Publication Date: November 13, 2012Review: This book! This book, you guys. It had me:
Publisher: Delacorte
Format: eGalley
Page Count: 256
Synopsis: 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.
- Staying up till 4am finishing it
- Wishing it had far more pages than it actually does
- Crying
- Laughing
- Wanting it to be November 13, 2012 already so that I could have a finished copy in my hands
This book had an addicting factor to it that wouldn't let me put it down. Not that I minded. I was so engrossed in the story that I was happy to keep on turning pages--until I got to the last ten pages, of course. Then I wished that it would have fifty more so that I could keep reading.
The main characters are Julia and Jason, who are assigned to be "buddies" for the buddy system. Problem is, Jason is an annoying troublemaker and Julia is a rigid "book licker." (No, seriously, that's her nickname, you guys.) Neither character is particularly likable and they both have a fair share of flaws. It's easy to get frustrated with either of them, but at the same time, it's so easy to fall in love with them as well.
I liked Julia a lot. She's a rule-follower and, unlike the rest of her class, wants to actually experience London and its culture. Sometimes, she could be way too strict, or would overreact too much, but all in all, I really enjoyed her character and reading through her point of view. I also liked Jason a lot. He's a huge goofball and likes to have fun (sometimes, too much of it), but he could also be incredibly infuriating and... well, douche-y. Both main characters had their flaws, but it just made them that much more real and likable.
The romance was lovely. I can understand why some readers might think it's too insta-lovey, considering the book is set over only a few days, but I didn't feel like that at all. The relationships in this novel build slowly and deeply, so I didn't feel any rush to the romance. All I felt was that warm mushy-gushy feeling when you read something adorable.
The plot was definitely extremely predictable, and I think that's probably the biggest issue I had with the book. I could usually guess most of the plot twists early on in the book, and when everything was revealed and confessions were pouring out, I wasn't surprised.
In conclusion, Meant to Be is an outstanding debut that left me wanting more pages--or maybe just another book by the talented Lauren Morrill!
4.5 keys.