The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight

By Jennifer E. Smith

Reviewed by

Lucy McGrew

Hadley Sullivan isn't quite sure why she's at the airport, scheduled for a flight to London where she will be in her father's wedding to a woman she's never even met. Yet there she is, and better yet she has missed her flight. By four minutes. She can't believe it, but as the story continues, she realizes how much four minutes can change her life.

At the airport waiting for the next flight, she meets Oliver, a British boy going to London too, occupying a ticket for a seat one space away. On the plane, Oliver switches seats with the lady next to Hadley, and what results is an edge-of-your seat, nail-biting plane ride. The reader is enthralled by Hadley and Oliver's connection.

Hadley has to consider her relationship with her dad: it's teetering on the edge of complete collapse. She is confused by who she is, and why her life has been slowly falling apart. She can't seem to forgive him for leaving and never coming back. But meeting Oliver changes everything, including the way she views her world.

This novel is one of second chances, and forgiveness. It is tear-jerking and heartfelt. The title and the whole meeting-a-cute-boy-on-a-plane seems clichéd but the story is far from that- it is original and gripping. I truly could not put it down. I would recommend it to readers of John Green, and people who like realistic fiction. You won't regret your choice to pick up The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight.