Review: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight - Jennifer E. Smith

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight
Jennifer E. Smith
Series: N/A
Genre: Young Adult, Romance
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Word Rating: Genuine and Adorable
On Goodreads

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight is a very light, heartwarming read. It centers around teenage girl Hadley Sullivan, who is on her way to London for her father’s wedding. Of course, she misses her flight by four minutes, and even though she’s put on the next one, she’ll have to make a mad dash from the airport to the wedding if she wants to have any chance of making it there on time. Those four minutes end up making all the difference when she ends up sitting next to a handsome British boy, Oliver, on the plane ride over. This results in a whirlwind of a day, not the boring flight Hadley was expecting.

The prologue of this novel did a very good job giving the audience some insight into who Hadley is. There are a lot of “ifs” as she thinks about how she managed to miss her flight.

“If the wheel of her suitcase hadn’t been off-kilter.”
“If she’d run just a bit faster to the gate.”

Hadley’s anxiety and panic is clear from the get-go. And it continues throughout the book. She is claustrophobic and prone to panic attacks and really does not want to go to this wedding. As a character, I really liked Hadley. I thought her anxiety-ridden demeanor was amusing, and she was pretty smart and witty, too. She kept up a witty banter with Oliver – her companion on the plane – and was a very three dimensional character. She overthought everything and had a fear of mayo and most of all, she resented her father for getting married to a woman who wasn’t her mom and leaving their little family broken.

And then we have Oliver. He’s a college student at Yale who also says he’s on his way to a wedding. Oliver is as lighthearted as Hadley is serious, as outgoing and laid-back as she is reserved and worrisome. However, they seem to click and bond over their plane ride and it becomes clear that Hadley is a lot more open than meets the eye. She also isn't afraid to say what she thinks and while Oliver seems to not have a filter, either, he definitely has his secrets.

The novel was full of great dialogue, which was personally my favorite thing about it. We have Hadley and Oliver’s amusing conversations, like

“I’ve been to all [the states] but one actually.”
“You’re kidding.”
Hadley shook her head. “Nope, we used to take a lot of family road trips when I was younger.”
“So you drove to Hawaii? How was that?
She grinned. “We thought it made more sense to fly to that one, actually.”
“So which one have you missed?”
“North Dakota.”

Of course, when asked where he’d want to go if he could be anywhere in the world, he just had to reply with North Dakota.

In fact, he seems to give joking responses to every question he’s asked. A recurring one throughout the novel is what he’s studying for his summer research project. He gives her every possible topic, from different styles of dancing to the fermentation process of mayonnaise to the statistical probability of love at first sight.

Hadley and Oliver hit it off right away and Hadley finds herself thinking:

“Is it possible to not ever know your type – not to even know you have a type – until quite suddenly you do?”

The plane ride is filled with getting to know each other. Jennifer E. Smith uses flashbacks and dialogue to tell the audience more about her character’s, which really makes the readers connect to them. We learn about exactly how angry Hadley is at her father, but glimpses of her childhood show that he isn’t a terrible person, just someone who has made some mistakes. Hadley makes her fair share of mistakes, too, one of them being losing sight of Oliver in the airport. During their time apart, she thinks:

“He’s like a song she can’t get out of her head. Hard as she tries, the melody of their meeting runs through her mind on an endless loop, each time as surprisingly sweet as the last, like a lullaby, like a hymn, and she doesn’t think she could ever get tired of hearing it.”

At this point, Hadley’s feelings are becoming clearer, but Oliver’s are a bit more of a mystery. I love that even though this was in third person point of view, Smith kept the focus on Hadley’s thoughts and left an air of mystery surrounding Oliver.

Overall, this book was very cute and I was drawn in by the story line. I loved the characters and I found myself passionately feeling Hadley's resentment and her father's despair and Oliver's own anger, too. It was a good way to spend a few hours and I would definitely recommend it to others.

- Noor

Do you have any interesting travel stories?

Let us know in the comments!

Waiting on Wednesday: Panic - Lauren Oliver

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week, I'm waiting on Panic by Lauren Oliver

Panic
Lauren Oliver
Series: N/A
Release Date: March 4th, 2014
Publisher: HarperCollins
Waited on by: Noor
On Goodreads

Panic began as so many things do in Carp, a dead-end town of 12,000 people in the middle of nowhere: because it was summer, and there was nothing else to do.

Heather never thought she would compete in Panic, a legendary game played by graduating seniors, where the stakes are high and the payoff is even higher. She’d never thought of herself as fearless, the kind of person who would fight to stand out. But when she finds something, and someone, to fight for, she will discover that she is braver than she ever thought.

