Meant to Be
by Lauren Morrill
Published on November 13th, 2012
by Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Format: Paperback
Source: Purchased
Amazon | B&N | Goodreads
Also by this author: Being Sloane Jacobs
Meant to be or not meant to be . . . that is the question.
It's one thing to fall head over heels into a puddle of hazelnut coffee, and quite another to fall for the—gasp—wrong guy. Straight-A junior Julia may be accident prone, but she's queen of following rules and being prepared. That's why she keeps a pencil sharpener in her purse and a pocket Shakespeare in her, well, pocket. And that's also why she's chosen Mark Bixford, her childhood crush, as her MTB ("meant to be").
But this spring break, Julia's rules are about to get defenestrated (SAT word: to be thrown from a window) when she's partnered with her personal nemesis, class-clown Jason, on a school trip to London. After one wild party, Julia starts receiving romantic texts . . . from an unknown number! Jason promises to help discover the identity of her mysterious new suitor if she agrees to break a few rules along the way. And thus begins a wild goose chase through London, leading Julia closer and closer to the biggest surprise of all: true love.
Because sometimes the things you least expect are the most meant to be.
First off, look at that cover! This cover is PERFECT for this novel and I couldn’t have asked for a better one; I feel that it captures the essence of the book, if that makes sense. Basically, I all sorts of love this cover.
Good news, I don’t just love the cover, I LOVE the book too! I read this book twice this week; I read it in one sitting but I wasn’t over my OTP yet so I had to reread it. No regrets. Man, this book is filled with awesomeness, let me tell you; the writing is spot on, the characters are incredibly unique and well written, and the story is all sorts of wonderful. This is a romance but it was also… EDUCATIONAL. No lie, I’ll get to that later. There were so many aspects throughout this book and instead of it being a jumbled mess, it was PURE AWESOMENESS.
Meant to Be included probably my favorite plot line ever and no matter how many times I read/watch it, I never get tired of it; the two main characters hate each other but when forced together, they form not only an understanding but something more. With some swoons. Swoons are necessary. Oh, Lauren Morrill wrote it so good. The characters that Lauren came up with were WONDERFUL! Julia, our MC, is clumsy, awkward, rule-abiding, and incredibly stubborn. I’m sure that she was fun to write because she was crazy fun to read about. Jason is popular, loud, a slacker, and the center of attention. When paired together on a trip to London, arguments start a-flowing; it fueled a very interesting relationship that was at times whiplashy (not a word but still appropriate) but always wonderful and tension filled.
Let’s talk more about Jason. I can’t get over him. New book boyfriend. HE’S A SEXY GINGER, FOLKS. I have a weakness for gingers and man, Jason hit the spot. He’s also intelligent, cocky, adventurous, and funny. Basically, my type and I love him.
Now, I’m not always the best at predicting what will happen and I was shocked at every turn; there is a lot of meat to this book and it made the 290 pages feel much longer. The twists kept me intrigued by the book and I couldn’t be happier with it.
I mentioned that it was educational earlier and it was cleverly so; Julia and Jason are in London with their class for credit and Julia is addicted to guidebooks. As we make our way with the characters around London, Julia talks about the history behind it all and I learned so much from this book. If you need to justify it, use that.
Two words: swoony swoons.
I can’t wait to read Lauren’s sophomore book and everything else that she writes!
About Lauren Morrill
Lauren Elizabeth Morrill is many things, including, but not limited to, a writer, an educator, a badass roller derby skater, a former band nerd, an aggressive driver, and a die-hard Mac person. She also watches a lot of TV, eats a lot of junk food, and drinks a lot of Coke. It’s a wonder her brain and teeth haven’t rotted out of her head.
Her first novel, Meant to Be, sold in a two-book deal to Wendy Loggia at Delacorte for Paper Lantern Lit.
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I have been seeing this book on BookOutlet for the longest time! Although I never really paid attention to it but now your review makes me want to get it!