The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight (edition 2012)

Oh, I don’t know... 1.5 stars? I felt a mix of boredom and frustration during the entire read. The only interest that kept me reading was the interest to avoid my research paper. What I had been hoping for was a book with a more realistic ‘love’ story involving characters who have real problems. You know, the kind of problems that don’t involve, “Ohmygod, why do my parents insist on torturing my seventeen-year old self by badgering my twenty-two year old guitarist boyfriend, who is a giant rude jerk in the first place?!” and “Ohmygod, my Marie Antoinette look is a disaster, so now I need to break down and sob!” (Okay, I digress. I am still feeling bitter over my [b:Lola and the Boy Next Door|9961796|Lola and the Boy Next Door|Stephanie Perkins|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327889189s/9961796.jpg|7149084] experience.)

After hearing praise for [b:The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight|10798416|The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight|Jennifer E. Smith|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327878253s/10798416.jpg|15464655], I did set up an expectation that this was going to be my first YA ‘chick-lit’ novel of the new year to break the “This boy is the focal point of my universe and tears will be spilled!” cycle from which all the plot’s issues stem. SPLFS does not fall into this chick-lit category where it holds a child-like simplicity in context, yet events are completely blown up into these melodramatic ruckuses. Not horrendously, anyway. While an attraction between Hadley and Oliver becomes evident during their first encounter, SPLFS puts its limelight on the relationship between Hadley and her father.

It is not very spoiler-ish if I say that Hadley’s headed toward her dad’s wedding when she misses her first flight at JFK. Hadley, I think, has good reason for not wanting to attend the wedding and for bearing a resentful anger. Her dad took a job offer in London and never came back, having met a new woman who struck his fancy more than the woman he’d married. This seems like a fairly common, relatable problem—at least in my view. In my grade school days, if your parents weren’t together, they were divorced because the husband found another woman more interesting. Whether it happens when you’re a child, teen, or an adult, there’s a lot of emotional turmoil and hurt feelings to sort through.

Though Hadley spent months afterward trying to build a wall between her and her father, her father put an ocean between them. My father lives two towns away but has an entire life that I am not a part of. We’ve anchored two different lives in two separate places. Surely, then, if your parent lives on a different continent than you, this will likely have a huge impact whether or not you’re willing to forgive what happened. But does this matter? No. Because Hadley’s dad fell in love, and because Hadley sees her parents are happy. That is great news except for the part about emotions not being so straightforward and clear. This felt like such an easy resolve for a circumstance bound to carry strong emotions and conflicts.

But that’s not even the half of it. It’s amazes me how a story 236 pages with a not-too-small-not-too-large font size can drag out to feel incredibly tedious. SPLFS moves in chunks, in clusters, and they are all filled with dry, uninteresting text. To continue reading felt like running in water against a current. I wanted to move forward with the book, but there are far too many lackluster passages I trudged through.

I partially blame the narrative perspective and largely for the lack of intimacy with the character. It’s written in the third-person limited POV. Even though I find it bothersome that I wasn’t allowed to invade Oliver’s mind (third-person omniscient would have been more befitting, IMHO), the extent to which we’re allowed into Haydley’s thoughts also felt shallow and, well, dull!

This is very disappointing, because all I have to do is point toward [a:Kate Chopin|5132|Kate Chopin|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1224805370p2/5132.jpg]'s [b:The Story of an Hour|2267195|The Story of an Hour|Kate Chopin|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1225992046s/2267195.jpg|1731763] or [a:J.K. Rowling|1077326|J.K. Rowling|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1310407611p2/1077326.jpg]'s Harry Potter series to show that third-person limited can work given the right balance between talent and know-how. Chopin was a phenomenal writer (at least I think so), and so it is quite unfair of me to pull such a comparison. I’m not saying Smith is not talented or capable of writing this narrative perspective well, but SPLFS suffers because she didn’t pull it off here.