Dodge has never been afraid of Panic. His secret will fuel him, and get him all the way through the game, he’s sure of it. But what he doesn't know is that he’s not the only one with a secret. Everyone has something to play for.

For Heather and Dodge, the game will bring new alliances, unexpected revelations, and the possibility of first love for each of them—and the knowledge that sometimes the very things we fear are those we need the most.


I absolutely loved Lauren Oliver's Delirium trilogy and I quite liked her novel Before I Fall, so when I saw that she was writing a new book, I got very excited. Reading the blurb made me very interested in this book, and the whole time I was thinking: What exactly is Panic and why is it so high-stakes? And how far are a bunch of teenagers willing to go for some game? It's always refreshing to see a novel stand out among the crowd of other YA books, and Lauren Oliver has sure done that in the past. My interest has been piqued for Panic and I'm eagerly awaiting its release next year!

What are YOU waiting on?

Let us know in the comments!

Review: The Girl of Fire and Thorns - Rae Carson

The Girl of Fire and Thorns
Rae Carson
Series: Fire and Thorns, #1
Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal, Young Adult, Romance
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Word Rating: Spectacular
On Goodreads

Oh, The Girl of Fire and Thorns, how I have loved thee.

What makes this book just so different from anything else I have ever read is the religious aspect. Elisa’s whole life centers on her being the bearer of the Godstone – a stone that appeared in her navel from a ray of light on her name day. Now, this all might sound a little strange, but believe me when I tell you that the way Elisa’s religion and status as bearer weaves its way through this story is truly remarkable. From the history of Godstone bearers to different forms of her religion, Carson masterfully created a believable and well thought out religion on which Elisa’s society was built.

And that brings us to Elisa. There’s something so wonderful about how Carson jumps right into the insecure mind of our main character, Elisa, from the very first page of this book. At the start, we know that Elisa is a young and coddled princess, but she grows tremendously by the end of the book. Elisa is so different from main characters I’ve read in other books in a way that I could actually relate to her more. Elisa loves to eat, and I am not using the word loves lightly. Moreover, she’s fat. The fact that Elisa is fat actually drives a lot of her character in the beginning of the story. Elisa worrying about her weight and what a cute guy thinks of her appearance is so normal for a 16-year-old girl, and it made me love her so much more. One of my favorite lines:

If my gown isn’t going to fit anyway, I might as well soothe my pounding head and rumbling stomach with a warm pastry.

A girl after my own heart – couldn’t have said it better myself.

Of course, weight is not the only thing driving Elisa – there’s also the Godstone, and how she must fulfill her act of service to God as a chosen bearer. Throughout The Girl of Fire and Thorns, Elisa struggles with her faith and how everyone thinks they know what God’s will is while she remains utterly clueless. Elisa truly evolves through her search to figure out what she is meant to do, allowing her to learn how to act on her own and building her confidence.

Don’t call my name, don’t call my name… Alejandrooooooo. Ok, now that I’ve gotten that out my system, onto the lovely king to whom Elisa is married at the beginning of The Girl of Fire and Thorns. There really isn’t much to say about Alejandro’s personality: he’s indecisive, weak, and shady, but also quite friendly at the same time. His relationship with Elisa isn’t much – in the beginning, he tells her he wants to be friends, but he is largely absent, barely giving Elisa the time of day. At the same time, the way he conducts himself allows Elisa to grow into her role as Queen. Because Alejandro is indecisive, Elisa learns a bit about leading, and because he pays no attention to her, Elisa learns that what he thinks of her doesn’t really matter in the long run – she must do what she needs to do in order to rule and fulfill her act of service.

Now we have the guy who actually cares about Elisa: Humbeurto. From the moment we meet Humbeurto, we see him caring for Elisa and protecting her. The only downfall about Humbeurto, for me, was that we only really see him as a person who revolves around Elisa. We know he’d do anything for Elisa and all that, but there isn’t a lot of any of his other motivations (besides revenge). However, the fact that Humbeurto loves Elisa to such an extent and that he defends her not only to physical harm, but also to her doubts, allows Elisa to feel powerful.

Cosmé, on the other hand, works against Elisa for much of the book. Cosmé constantly looks down on Elisa, belittling her. Despite the way she antagonizes Elisa, the two become friends. Cosmé’s nagging at Elisa becomes motivation for Elisa to work harder and prove herself. I was really surprised by how much I grew to like Cosmé. If someone had told me I would like her by the end when I first met her in the book, I would have laughed. Hysterically. But Cosmé becomes so much more than Elisa’s hand maiden who she doesn’t trust – she becomes someone Elisa can rely on, someone she trusts whole-heartedly.

