The Geography of You and Me

The Geography of You and Me (2014), a young adult contemporary romance novel by Jennifer E. Smith, follows what happens when two teenagers fall in love on an elevator in New York City during a citywide blackout. Popular with teenage readers, critics praise it for its compelling depiction of young love. Smith is an internationally bestselling young adult and middle-grade novelist. Her books are available in more than thirty languages. She earned her master’s degree in creative writing at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.

The protagonists are Lucy Patterson and Owen Buckley. They both live in a high-rise apartment building in New York. Lucy lives on the twenty-fourth floor, and Owen lives in the basement. Lucy is often home alone as her parents travel frequently. When the novel begins, they are in London, England, and Lucy is bored at home. It is a beautiful night, and she decides to head out exploring.

Lucy catches the elevator just before it heads down. Pushing her way inside, she meets Owen. She introduces herself and asks Owen where he stays. He explains that his father is the new superintendent, and they live together in the basement apartment. Lucy welcomes him to the building, but she doesn’t say much else because they don’t have much in common.



Suddenly, the elevator stops, and the lights go out. The teenagers are terrified. They try to call for help, but the power is out completely. They don’t know it yet, but there is a power outage affecting the entire eastern seaboard. It will be a long time before anyone rescues them because no one knows they are trapped there.

They make the best of the situation. They talk more about themselves. Lucy finds out that Owen’s mother is dead. When Mrs. Buckley died, Owen’s father couldn’t look at their old house anymore without feeling bad. He moved them from Pennsylvania, and Owen doesn’t have any friends yet. He finds New York overpowering and overcrowded. Lucy decides that, when they escape the elevator, she will take him around the city and show him the best parts.

Finally, someone rescues them. Since the power is still out, there is nowhere to go but home. Lucy invites Owen into her apartment. They chat for a while before heading out in search of supplies. When they return, Owen asks Lucy if she wants to see the rooftop. It is the one part of the building no one normally gets to see, but since Owen has a key, he can access it.



Lucy asks Owen if his dad will mind them using the key. Owen explains that his dad is in Brooklyn for the night, so it can be their secret. They sneak onto the roof and watch the stars. Lucy tells Owen that she is lonely because her rich parents are always traveling somewhere. They send her postcards saying how much they wish she was with them, but that cannot be true since they never invite her.

The next day, Owen’s father loses his job. The building owner blames him for kids being stuck in the elevator, because he should have been on shift. Owen is forced to leave without having a chance to say goodbye. He wonders if he will ever see Lucy again. His father tells him to stop worrying because Lucy is the least of their problems.

Meanwhile, Lucy heads to London to see her parents. When she gets there, she learns that they plan to move to England permanently. Lucy hates the idea, but she knows that what her parents say goes. In the meantime, Owen sends Lucy a “Wishing You Were Here” postcard. She doesn’t receive the postcard until she is back in New York, but the moment she gets it, she sends back her own.



Owen and Lucy lose touch until, somehow, they meet up in New York again. They hang out and talk about the future. They don’t want to lose touch again. They decide that, whatever happens, and wherever they end up, they will schedule New York trips together. They fancy each other but they also have a great friendship. They don’t want to let this connection go.

Lucy’s father gets a banking job in Edinburgh, Scotland. They pack up and move from London to Edinburgh, and Lucy must go with them. Meanwhile, Owen crosses America with his father, who now works as a contractor. Owen focuses on college applications while Lucy makes new friends in Edinburgh.

A Scottish lacrosse player, Liam, falls for Lucy and they date casually. Lucy feels bad because she loves Owen, but she knows they are too far apart to make it work. They still communicate via postcards and letters, which feel more romantic than email. They plan to meet up in New York again, but it is unclear what their future holds. Owen and Lucy both agree to take it one day at a time.