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

Blurb

       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.

       The Geography of You and Me (64%) was my fourth book of Smith's, and I have to admit it was a bit of a letdown. The other books that I have read of hers include The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, This Is What Happy Looks Like, and You Are Here. This book, however, just didn't do it for me.
       My big reason for not loving this book was this: The entire book seems like an "it might happen." Now, let me explain. In the beginning, Lucy and Owen meet in an elevator that gets stuck during a power outage. They spend the night wandering the city since Lucy's parents are on a business trip and Owen's dad is across town in Brooklyn. Up until this point, I was really liking Lucy and Owen's chemistry. It felt very real and sweet.
       After that night, however, both of their families decide to move, and they communicate infrequently through postcards and vague emails. This is where I started to get frustrated. From this point on, and until the very end, it was just a repeat of the same thing:
       "Maybe..."
Now, don't get me wrong, Smith's writing and characters were on par with her other books. It just seemed as though she forced an entire book out of a short story plot.

Review

       What do you think of Smith's attempt at a long-distance relationship? Let me know in the comments below!

From somewhere in Europe,
​Ashton

How long could a single night really be expected to last? How far could you stretch such a small collection of minutes? He was just a boy on a roof. She was just a girl in an elevator." 
-Jennifer E. Smith, The Geography of You and Me