And can I pick at the title? Just for a second? The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight. This may be titled "The Statistical Probability of Looking like a Decent Bridesmaid within Twenty Minutes" for all I care, because the title misleads. I prefer titles that more closely relate to the book's plot. The title led me to think this was a love story, but I see no love-at-first-sight—only an obvious boy/girl attraction sprung from one happenstance meeting. Attraction, or a spontaneous connection—as shown in the three very brief Hadley/Oliver meet-ups—is not love, and the statistical probability of it has nothing to do with overcoming daddy issues. ( )

"Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?"
—Hadley

I was looking for a good contemporary novel to read since I finished The Fault in Our Stars, when I came upon this book.
From its title and cover, I assumed that this book would be something like Anna and the French Kiss, heartwarming and cute and easy to read, and sounds really unique. I mean, love at first sight was nothing new and could be sometimes cliche, but the statistical probability of it?
And honestly, I'm the type of person who could be easily hooked by curiosity, so when I saw the long and unique title of this book, I couldn't help but to check it out.

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight told us about the reluctant Hadley as she was about to get off to London for her father remarriage. But when everything seemed to fall out of place, Hadley was forced to take another flight as she missed the original one, and met the intriguing Oliver on the way. As they talked and discussed their heart on a supposedly once-in-a-lifetime talk, Hadley realized that they were soon getting way too attached. But what will happen when the plane touched London and they might never seen each other again?

I really love the opening of this novel, especially the part where Hadley ask the question about life-changing four minutes of her life, which was really great to hook the reader. The way it was written gave the reader distinct image of what had happened to Hadley that made her missed her flight, and at the same time made the reader curious.
The ending however, as expected, was predictable for me. Girl gets the guy and every problem solved and the live happily ever after. Uh-huh, okay.
It's not like I hate this book—because, honestly, I enjoy reading it—but rather, it didn't really leave an impression on me. So yeah, read on and you'll know how many stars did I rate this one.

Hadley, our main protagonist, was also well-written. While her traits was nothing really fancy, she was really consistent with her character. When she said she hates this and that, the story really portrayed her as the person she said she was.
Oliver, the boy who sat a seat away from Hadley on 18-C, was also quite interesting. He was reclusive as a person, and I think it really added a nice touch of reality, because sometimes the characters on many many novels was way too open for the sake of information. So yeah, I love Oliver's character with his hesitation and all that.

There's actually nothing that I hate from this book, but then again, maybe it was just because I already assumed that this book would be predictable right from the beginning. Which, turned out, was right.
This book was also a bit flat and didn't invoke any strong feelings toward it. So maybe, it was another reason why there's nothing for me to hate here.

If you're looking for a light, sweet, romantic read like Anna and the French Kiss, this book would definitely something you should pick up. ( )

This is a book about fate. About forgiveness. About moving on. About destiny. About love at first sight.

Was it good? Yes. Did I like it? Yes. Was it amazing? Maybe for some people, but I find myself in the minority. Why do I feel that way? Contemporary fiction may not be my normal genre but I still like to branch out every once in a while just to mix things up. I may not have loved it yet I can still appreciate why those of you did love it. ( )

I really enjoyed this book. It was on the shorter side, so it was a quick read. It was sweet, the characters were likable, but not perfect, which made them believable. The scene in the airport and on the plane was adorable and I wondered how, after the plane ride was over and they went their separate ways, the author would bring them back again. She did that in a unique way, but when they parted a second time, the book became very predictable. I knew exactly how they would meet the third time. It was practically a neon sign in the middle of the page, which was somewhat disappointing. However, it didn't distract from the overall enjoyment of the story. And while it was a cute, sweet romance, it also packed a good dose of life lesson in there, as well.

A worthwhile read. I highly recommend it. I'm definitely waiting for Ms. Smith's next book "This is What Happy Looks Like" releasing later this spring!

Michelle :)
[bc:PODs|13425802|PODs|Michelle K. Pickett|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327645122s/13425802.jpg|18908216]
[b:PODs|13425802|PODs|Michelle K. Pickett|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327645122s/13425802.jpg|18908216] ( )

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales.