Another interesting character is Ximena, who is largely a mystery to both Elisa and the reader throughout The Girl of Fire and Thorns. Ximena is Elisa’s nurse and the closest thing Elisa has ever had to a mother. Ximena will do anything for what she believes is best for Elisa or Elisa’s protection. Ximena is so devoted to Elisa; their bond, so sweet.

Of course, there’s the matter of a war and crazy Inviernos out to take over Joya d’Arena. The Inviernos are crazy. I know if I was Elisa, I would be terribly frightened by them, but she stands her ground. How Carson describes the battle scenes is wonderful, adding drama and suspense and making the reader anxious to know the outcome.

Overall, I truly loved The Girl of Fire and Thorns. It’s original premise and wonderful character building truly pulled me in and made this an unforgettable read.

- Kiersten

How would you feel if you were expected to fulfill an act of service like Elisa?

Let us know in the comments!

Double Review: Mortality by Christopher Hitchens

Well, kiddies, today we'll be munching on Mortality:

Mortality
Christopher Hitchens
Series: N/A
Genre: Memoir, Religion, Death, Philosophy
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Word Rating: Ugh, I can't even.
On Goodreads

Yum! See the horrible irony is that the author died from esophageal cancer. I just realized this. I am terrible.

Okay, you may not be inclined to digest literature quite as literally as I am, but we've all got our methods. Though mine is probably a few galaxies (and a left turn) away from what is considered right... but my madness and fervent hunger for new books and ideas has delivered to me the works of Christopher Hitchens, (not) arguably the most influencing contrarian of the past few decades. Known as one of the Four Horsemen of New Atheism, this secular badass spent a great deal of his life combating all superstitions, false images (you should see what he's about Winston Churchill and the not-so Motherly Teresa), and the like. And of course this means that he had, before his own, spoken and written on death, the domain so historically claimed by the believers and their temples because of what is debated to come after. And that's where cancer rears in its ugly head:
Suddenly aware of his impending end, Hitchens rushed to pen his regards on the matter down. Thus, Mortality, one of the most powerful pieces of work I've ever read.
Enough with the lead in, let's get down to the guts of exactly why the above statement rings any sort of truth.

I have more than once in my time woken up feeling like death. But nothing prepared me for the early morning in June when I came to consciousness feeling as if I were shackled to my own corpse. The whole cave of my chest and thorax seemed to have been hollowed out and then refilled with slow-drying cement. I could faintly hear myself breathe but could not manage to inflate my lungs. My heart was beating either much too much or much too little. (Hitchens, 1)

In these opening lines, Hitchens is wrought with pain and sincerity. Anyone familiar with his work will probably immediately catch that his usual flair for a higher level of writing is dismissed altogether. In dying, he is brutally to the point. This reveals itself again and again in the piece, and it allows a much deeper connection to the lessons and insight the book has to offer. For instance:

I had time to wonder why they needed so many boots and helmets and so much heavy backup equipment, but now that I view the scene in retrospect I see it as a very gentle and firm deportation,taking me from the country of the well across the stark frontier that marks off the land of malady. (2)

Such lines award us with a very key term in the midst of a resigned view: retrospect. Retrospection is very key in this piece, because Hitchens quickly develops a pattern of what he saw and felt and thought before and after his illness, and how dying reveals another world entirely (Or rather, a "country"). But even in doing so he keeps his humor, though it can be on the darker side of comedy . . . but I'll leave that for you to discover.

There is also a sense of foreboding in the piece because the writer knows he is to die and you know the writer is to die and that he knows he is to die, and Hitchens does very well to capitalize on that (not deliberately), which serves to vary the piece so it doesn't strictly become a philosophical discourse, and in a way, becomes somewhat of an epilogue to his memoir. This sense of foreboding, originating from bits like "I hope to write next time if . . . I am spared" (9), continues throughout the piece and acts as suspense, and shows that even in such a terrible state, the author continues to desire crafting a good story.

All of this culminates in a philosophical book about death that you can't help but keep reading, because it's so damn right. Honestly, "Deprivation of the ability to speak is more like an . . . amputation of part of the personality" (48) keeps me up at night. And that's what this book, and the author, is about: keeping you up at night, questioning what you know about life and dying.

