The geography of you and me by Jennifer E. Smith

Headline, 2014. ISBN 9781472206299.
Well recommended for upper secondary students. A cleverly contrived plot where the main characters are able to express their inner thoughts, which closely ally a reader's own view of the situation at the time. Lucy lives on the 24th floor of an apartment in New York and when the power goes out on an incredibly hot day she meets Owen, who lives in the basement, not that Lucy is aware of that. They get stuck in a lift and talk. This leaves each of them with a yearning to see more of each other. Owen's mother has died and he and his father are trying to sort out their lives and so after an unsuccessful stint at mending the pipes in the hotel they set off to 'drive out west, find some place better suited for them, a place with more sky and fewer people. Maybe, in that way, Owen would be able to say goodbye too' p78. They do. Lucy's rather casual parents finally insist she joins them in Paris and onto Scotland. And so starts an exchange of irregular postcards to each other. The genuine feelings each expresses about their relationship is heart-warming, amusing and tender as first love blossoms. It's an engaging easy to read story of young people finding their voice and creating a world where they can share their thoughts and hopes. The font is clear and well-spaced. It focuses on young people's fragile relationships while learning about each other.
Sue Nosworthy