The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight
Jennifer E. Smith
Poppy, 2012
Source: Netgalley.com
Hadley Sullivan has missed her flight to London, but this wasn't just any trip over the pond--she was supposed to be going to her father's second wedding. Hadley actually hoped she'd get to miss the wedding, but faced with the actual loss of the trip, she's surprisingly saddened by it. Hadley gets on a later flight and is seated next to a charming English guy named Oliver, who keeps her company and distracts her from her worries. Plenty of great conversations and one long plane ride later, Hadley has to face her dad's remarriage and also face the possibility that maybe light-hearted Oliver's situation is even more difficult than her own.
Hadley's life is stunted by her resentment toward her dad. The emotional issues are bad enough, but Hadley's feelings of abandonment have led to panic attacks and bouts of extreme claustrophobia. It's the little things that make the divorce unbearable--the fact that her dad has grown a beard and wears different clothes, making himself look like a whole new person. The way Hadley and her dad have to have specially arranged meetings instead of just being together naturally during the course of the day. The troubling idea that she'll always have to abandon her mom if she wants to be with her dad in his new world that really has no place for her, no matter how much he tries to convince her otherwise. Whoo, this is heavy stuff, and it's the kind of thing that about 50% of teenagers have to live with, so it's a very important subject.
Hadley and Oliver's scenes together are some of the best parts of an already good book. They have some really nice conversations and good verbal chemistry, though I like Hadley more than I like Oliver just because I'm more inclined to love characters who get a POV, since it's that much easier to understand their thoughts and feelings. I do like how Oliver tries to distract Hadley from her claustrophobia; it means a lot that he cares enough to help a stranger out like that. He and Hadley are a good match because they see each other at their almost-worst, worn out from lack of sleep and from emotional turmoil, but they are still considerate of each other and able to keep their good humor. Beyond that, I like how there isn't actually any love at first sight in this book--the title kind of scared me, since insta-love is so rarely convincingly written. But what we get here is genuine attraction/affection developed in just the right way, though the book is less about romance and more about Hadley's personal journey.
The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight is an excellent read, The narrative voice is quite engaging: Smart, sharp, and contemporary without ever sounding like it's trying too hard to be artsy or witty. I like the magnifying glass that the author is holding up to this very common but very serious problem of kids being affected by their parents' split-ups, and it's also great to see the hopeful idea that people can live through the pain and find some love and healing on the other side. Grade: A-
Literary bonus: Oliver talks about Alice in Wonderland, the book version by Lewis Carroll, not any of the numerous film versions. Hadley is taking an unread copy of Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens back to her father in London because she doesn't want to invest her time in any present he has given her. Ironically, seeing her with the book is one of the things that draws Oliver to Hadley because he thinks she's a reader.
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