Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars ****
I received this book for review from BookBridgr in exchange for a honest review.
The Geography of You and Me is a book I received ages ago and only recently managed to pick up to read, and I am generally glad I did.
This book was my first ever Jennifer E. Smith books, I have seen her books about on BookTube but didn't pay my attention at the time it was most popular. Smith's other books that she is well known for are The Statistical probability of love at first sight and This is what happy looks like.
So what is this book about... The title and even the front cover give a lot of it away... it's a love story. The two main characters are Lucy and Owen and you follow their separate lives throughout. Lucy and Owen meet on chance in a New York hotel when they end up stuck in an elevator when there is a big power cut. Their brief encounter leaves a lasting mark and the book follows their stories as they both end up in different corners of the universe. Can a long distance relationship made up of postcards and emails, based of a chance encounter really work?
First of I think the book was somewhat fluffy and cliche and the storyline was somewhat predictable... BUT that didn't stop me loving this one all the same. Maybe I should do a post on how chick-lit is seen in society as a ...lesser than fiction and why it isn't... anyway back to my review... So yes, the books was a little bit fluffy, but sometimes that is what you need, a light lovey book to put a smile back on your face :)
I loved the idea of this book, particularly how the focus in a technological world... I say typing on my laptop... is taken away almost with the use of postcards. The two characters find a way to communicate, granted sometimes by email, but mostly through postcards. I love the way they talk about postcards in the book, and the way the work. It has made me want to buy a load of postcards and send them all to my nearest and dearest... but as most of them only live five minutes from me...
The focus on snail mail is a great addition, as the two characters are constantly moving about and therefore never really know if there letters will reach each other. I guess there is some kind idea of fate and destiny about the book, which I know I don't always believe in, but it creates the idea of hope in the story and I found that a really lovely aspect. Every now and again it is nice to get something that gives you hope :)
The nice thing about reading this book was the fact I finished it on holiday! I had this lovely view of the beach from my window, the best reading spot ever! That and I felt more connected to the story through my own travelling :)
I think one of the great aspects about this book is the fact that even though the relationship is the central point to the story, you get to see both of the main characters living their own lives, dealing with their own problems. They both come from very different backgrounds, so it feels like each section from each characters POV has a very different contrast to the other. Family is featured as another large aspect in the book as well:)
Would I recommend this book? Yes I would in simple terms, if you enjoy a light-hearted but somewhat emotional read then this may be good for you. It's YA and has a positive uplifting feel to it, even though some parts may end up tearing you apart or frustrating you. I have read quite a few similar books to these recently where relationships are meant to be but just can't happen or can't happen until... for numerous reasons. For example, Where Rainbows End (Love, Rosie), I did a Bad Thing and The Best Thing that Never Happened to Me.
All of those books had some frustration with them, even though I loved them... but that was because as a reader I could see the couples were meant for each other, and reading how and when and if they get to be together I think is generally a popular but also interesting love story. This book follows the idea that there are so many things that can stop two people being together, but does that mean they should give up?
Quotes:
Here are some wonderful quotes I have taken from Goodreads.com to emphasise some of my feelings of the book. The book was well written and uses some beautiful language :)
“But there's no such thing as a completely fresh start. Everything new arrives on the heels of something old, and every beginning comes at the cost of an ending.”
“If you were to draw a map of the two of them, of where they started out and where they would both end up, the lines would be shooting away from each other like magnets spun around on their poles. And it occurred to Owen that there was something deeply flawed about this, that there should be circles or angels or turns, anything that might make it possible for the two lines to meet again. Instead, they were both headed 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.”
“Maybe they were never meant to have more than just one night. After all, not everything can last. Not everything is supposed to mean something.”
“Sometimes it seemed as if his whole life was an exercise in waiting; not waiting to leave, exactly, but simply waiting to go. He felt like one of those fish that had the capacity to grow in unimaginable ways if only the tank were big enough. But his tank had always been small, and as much as he loved his home- as much as he loved his family- he'd always felt himself bumping up against the edges of his own life.”
“Something like that," he said, his eyes shining, and she realized just how much there was she didn't know about him. He was like one of her novels, still unfinished and best understood in the right place and at the right time. She couldn't wait to read the rest.”
“... they discover that sometimes it is a person rather than a place that anchors you most in the world.”
“That was the thing about books, she was realizing; they could take you somewhere else entirely, it was true. but it wasn't the same thing as actually going there yourself.”
Check out some more here
I hope you enjoyed my review, I really enjoyed this book and I can't wait to try some more of Jennifer's works :)
Examples of Jennifer E. Smith's other works:
This is what Happy Looks Like
The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight
Hello, Goodbye and Everything in Between
