And the Odds Are?

Review of The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith
I bought this book because it was recommended to me by students at several different schools and I like to read young adult novels that my young adults are actually reading. Normally I’m pretty happy with their selections and even if the writing doesn’t live up to that of “great American literature” it’s enjoyable and when I read a book for fun that’s exactly what I want it to be.

Smith’s story raises the question of fate. When

you’re running late is it just unlucky happenstance, or the universe’s way of making sure you’re on time for something else? Is there a reason you sit next to the people you do on an airplane? Train? Bus?Would things have been better or worse if you hadn’t set the alarm clock wrong and forgotten to get up?
Well, those are the questions going through Hadley Sullivan’s mind as she misses her flight to England and ends up meeting Oliver, a charming and attractive British boy who just happens to be sitting next to her on the flight over and who she just happens to fall a little in love with on the way to her father’s wedding.
In a charmingly quirky, but not totally originally, young adult style Smith takes us on Hadley’s adventure the day of her father’s wedding as she comes to terms with her life now, her life back home, and the boy she doesn’t want to let get away.
What made me disappointed in this book was that there isn’t much more to it than that. Boy meets girl, girl falls for boy, boy and girl spend the day trying to find each other in a comedy of timing errors and by the last page every problem they’ve ever had has been resolved. While that’s all I expected by way of plot I was hoping the journey from beginning to end would give me a little more, something to make this novel stand out more than any other YA novel that’s done the same basic plot. The title”statistical probability of love at first sight” was what caused me to actually purchase the book. It sounded clever and unique and I’d hoped that what I’d find between the covers would live up to the title. But it didn’t. In fact the title is simply just a line used by Oliver close to the end of the book.
I guess I was expecting something along the lines of “An Abudance of Katherines” by John Green, where mathematics actually plays a unique role as the driving force of the plot. A lot more could have been done with this ‘statistical probability’ and I was very disappointed when I came to the realization this was nothing more than a catchy title.
The book was a quick read and I finished it all in one sitting, but it’s not the kind of story that sticks with you. It was a cute story of falling in love and growing up in 24-hours or less, but lacked the depth and originality I’d hoped for.