Morning all. I read this book a few months ago so bear with… I just saw it on my desk and realised that I had in fact read it, loved it and forgot to review it; so here we go.
The Geography of Me and You is the tale of two teenagers, Lucy and Owen. She lives in a swanky apartment in New York, so does he. She lives in a posh flat and he lives in the caretakers apartment. Her parents are mega rich and have left her home alone (She is 16 btw) and moved to Paris where her dad is working. He lives with his dad after having recently lost his mum. His dad is not coping very well but has been offered the caretaking job by a friend and enrolled Owen in a local school, even though he doesn’t need to go to school because he has enough credits to go to college already (I don’t really understand the American High School system but that sounds like he is pretty clever).
So, Lucy is home alone in New York. She has two brothers but they have gone away to college. One day she is going back up to her apartment and finds herself in a lift with a boy that she has recently seen around. The lift suddenly comes to a stop and they are stuck in it, they start to talk and find out a little about each other. When they are rescued they realise that there has been some sort of power cut and that New York is in darkness; what better thing to do then go and explore, ending up on the roof of their building watching the stars. After this perfect night together they are torn apart by circumstance.
Lucy’s dad gets a job in Edinburgh and they ask her to come and join them. She starts a local school and meets a dishy lacrosse player called Liam. He really likes her but her heart isn’t in it. Owen’s dad loses his job at the apartment and they decide to go travelling around America (evidently Owen doesn’t need to go to school after all – it’s those credits you see?) and they end up filling the car and going for it. He manages to keep in contact with Lucy through postcards and letters, even if very occasionally and therefore stays in her thoughts.
Time goes by, Owen and his dad finally end up in their old house with all the memories of his mum to think about and Lucy is trying to build her life in Scotland. Owen realises that if he doesn’t see her again he will never get over her so they agree to meet in New York to see if they feel the same about each other. this is the only unbelievable bit as they are still only about 17.
This book is lovely. It’s romantic and full of beautiful gestures that remind you why you fall in love in the first place. Its got all the romantic bits, long walks in the park, watching the stars on the roof top, romantic postcards from mysterious destinations… it also gives a really nice impression of New York. The two teenagers obviously like living there, Lucy describes it as her town and their exploration makes you want to go and explore it too. My impression of a big impersonal town is blown away by the affection they have for it.
My only issue with it is that they are still so young and yet seem to have so much freedom. They also are a little too grown up for liking. All in all though, if you suspend disbelief a bit then it is a really nice read. I haven’t read any of her other books so maybe that would be a good place to start for further reading.
grown ups can read teen fiction too 