer E Smith has written a book here that will blow away a lot of people in the same way those two did. Sometimes there’s a book that just speaks to you from within, that hits on all of the right notes and that makes you truly believe in love. This is that book. I am so happy to have read this book and I do implore everybody to read it. Seriously, read it. I’m not entirely sure why you’re still reading this review. You should be on Amazon or The BookDepository or SOMEWHERE buying this amazing book. Because it was amazing. So much so that I wish I’d wrote it. Seriously, talk about best book idea ever.