Quick & Dirty: This is definitely one of my all time favorite YA Contemporary reads. It’s filled with heart wrenching moments, and an adorable romance.

Opening Sentence: There are so many ways it could have all turned out differently.

The Review:

Hadley Sullivan has never really been a person that believed in fate. But when she misses her plane flight to her father’s wedding by only four minutes, she starts to wonder. She didn’t want to go to the wedding in the first place and now she has to take a redeye to London and she will be lucky if she makes it to the ceremony on time. She hasn’t seen her father in over a year and she has never met his fiancé. A few years ago her father got an offer to teach at Oxford for a semester and this was a dream come true for him. Hadley was just starting her sophomore year in high school so her mom decided to stay with Hadley while her dad goes to London, and he never comes back home. Hadley has never forgiven her father for what he did and now she has to go to his wedding to the woman he left them for. So suffice to say — she is not looking forward to a long plane ride to a place she doesn’t want to go.

While she is waiting to board her plane she meets a boy and he ends up sitting next to her on the plane. His name is Oliver and he is from London, but he goes to school at Yale University. He is heading home for the weekend and they instantly connect. Oliver is so easy to talk to and he makes the plane ride so much more bearable. She has just barely met him but it feels like she has known him forever. Hadley has never believed in fate but after meeting Oliver she just might believe in love at first sight.

Hadley has obviously been hurt by people she cares about and it has left her idea of love and marriage tinted. Her father is starting a whole new life, and she’s not a part of it. As you see into her thoughts you feel all the emotions that she is going through. How she is so angry and hurt, but she really does love her father. Then she meets Oliver and he is a bright spot that takes away some of the hurt. She is able to open up to him easily and she feels like he understands her. I really like Hadley and what she goes through makes her an easy character to connect with.

Oliver is an adorable British boy that you can’t help but love. He is funny and is always trying to lighten the moment with humor. He is drawn to Hadley and finds that he can be open and very honest with her, which has always been a problem for him before. The chemistry between Hadley and Oliver is so cute and it felt so real. You get to see a bunch of different sides to Oliver through Hadley’s eyes and I totally fell for him right along with her.

This is a really fast, cute read. It is a wonderful love story that takes place in just 24 hours. You know that feeling you get when you watch a really good chick flick, well that’s how I felt reading this book. I got total butterflies at the cute parts, and my heart broke for Hadley at the sad parts. I will admit that you do go on a slight emotional roller coaster reading this, but it was so sweet and honest. I have read this book a couple times now and I have to say that it is defiantly one of my all time favorite YA Contemporary books. I would highly recommend this to anyone that wants a light read that really pulls on your heart strings.

Notable Scene:

The occupied lights are on above both bathroom doors, so Hadley and Oliver stand in the small square of space just outside. They’re close enough that she can smell the fabric of his shirt, the whiskey still on his breath; not so close that they’re touching, exactly, but she can feel the hair on his arm tickle hers, and she’s again seized by a sudden longing to reach for his hand.

She lifts her chin to find that he’s looking down at her with the same expression she saw on his face earlier, when she woke up with her head on his shoulder. Neither of them moves and neither speaks; they just stand there watching each other in the darkness, the engines whirring beneath their feet. It occurs to her that-impossibly, improbably-he might be about to kiss her, and she inches just the tiniest bit closer, her heart skidding around in her chest. His hand brushes against hers, and Hadley feels it like a bolt of electricity, the shock of it moving straight up her spine. To her surprise, Oliver doesn’t pull away; instead, he fits his hand into hers as if anchoring her there, then tugs gently, moving her closer.

It almost feels as if they’re completely alone-no captain or crew, no rows of dozing passengers stretching the length of the plane-and Hadley takes a deep breath and tips her head to look up at him.

FTC Advisory: Poppy/Little Brown/Hachette Book Group provided me with a copy of The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. ( )