- Marlon

Noor's Mortality Review
Rating: 4.5
Word Rating: Elegantly articulated

How does one maintain dignity in death? Perhaps this question should have been asked to Christopher Hitchens, who, in Mortality, handles death with elegance and sophistication. Like Marlon said, he is straightforward and doesn’t beat around the bush when he writes about his inevitable death. He accepts his fate and this memoir sure shows it. The combination of his bluntness and acceptance create writing that is powerful and beautiful. He tackled his cancer with wit, which was displayed all throughout this piece His quips about his disease and his sarcastic remarks to the people he dealt with were clever and genuinely funny, not just remarks that people laughed at because they felt bad that he had cancer. When a person responds with “I seem to have cancer today” to the standard “How are you doing today?” question, you know they haven’t lost their metaphorical voice (even when they are sure to lose their physical one). And this voice was precisely what Hitchens’ book discussed. He wrote simply,

“What do I hope for? If not a cure, then a remission. And what do I want back? In the most beautiful apposition of two of the simplest words in our language: the freedom of speech.”

Throughout the memoir, he emphasizes that the thought of losing his voice is the most upsetting part of his cancer, to him. This thought propelled the piece, and in every word he wrote, the audience can see a growing concern, a hint of desperation masked behind the sophistication. The raw truth of everything he wrote shined through in every carefully penned word. His admittance of his deterioration also added to his appearance of mental strength.
My favorite part of this book was the very end. The last chapter of the book is a few pages of fragments and blurbs, intended to be part of the book, but left unfinished and unedited due to the unfortunate circumstance of his death. These jottings and notes are so real, so raw that t adds another dimension to Hitchens. Some of the fragments, like:

“Tragedy? Wrong word: Hegel versus the Greeks.”

seem to be short notes that were intended to be something bigger, and it leaves me wondering exactly what that short sentence could have become, if expanded upon. And then there are short exclamations, come filled with dark humor, some with contempt, such as:

“I’m not fighting or battling cancer – it’s fighting me.”

“Brave? Hah! Save it for a fight you can’t run away from.”

There are reports of his symptoms, giving an image of physical weakness, there are some thoughtful musings. As the book nears its end, the blurbs get shorter and shorter, until they are simply phrases, like

“Not even a race for a cure…”

“Paperwork the curse of Tumortown”

“'Gradual disclosure' not yet a problem for me”

And then the final jotting is a quote from Alan Lightman’s Einstein’s Dreams. Christopher Hitchens’s piece is ended with the following words.

“Such is the cost of immortality. No person is whole. No person is free.”

These words are powerful and thought-provoking and the reader realizes that this message has been scattered throughout the book. Christopher Hitchens’s book was ended with the words of someone else, just as his life was ended but his message is immortalized.

- Noor

How do you deal with death?
Let us know in the comments!

Stacking the Shelves [1]

Stacking the Shelves is an event hosted by Tynga's Reviews where bloggers share the books they bought, won, borrowed, or received. These are the books we've gotten throughout the past two weeks.

Kiersten:

Bought
Last Stop (Watchers, #1) - Peter Lerangis
Jack of Hearts - Ricardo Bare
Branded (Sinners, #1) - Abi Kebner and Missy Kalicicki
The Curse - Touch of Eternity - Emily Bold
Stormdancer (The Lotus War, #1) - Jay Kristoff
Broken (Debt Collecter, #4) - Susan Kaye Quinn
Beyond - Maureen A. Miller
The Iron Wyrm Affair (Bannon & Clare, #1) - Lilith Saintcrow
Oberon's Dreams - Aaron Pogue
Spoiled - Heather Cocks
The Crown of Embers (Fire and Thorns, #2) - Rae Carson

Won
Emospherica (The Destiny of Jasmine Blade, #1) - K.J. Madsen


Noor:

Bought
The Ocean at the End of the Lane - Neil Gaiman
The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight - Jennifer E. Smith
Legend (Legend, #1) - Marie Lu
Prodigy (Legend, #2) - Marie Lu
American Gods - Neil Gaiman
The Wishing Spell (The Land of Stories, #1) - Chris Colfer
Fragments (Partials Sequence, #2) - Dan Wells
Isolation (Partials Sequence, #0.5) - Dan Wells
Leviathan (Leviathan, #1) - Scott Westerfeld
Behemoth (Leviathan, #2) - Scott Westerfeld
Goliath (Leviathan, #3) - Scott Westerfeld 
The Book Thief - Markus Zusak
The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
A Long Way Down - Nick Hornby


Amrutha:

Bought
Death Comes to Pemberley - P. D. James


Marlon:

Bought
The Divine Comedy - Dante Alighieri
Slaughterhouse-Five - Kurt Vonnegut

What books have YOU acquired recently?

Let us know in the comments!