by Jennifer E. Smith
Little, Brown and Company. 2014. Young adult fiction.
Lucy Patterson and Owen Buckly meet, by chance, when they are trapped in their New York apartment building's elevator during a massive power outage that wipes out power for the entire east coast. And, even though they only spend one afternoon together, that afternoon becomes the standard against which both measure all their other relationships. Separated geographically, it is their emotional connection carries each of them through a life-changing year.
This book left me torn. The writing was very good and the characters were believable. In fact, the problem wasn't so much with the book as with the reader. Each time I would sit down and read it I would think "Oh, this is so cute!" followed almost immediately by, "But is it realistic for love found in an elevator to withstand so many obstacles?" When I would think about how little time the two characters actually converse with each other in the book, the adult realist in me had a hard time giving in to the teenage romantic trying to enjoy a light read. My advice: pick up the book knowing that this is not a book that will make any sense rationally but that will be satisfying all the same.
JH
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