The Geography of You and Me

Author: Jennifer E. Smith
Genre: Young Adult
Type: Hardcover
Source: Public Library
Pages: 337
Publisher: Little Brown and Company
First Published: April 15, 2014
First Line: "On the first day of September, the world went dark."

Book Description 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 Review:  I'm a little at a loss with how I feel about this book.  It was a very quick read (I read it in just over a day), it had a romantic tone to it and the characters were okay.  It was very ... 'vanilla ice cream' for me.  Good, kind of tasty but not something I'd really crave or go out of my way to have regularly.

It started off to a strong start with a fairly unique and romantic situation paired with quirky dialogue.  Unfortunately the quirkiness petered off quickly leaving the main characters a little lackluster and I was left with a back and forth 'will they be together or won't they?' as they attempt to stay in contact in a very quaint and romantic way.

While this was a quick, easy read and would be great if you didn't want something heavy, I personally needed a bit more to go on.  The storyline itself didn't have a lot of action, the plot was very predictable and I had to suspend reality a bit in order to enjoy the book.  Some of the characters were clichéd and a little unbelievable (Lucy's parents in particular) and their relationships weren't developed to the reader enough.  Some situations (like Lucy's outburst later on in the book) seemed contrived and out of left field.

Overall this book was just okay for me.  Not bad but not memorable either.  For hopeless romantics out there this book should tweak your interest.  It had a very Nora Ephron feel to it.  Think Sleepless in Seattle with a teenage twist.  The Geography of You and Me was sweet, predictable, kept me engaged and may appeal to people wanting a quick and easy read.

My Rating: 3/5 stars