The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith
Sorry if this one’s a little bit rusty. I haven’t written a review for so long. And truthfully, I missed it. Haha.
I have been one to judge books based on their covers ever since the YA genre started spouting tons of vampire/werewolf/*insert-other-mythical-creatures-here* crap. Every time I go into a bookstore, I find, to my disappointment, another goth-themed cover. If not those kinds, I see books with lovey-dovey covers which contain very clichéd plots. Now why am I babbling on about these stuff? Well, because this particular book that I am reviewing falls into those category, cover-wise. (please don’t stop reading)
But then, as I update myself of the vlogbrother’s video entries, I found that in one of it, Mr. John Green himself recommended this book. Of course, my opinion of it changed and I started to take a second look and finally.. bought my own copy. After a few weeks, here I am, finally gotten around reading The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight.
I have to be honest and admit that the title didn’t help in convincing me to like the book. You see, I am a non-believer of the whole love-at-first-sight magic. But then as I got past the first chapter, I find myself actually getting attached to the main character, namely Hadley Sullivan.
“It’s not the changes that will break your heart; it’s that tug of familiarity.”
And so the story began as Hadley got stuck in the airport by missing her flight that would bring her to her father’s second wedding. And so she had to book yet another flight and wait. All this hassle just because she was late by 4 minutes. Yep, only 4 minutes. But then this seemed to be a blessing in disguise for she met Oliver, also waiting to catch the same flight she recently booked.
Their meeting was fairly odd and not quite realistic to me but I guess it somehow worked for the whole of the story. Even when they’ve met for just a few hours, they felt comfortable talking to each other and sharing stuff you don’t usually do with strangers. And so goes their 24-hour-long story of witty remarks, comedic adventures and personal revelations.. all inside an airplane.
The premise of the book may look shallow at first but then reading through it revealed a lot more about the characters that just their timely acquaintance. Surprisingly, what caught me wasn’t the love story between Hadley and Oliver but the conflicted relationship Hadley has with her father. (yeah yeah, I am a sucker for characters with father issues) The book started out with Hadley having strong feeling against her father and as the story unfolds, we were allowed to peek in on Hadley’s head and her hatred. Who wouldn’t be mad of a father who leaves his family for another woman?
I know that this is not a unique story and a lot of books have already intricately depicted broken families and bitter children. But what made this book so much different from the others is that it journeyed toward a positive path of acceptance. Although even to me, Hadley forgiveness of her father’s act was to sudden and early, I felt this bit of jealousy for her having the heart and bravery to finally find peace with what she was dealt with. She wasn’t like other characters who would rather carry the hatred for as long as they can even when it wasn’t worth it. And I think that’s what I admire most about Hadley. She was honest about how she felt and she can deal with it. I, personally, don’t have the strength to do that.
Overall, I enjoyed it and I am glad that I believed Mr. John Green’s word. I think it wasn’t really much of a love-at-first-sight thing. I would say that it was an attraction-at-first-sight. A little predictable but it was fine with me. It was a perfect mix of wit, drama, craziness, and cheesiness. Nothing was too much overdone. I give it a 4/5.
