Field Notes on Love

When Hugo Wilkinson and his girlfriend, Margaret Campbell—both from Surrey, England—break up before university, he’s left with tickets for a rail trip across the United States that she had planned for them. But the trip is nontransferable, and all of the reservations are in her name, so Hugo can’t go unless he can find a replacement Margaret Campbell. The timing couldn’t be better for Margaret “Mae” Campbell from New York’s Hudson Valley (she’s just been rejected from USC’s film school and needs a distraction), who finds Hugo’s notice for a travel companion through social media. When the two first meet at New York’s Penn Station, it’s not exactly love at first sight, but after sharing close quarters, exploring new cities, and confiding their dreams and disappointments, passion begins to ignite. Told from the protagonists’ alternating perspectives and offering a well-rounded cast of secondary characters (especially sextuplet Hugo’s siblings and Mae’s feisty grandmother), this novel by Smith (Windfall) gives a contemporary twist to the tried-and-true plot of two strangers falling in love on a train. A coming-of-age story as well as a romance, it offers authentic, complementary protagonists while capturing the thrill of exploring new territory. Ages 12–up. [em]Agent: Jennifer Joel, ICM Partners. (Mar.) [/em]