Friday, July 4, 2014

Review: The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith

Publisher: Poppy
Pages: 337
Received: Received a copy from Hachette Book Group in exchange for an honest review

Release Date: April 15, 2014
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Goodreads Synopsis:

Lucy and Owen meet somewhere between the tenth and eleventh floors of a New York City apartment building, on an elevator rendered useless by a citywide blackout. After they're rescued, they spend a single night together, wandering the darkened streets and marveling at the rare appearance of stars above Manhattan. But once the power is restored, so is reality. Lucy soon moves to Edinburgh with her parents, while Owen heads out west with his father.

Lucy and Owen's relationship plays out across the globe as they stay in touch through postcards, occasional e-mails, and -- finally -- a reunion in the city where they first met.

A carefully charted map of a long-distance relationship, Jennifer E. Smith's new novel shows that the center of the world isn't necessarily a place. It can be a person, too.

My Review:

Oh how I love everything Jennifer E. Smith writes, I feel like she can do no wrong with her stories. I always feel so happy and warm when I read a book by Smith, she just knows how to make a cute romantic story that will be loved by many readers. The story is told from alternating perspectives, which really gives readers a great glimpse as to how each of the two sides feel and what they do.

In this story, two people meet in an elevator when the power goes out all over the city and from there, both of their lives change so drastically and we how a long distance relationship can happen. I love how Smith shows the difference between the two characters, their lives are very different and you see that in the way the communicate with one another as well. Owen is about handwritten notes and he really takes the time to search out the perfect postcard to send Lucy so she can see his adventures and where he is travelling. Lucy is different and wants to be able to tell Owen about her life in detail and have him receive it immediately, so she works through sending emails and instant messages when possible, thus highlighting a big difference between the two.

What really made this book different is that it is not all about the relationship between Lucy and Owen, but about their lives apart with their families and the people they meet all over the place. Owen is travelling with his father and they have a very close relationship, it is just the two of them and you can tell they are helping each other out as much as possible. I absolutely loved their interactions and really seeing a great father-son relationship, I find that these types of things get left out and it has such a huge impact on the story and of who Owen is as a person.

Lucy has a different type of relationship with her parents, they are always off travelling and she is usually left to her own devices, but with the move you see this relationship grow more as well. I really enjoyed seeing the characters and their families, especially how each of their parents takes to this so-called relationship.

Honestly, I find I love Smith's books more and more as I continue to read her newest books, her stories and characters will always have a place in my heart.

2 comments:

  1. I thought that this book was just okay. I also appreciated the fact that the story was more about their time spent apart from each other, but something was missing for me. I thought the postcard thing was pretty cute though :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I haven't read anything by this author but this sounds wonderful, the character relationships sound like they were written well.

    A lovely review. Sharon – Obsession with Books

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