BOOK REVIEW - The Statsitcal Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

Synopsis from Amazon:

Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?

Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan's life. She's stuck at JFK, late to her father's second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon to be step-mother that 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 in seat 18C. Hadley's in 18A.

Twists of fate and quirks of timing play out in this thoughtful novel about family connections, second chances and first loves. Set over a 24-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver's story will make you believe that true love finds you when you're least expecting it. 

I was a bit apprehensive about The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight before reading it.  Based on the synopsis, in my mind, I had classified it as being similar to Stephanie Perkins' Anna and the French Kiss.  Since I loved Anna, I just wasn't sure that any similar book would be able to compare.  To my surprise and delight, I was mistaken!

From the first chapter, I was intrigued by Hadley and Oliver's relationship and each of their lives.  Both of the characters seemed very realistic- they were not idealistic teenagers like characters sometimes are.  Just like "real live" teenagers, Hadley and Oliver each had struggles in their lives that they were dealing with, but each also managed to find something positive to help them through.  In the case of this story, that positive thing was each other.  Both Hadley and Oliver were very relatable characters, and it made the book a very easy read.

Towards the end of the story, Oliver reveals a secret to Hadley (and to the readers).  Smith also did a great job at hinting at Oliver's secret throughout the novel, so that it was not a complete surprise when it was finally revealed.  Once we did find out Oliver's secret, it made a lot of sense with respect to events earlier in the novel.  I thought that this scene was handled very well.  I hate when a surprise twist seems to come out of nowhere.  Luckily, though I did not predict this twist, it made sense and worked with the entire storyline.

I do have to say that the ending of the book made me cry.  The scene when Hadley mends her relationship with her father was so wonderfully written and so real.  I did not expect this book to be a tear-jerker as much as a chick flick, but I was actually happy with the emotions this book caused me.  It showed the power of Smith's writing and how well she created her characters.  While Hadley and Oliver's story has come to an end, I am eager to see what Smith writes next!

FTC Disclaimer:  I received an advance readers copy (ARC) of The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight for review from Hip Scouts, a program of LB-Teens and Hachette Book Group.  All opinions expressed are my own.

Busting the Newbie Blues!

Small Review is hosting a fantastic event called...

In her words,

This event is designed to:

• Put new YA book bloggers on the map
• Increase blogger interaction
• Start a discussion by sharing our experiences as new bloggers
• Learn about what it was like for established bloggers when they were newbies

So here goes:

When did you start your blog?

I started my blog in the summer of 2009, though I didn't really start posting regularly until 2011.

Why did you start your blog?

I started my blog so that I could have a place to share whatever I wanted to.  When I was younger, I kept a journal, but I liked that a blog could be read by other people, so I could share my ideas.

What has been the biggest challenge you’ve faced so far? 

I don't know how to get people to read my blog!  My biggest challenge has been getting people to find my posts and comment on them.  I love comments, but I rarely get any.

What do you find most discouraging about being a new blogger? 

Looking at other, more well-established blogs, I wonder if I will ever get as many followers or comments.  It's discouraging especially when some of the blogs with a ton of followers have been around just as long as mine has!

What do you find most encouraging?

As a new blogger, I feel like I have a lot more freedom with what and how I post.  People don't expect certain things from me, such as posts on a certain day, contests, memes, etc.

 

What do you like best about the blogs you read? Have you tried to replicate this in your blog?

With respect to book reviews, I like that most bloggers post a synopsis of the book (such as from Goodreads) before their review so that if I haven't read the book in question, I can still understand what is being said in the review.  In my early book reviews, I just posted a review but recently I did start to add synopses, too!

What do you dislike about blogs you’ve read? Do you try to avoid this?

Bad grammar!  That is my biggest pet peeve with bloggers in general.  Your blog is a published piece of writing, so take pride in it!  I always proofread my posts before they get published.

 

Any advice for other new bloggers?

Don't give up on your blog.  Even if you're struggling to get readers, you started blogging because you liked writing and sharing your ideas.  If you're truly passionate about it, you can find a way to push through the struggles.

 

Any questions you'd like to ask newbie or established bloggers?

Established bloggers:  In your early days, how did you promote your blog to get more readers?

 

Is there anything you’d like to tell us about your blog? Feel free to link a few of your favorite posts or posts you wish had more comments.

Unlike a lot of YA book bloggers, I don't exclusively write about books on this blog.  While books are a large component, I also post other product reviews and write some "personal" posts as well.  So it's quite the eclectic mix here (hence the blog name, which translates to "Randomness" from French).

Here are links to a couple of my recent book-related posts:

The Rivals by Daisy Whitney

Product Review:  Kindle Keyboard

A lot more reviews are coming soon in 2012 (my to-read pile is about 10 high!), so stay tuned! ;-)

2012!

My resolutions for the new year:

1) Write every day (even if it's just a sentence!) of something that is not related to school.

2) Take a picture every day.  (Tried to do this last year, but failed after about 2 days.)

3) Blog at least once per week.  (Not necessarily just 52 times this year- but at least once every Sun-Sat week.)

4) Go to the gym twice a week during the semester.

Goals to achieve in 2012:

1) Move to France!  (Hopefully, I get accepted to the Assistant d'Anglais program and get to spend 7 months in 2012-13 living & teaching somewhere in France.)

2) Get my knee back to "normal".  (Now that marching band is over, I should be able to avoid aggravating it more, and focus only on rehabbing it.)

3) Earn some sort of Honors on my thesis!  (Because, putting in so much effort and not getting honors would just be a waste of time and a huge disappointment.)

Happy New Year, everyone!