RTW: Best Book of February

From YA Highway:
Road Trip Wednesday is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where YA Highway's contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question and answer it on our own blogs. You can hop from destination to destination and get everybody's unique take on the topic. 

This Week's Topic: Best Book of February

First:  Happy Leap Day!  Second: Happy Snow Day!  Winter has finally arrived here in Minnesota.  We've had a brown winter with a couple of false alarms, but the freezing rain started yesterday afternoon and it's been snowing on top of it all night.  In the ten years we've lived here, this is only the third time they've cancelled school.  Yay!  My kids will finally get to use their new sleds from Santa.

On to the best book of February.

I'm happy to say that I've gotten back on track with both writing and reading.  I only read a handful of books in February, and the best was one that I learned about from Katy Upperman's best book post from January.  I touched on it in a post a couple of weeks ago -- here's more about The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith.

Overview (from BN.com):

Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?

Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan's life. She's stuck at JFK, late to her father's second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon to be step-mother that Hadley's never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport's cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he's British, and he's in seat 18C. Hadley's in 18A.

Twists of fate and quirks of timing play out in this thoughtful novel about family connections, second chances and first loves. Set over a 24-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver's story will make you believe that true love finds you when you're least expecting it.

What first intrigued me about the book (besides the fab cover) was that it combined three irresistible elements:

• It's a contemporary love story (the title might give that away)
• Hadley, the MC, is dealing with some fairly heavy family drama
• The setting: London (at least some of it - a good portion takes place on the flight over)

 My expectations of the book, based on the reviews of others, were high, and it did not disappoint. 

What I found most impressive was that the author was able to pack a lot of punch in a twenty-four hour period.  The range of Hadley's emotions during this time rang true with authenticity and it was sustained throughout the book.  And while some might question the believability of one or two major plot points, I did not.  I was carried on the wave of Hadley's experience.  To me, nothing seemed contrived or unbelievable, thanks to the fine and delicate way the author handled these elements.  It's a well-crafted book.

My only beef?  The third-person, present tense narrator.  I would have loved to see this in first-person, and I wonder if the author had ever considered and/or tried to write it in first or in third-person past tense.  Is Jennifer E. Smith on twitter? 

How about you?  What was your best book of February?

The view of my front yard, 6:45 am. That white car to the left is stuck at the entrance of the driveway.

The view from my front porch, 5:30 am