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

Title: The Geography of You and Me
Author: Jennifer E. Smith
Genre: Young Adult, Romance
Publisher: Poppy
Release Date: April 15, 2014
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 352
Source: Pinoy Book Tours

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• Amazon

 

Prior to reading The Geography of You and Me, I had never read any book written by its author, Jennifer E. Smith. But the fact that there were a lot of good reviews written about her book, The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, I was really excited to read this one.

 

The story was told in the point-of-view of both Owen and Lucy, alternately. I always think that makes a story interesting because it enables the reader to understand each character better. For me, reading Owen and Lucy’s experiences from their own perspectives made it easier for me to relate to the characters.

 

Owen and Lucy are definitely easy to relate to. They’re both awkward teens, who have never fallen in love before and are both going through tough changes in their respective lives. How they met and got stuck in an elevator and how they eventually fell in love which each other is such a sweet story that appeals to the youth (and romantic) in all of us.

 

Speaking of romance, this book is definitely full of it but not in a sickeningly sweet way. The author was really good in storytelling and creating conversations between the characters that makes readers swoon, such as “Wish you were here” written on postcards, “Somewhere” and “Everywhere”.

 

Here are some of my favorite quotes from the book:

“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.”

 

“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.”

 

“They just stood there, regarding each other silently, the room suddenly as quiet as the elevator had been, as comfortable as the kitchen floor, as remote as the roof. Because that’s what happened when you were with someone like that: the world shrank to just the right size. It molded itself to fit only the two of you, and nothing more.”

 

The love story between Owen and Lucy is also realistic in the sense that it shows us the challenges and struggles that people go through with long distance relationships. They went through the doubts, the heartaches and the goodbyes. But it also shows us that no matter how many other people you meet and no matter where you are in the world, home is really where your heart is. It also gives us hope in the thought that love can still survive no matter the distance.

 

What I find extremely frustrating about the story though is Owen’s reluctance to make good use of the Internet and social media in order to find and keep in touch with Lucy while they were apart. I understand that there really are some people like him who aren’t really big fans of the Internet. But, it could have made their long distance relationship easier to manage. He opted to send snail mail, specifically postcards, instead. I mean, if he really wanted to connect with her then he should have forced himself to go online! But, I also understand that this part of the story is also what makes it romantic. So, I let that pass. Like what Owen said in the book, it is what it is.

 

Overall, I really LOVED the story and it was so hard for me to put it down. Honestly, it only took me 5 hours to read. Young adult novel fans will really like it.