Blitz: The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith

Welcome to the Excerpt Tour of 
The Geography of You and Me
hosted by Prism Book Tours. 

It's RELEASE DAY for

The Geography of You and Me

by Jennifer E. Smith

The Geography of You and Me
by Jennifer E. Smith
YA Contemporary Romance
April 15th 2014 by Little, Brown for Young Readers

Lucy and Owen meet somewhere between the tenth and eleventh floors of a New York City apartment building, on an elevator rendered useless by a citywide blackout. After they're rescued, they spend a single night together, wandering the darkened streets and marveling at the rare appearance of stars above Manhattan. But once the power is restored, so is reality. Lucy soon moves to Edinburgh with her parents, while Owen heads out west with his father.

Lucy and Owen's relationship plays out across the globe as they stay in touch through postcards, occasional e-mails, and -- finally -- a reunion in the city where they first met.

A carefully charted map of a long-distance relationship, Jennifer E. Smith's new novel shows that the center of the world isn't necessarily a place. It can be a person, too.

Amazon *  Barnes & Noble * Book Depository

Did you miss any of the excerpts we shared on our tour? 

You can go back and read chapter one in its entirety, but here are some snippets:

Tour Launch

The two main characters, Lucy and Owen, from The Geography of You and Me first meet in New York, but then keep in contact from different places around the world before meeting up in New York again.

The author, Jennifer E. Smith, shared some of her favorite places in the world in preparation of Geography's release. We'd like to re-share them with you!

A Backwards Story - Chapter One, Part 1

On the first day of September, the world went dark.

But from where she stood in the blackness, her back pressed against the brassy wall of an elevator, Lucy Patterson had no way of knowing the scope of it yet.

Literary Meanderings - Chapter One, Part 2

When the elevator had wrenched to a stop, their eyes met, and in spite of the situation, she’d found herself wondering—ridiculously—whether he recognized her, too. But then the lights above them had snapped off, and they were both left blinking into the darkness, the floor still quivering beneath them. There were a few metallic sounds from above—two loud clanks followed by a sharp bang—and then something seemed to settle, and except for the faint beat of his music, it was silent.

Book Briefs - Chapter One, Part 3

The boy turned to face her, and though it was still too dark for details, she could see him more clearly with each minute that passed. She was reminded of a science experiment her class did in fifth grade, where the teacher dropped a mint into each of the students’ cupped palms, then switched off the lights and told them to bite down hard, and a series of tiny sparks lit up the room. This was how he seemed to her now: his teeth flashing when he spoke, the whites of his eyes bright against the blackness.

A Life Bound By Books - Chapter One, Part 4

“I think we’ll be fine,” he said, his voice reassuring; then, with a hint of amusement, he added: “Unless, of course, you’re afraid of the dark.”

“I’m okay,” she said, sliding down the wall until she was sitting on the floor, her elbows resting on her knees. She attempted a smile, which emerged a little wobbly. “I’ve heard monsters prefer closets to elevators.”

The Reading Diaries - Chapter One, Part 5

This time she laughed. “What’s up there, anyway?”

“The sky.”

“You’ve got keys to the sky?” she said, and he knitted his fingers together, lifting his arms above his head in a stretch.

“It’s how I impress all the girls I meet in the elevator.”

Colorimetry - Chapter One, Part 6

“I know. Hard to believe school starts tomorrow.”

“Yeah, for me, too,” he said. “Assuming we ever get out of here.”

“Where do you go?”

“Probably not the same place as you.”

“Well, I hope not,” she said with a grin. “Mine’s all girls.”

The Wonderings of One Person - Chapter One, Part 7

He considered this a moment. “Yup,” he said finally. “That pretty much sums up my feelings about New York.”

Lucy nodded. “You would prefer not to,” she said. “But that’s just because it’s new. Once you get to know it more, I have a feeling you’ll like it here.”

“Is this the part where you insist on taking me on a tour of the city, and we laugh and point at all the famous sights, and then I buy an I ♥ NY T-shirt and live happily ever after?”

“The T-shirt is optional,” she told him.

Melissa's Eclectic Bookshelf - Chapter One, Part 8

His eyes caught hers through the darkness, and the elevator felt suddenly smaller than it had just minutes before. Lucy thought of all the other times she’d been crammed in here over the years: with women in fur coats and men in expensive suits; with little white dogs on pink leashes and doormen wheeling heavy boxes on luggage carts. She’d once spilled an entire container of orange juice on the carpet right where Owen was sitting, which had made the whole place stink for days, and another time, when she was little, she’d drawn her name in green marker on the wall, much to her mother’s dismay.

I Am A Reader - Chapter One, Part 9

Across the elevator, Owen rested his head against the wall. “It is what it is…” he murmured, letting the words trail off at the end.

“I hate that expression,” Lucy said, a bit more forcefully than intended. “Nothing is what it is. Things are always changing. They can always get better.”

Bookfever - Chapter One, Part 10

“It won’t help anything,” she said. “Worrying.”

