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

Summary:
For fans of John Green, Stephanie Perkins and Sarah Ockler, THE GEOGRAPHY OF YOU AND ME is a story for anyone who’s ever longed to meet someone special, for anyone who’s searched for home and found it where they least expected it.

Owen lives in the basement. Lucy lives on the 24th floor. But when the power goes out in the midst of a New York heatwave, they find themselves together for the first time: stuck in a lift between the 10th and 11th floors. As they await help, they start talking…

The brief time they spend together leaves a mark. And as their lives take them to Edinburgh and San Francisco, to Prague and to Portland they can’t shake the memory of the time they shared. Postcards cross the globe when they themselves can’t, as Owen and Lucy experience the joy – and pain – of first love.

And as they make their separate journeys in search of home, they discover that sometimes it is a person rather than a place that anchors you most in the world.

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Love Finds

Before I started The Geography of You and Me, a lot of people told me that I simply had to read books by Jennifer E. Smith. With that in mind I bought Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight and borrowed This is What Happy Looked Like but I still haven’t read either of them. So when The Geography of You and Me came out, I knew I should try it. Feedback came in saying it was really great so I finally read it. Unfortunately I was slightly disappointed. Don’t get me wrong, I did enjoy the book but for me it wasn’t a masterpiece. It was a quick, simple, plain love story that was okay but nothing spectacular.

You When

Possibly what made this book feel mediocre to me were the characters. In my opinion they felt a little flat. I didn’t connect with either of the two main characters and thus I wasn’t overly invested in their grand love story. It was entertaining to read about them but nothing about either character has really stayed with me. I didn’t fall in love with the characters which made it difficult to fall in love with the story. I’m not sure if they needed more characterisation or if they just didn’t work for me personally.

You Least

Another issue I had with the book was that it had a fairly predictable plot. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem as the characters or writing style make it easy to look past but that is, unfortunately, not the case with this story. Or, it wasn’t for me. While the writing style was easy to read and fall into, it wasn’t anything exceptional which it needed to be to counter everything else. However, before I sound too negative, this story is a little bit like your average teen rom-com. Light, easy to watch, and a nice way to feel good for a while.

Expect It

Essentially I think my expectation of this book ruined it a little for me. I was expecting something that would grip me, make my heart sing and make me yearn for a love as beautiful as the one on the page but instead I got a simple, light-hearted romance book that is nothing to sing about. I enjoyed this book on the lowest level; it allowed me to escape for a little while which was nice and I felt a little lifted afterwards. I would recommend this book if you want a quick book that will make you smile for a while.