Review: The Geography of You and Me

Title: The Geography of You and Me

Author: Jennifer E. Smith

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Poppy

Publication Date: April 15, 2014

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Synopsis from Goodreads:

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 Thoughts

*Thank you to Netgalley for the copy. This is no way affected my views.

Honestly, I've been putting my reading of this one off for a long time, ever since I've been hearing about how it wasn't really that good compared to The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight. Right now, I can say that, I'm not sure whether I regretted doing so or not. My mind is currently still in rumbles, and it is just simply incoherent, that I do not know what to think.

No, it wasn't because The Geography of You and Me was mind blowing, or whatever of that sorts. I think it was more of because it was heartwarming. Yes, it was that.

Admittedly, I felt that it was slightly boring, since not much was happening anyway. I was even surprised to see that I was already halfway through the book, when I thought I was just like, 1/3 of it. But, I was surprised to see that Lucy and Owen got separated from each other as they had to move away. I'm kind of glad that I didn't read the synopsis before diving into this book; otherwise, this surprise element would have been taken away from me.

Even so, the first few parts felt really magical. Spending one night together, when the city is on blackout, walking around and eating ice creams, was truly amazing. I mean, it was adorable, and it was really interesting (because okay, I totally don't even think that's going to happen in my life). Then, all of a sudden, the magic is gone.

“Instead, they were both heading in the exact opposite directions. The map was as good as a door swinging shut. And the geography of the thing - the geography of them - was completely and hopelessly wrong.”

That's where the entire story felt realistic - what is it like to be far away from the person you love? The transition between the two was great - I didn't even feel any lapses and all that. It all felt like it was the reality, that anything could happen, after all. At some point, I could even feel my heart breaking for them. </3

“There was no point in waiting for someone who hadn't asked, and there was no point in wishing for something that would never happen.” 

Although, I really had a hard time connecting with the characters. Actually, I can kind of say that I totally didn't feel connected at all. With this, I think I was more of invested into the things that were found in the story, rather than the story itself. Like, for example, I found the postcard sending thing very endearing. While it isn't conventional, I think it was one of the few things that made the romance between Lucy and Owen even more magical.

“There are so many ways to be alone here, even when you’re surrounded by this many people.”

Both of them had their own rocky roads to take, whether it be the relationship between the two of them or some familial matters. With their long distance relationship, it was actually hard to imagine that this one would have an HEA-type of an ending. But still, with Smith's brilliant writing, it gave me hope that everything could just simply work out in the end.

“Nothing is what it is. Things are always changing. They can always get better.”

I especially love the way that the book was sectioned: Here, There, Everywhere, Somewhere, and Home. It all felt very fitting, which added beauty to the entire thing. Although, I found myself having to readjust with the third person POV, since there were some instances that it just shifted to Owen, or to Lucy, without notice.

All in all, The Geography of You and Me is an easy, cute and magical read, that shows proof on how love can still be strong despite the distance. It might be a little bit draggy, but it still managed to make me feel warm and mushy inside.

My Rating

Real rating: 3.5