“Exactly,” he said. “It is what it is.”

“Nope,” she said. “Nothing is what it is.”

“Fine,” he said. “It’s not what it isn’t.”

Lucy gave him a long look. “I have no idea what you’re saying.”

“Or maybe you’d just prefer not to,” he said, sitting forward, and they both laughed. The darkness between them felt suddenly thin, flimsy as tissue paper and even less substantial. His eyes shone through the blackness as the silence stretched between them, and when he finally broke it, his voice was choked.

You'll have to find out what happens between Lucy and Owen by grabbing a copy.

Jennifer E. Smith is the author of This Is What Happy Looks Like, The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, The Storm Makers, You Are Here, and The Comeback Season. She earned a master’s degree in creative writing from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, and currently works as an editor in New York City. Her work has been translated into 27 languages, and her next young adult novel, The Geography of You and Me, will be out in Spring 2014.

Website * Goodreads * Twitter * Tumblr

Tour-Wide Giveaway

- Hardcover copy of The Geography of You and Me
- ebook copy of The Geography of You and Me
- Open internationally
- April 8 - 22

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Review: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

The Fault in Our Stars 
by John Green
Release Date: January 10th, 2012
Publisher: Dutton Books
Hardcover, 318 pages
Content: YA romance
Get a Copy: 
      B&N | Amazon

Goodreads Summary: Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten.

Cindy's Review:
At a Glance/The Cover:
Everyone was raving about how good this book was. How good the characters were. What a good writer John Green was. AND it was becoming a movie. So I definitely had to read this book. 

The Characters/My Opinion:
Not gonna lie. I love the characters. They seem lively. Although I must say the plot is super random. John Green is the kind of author that can make a character go to (almost) the middle of nowhere and make it fit in with the plotline. Not to mention, make the sweetest kiss scene there. Okay, maybe Anne Frank isn't the middle of nowhere. But it seemed like it. Was it in Germany or Poland?
     
Hazel Grace - (Okay. I think her last name is Grace. Or maybe it was her middle name. I really don't remember. Cuz I read this like one or two weeks ago, my brain a getting a little hazy. Bloody har har.) How do you describe her? She's a great girl. If she went to my school, I think she'll be the kind of person I'll know about. And I'll probably know her. But I probably won't be that super close friend she has called......whatever her name was. i just can't remember anything. And when she introduced herself in the beginning, I haven't read the blurb yet, I thought "Oh great. Another cancer book. She's gonna probably die at the end. So depressing." Boy, was I wrong. It is another cancer book. But another good one. It wasn't super depressing. I'm glad Hazel tried to stay bright and happy. I hate it when people pity themselves. Including me. I don't do it that much. I hope. I think. I'm sure. Really.

Augustus Waters - When the first eye contact was made, I knew it. I knew he was going to be the other counterpart of this story. The lover. The crush. The romance. The relationship. I thought he was a bit queer at first. But then, his personality started creeping in and showing itself more. And I start to like him. As a friend of course. He's the guy I can only describe as a best guy friend. Awesome personality. Just no chemistry there. Of course, I ship Gus and Hazel. Another point for John Green for making him have that preppy, outgoing personality. Love his motorcycle. And how he's a jock is his past life. LOL. It's sorta true. He sounds pretty perfect. As much I want the guy I love to be perfect, I was my friends to be perfect too. So if he went to my school, I'll definitely recruit him to be my best friend. :)

Ian (?) - I really forgot all the names. Was there an Ian in this book? The guy who had eye cancer. The one who kind of made it possible for Gus to meet Hazel? Yeah him. He was sort of an extra of this book, but without him, nothing would probably have happened. I guess Ian is like Hazel best guy friend. Either way, he's been supportive. Or needed support. 

Overall Thoughts:
Because of my bad memories, I'm sorry you couldn't learn about the book that much. I don't really like scanning through books to read it again. Because when I reread, I have to reread the entire thing. And considering I don't like to reread books that much, let's just say there probably isn't a chance where I will reread a book just to make my book review better. BECAUSE I AM THAT LAZY. Sorry. Oh wells.

Either way, all I remember is that it is a very enjoyable book. I loved the characters. And that unexpected twist. But expect the unexpected. I didn't do that. But in books, I think it's better to leave the unexpected a surprise. It makes the book better. 

Okay. If you don't like cancer books, I understand. Because it just really gets annoying when you read a book and at the end, the main character dies off. Repeatedly. In many cancer books. And you're just like "Okay. *tears* But why?" Anyways, give this book a try, because if you're planning to watch the movie, you should still read the book. Unless you're the type to watch the movie first.

Okay. I'm rambling. I've been rambling. And I talked about myself. Okay. Let me promote the book. 

IT IS NOT ANOTHER CANCER BOOK. The Fault in Our Stars is definitely more happy. More encouraging. More hope. And hope is given. 

The Rating: (1-10): 8.5~

Happy Reading~