The Geography of You and Me – Jennifer E. Smith

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.

Published: April 15th 2014

Contemporary is very hit or miss with me. It is definitely not my favourite genre, but somehow Jennifer E. Smith makes me feel like it is my favourite whenever I read her stories. She has a signature style of writing, which I utterly and absolutely adore. She crafts believable worlds and brilliant characters.

The Geography of You and Me takes the readers on a trip across the world. From New York to Paris, California to London. I loved the details described in each location; it actually felt like I was transported from snowy Alberta to balmy California.

For reasons unknown, really, I don’t know why—I envisioned Owen as Joseph Gordon Levitt. Throughout the entire story that is exactly who I pictured. JGL in all his glory. Owen was such a dynamic character. I find often that in YA books the male interest is usually dull, or exceptionally (to the point of being annoying) flawed. Owen had a colourful past, but wasn’t damaged beyond repair. He quite frankly was perfect.

Lucy is a postcard collector. Her parents travel the world without her, in return she receives postcards from all the exotic places they visit. Lucy and Owen take it upon themselves to use postcards as their method of communication. Postcards and hand written correspondence is unheard of in the age of technology. I found it so romantic and beautiful that our two protagonists stuck with these old fashioned methods of communications. It was so artistic, moving and beautiful.

Yes, the chances of being trapped in an elevator with someone and falling in love is unlikely, but we are all dreamers. A great story is like a good dream. It takes away from our world and enthralls us. That is what E.Smith’s writing is: a dream-like, compelling and poignant story of love and the beauty of life.

My favourite work of hers yet. Simply put, this is a happy book. It makes you smile, it makes you laugh, every positive emotion is triggered by E.Smith’s words.

Thank you, HBG for the review copy.