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.
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.
I loved Meant to Be. I cannot stress this enough. I loved loved loved this!
I loved it enough that I procrastinated returning it to the library as soon as I was done reading it, two weeks before it was due (and not just out of sheer laziness). I pretty much kept this to re-read certain favorite parts over and over again (and boy, were there a lot--like, 90% of the book was my favorite).
Meet Julia, swimmer, geek, hopeless romantic, and searching for her Meant To Be's heart--Meant To Be meaning, predestined, supposed to be together, perfect lovers. In this case, it's Mark Bixford, the boy she's had a crush on since they were neighbors when she was small.
The story takes place on a class trip to London, and besides all the interesting settings (come on, this is London!) that take place all throughout this book, there's also the plot as she searches for this mysterious texter (Chris) who's been sending her messages almost since she arrived in the country.
The main driving point of the plot, you could say, is the search for her MTB--is it Mark? Chris? Jason? And before you get started on the "That is so unrealistic she cannot have three boys pining for her at the same time!" just read the book.
Trust me.
Read. it.
This book is filled with so much squee-worthy moments it will have you rolling around on your bed or the floor or the couch clutching it to your bed and screaming because of the cuteness. (Or, at least, that's what it made me do--repeatedly. Again. And again. And again.)
It is, also, more than just a book to read because there are cute, hot guys in it (you will love Jason so much! Trust me trust me trust me!). It is a book that teaches you that sometimes, love just happens, and sometimes, it's not this perfect fairy-tale story that lasts forever...but that doesn't mean that the love isn't perfect.
I'll give a 10/10 for the story line because it was so cute and kept me interested enough to keep coming back to read it over and over again without ever getting bored.
As for the writing, I cannot tell you how impressed I was by all the show, don't tell going on in this book. The first time Julia says "I love swimming"? I rolled my eyes. Ha! I thought, tossing my head to the side haughtily. Just watch when there is no more mention of swimming at all in this book. Just watch! But she did it. She swam, a lot, and she showed all her geekiness (one of my biggest irks in reading is when a character calls his or herself smart and then doesn't show it at all!) and yes, her intelligence, and weird quirks.
Lauren Morril...thank you for saving my faith in the YA genre. This book is what we need. Not dumb stories of "We were meant to be forever and ever!" and perfectly packaged fairy-tale endings or circumstances, and no promises of forever--and this book will definitely teach you that, and you'll still be happy anyway even without those unrealistic expectations out of a relationship.
The characters were all lovable and wonderful and so well developed I just want to take them all home with me and hug them to death.
I really can't tell you how much I recommend this book, and I don't want to give too much away, so just go on! Go! What are you waiting for?!
The story takes place on a class trip to London, and besides all the interesting settings (come on, this is London!) that take place all throughout this book, there's also the plot as she searches for this mysterious texter (Chris) who's been sending her messages almost since she arrived in the country.
The main driving point of the plot, you could say, is the search for her MTB--is it Mark? Chris? Jason? And before you get started on the "That is so unrealistic she cannot have three boys pining for her at the same time!" just read the book.
Trust me.
Read. it.
This book is filled with so much squee-worthy moments it will have you rolling around on your bed or the floor or the couch clutching it to your bed and screaming because of the cuteness. (Or, at least, that's what it made me do--repeatedly. Again. And again. And again.)
It is, also, more than just a book to read because there are cute, hot guys in it (you will love Jason so much! Trust me trust me trust me!). It is a book that teaches you that sometimes, love just happens, and sometimes, it's not this perfect fairy-tale story that lasts forever...but that doesn't mean that the love isn't perfect.
I'll give a 10/10 for the story line because it was so cute and kept me interested enough to keep coming back to read it over and over again without ever getting bored.
As for the writing, I cannot tell you how impressed I was by all the show, don't tell going on in this book. The first time Julia says "I love swimming"? I rolled my eyes. Ha! I thought, tossing my head to the side haughtily. Just watch when there is no more mention of swimming at all in this book. Just watch! But she did it. She swam, a lot, and she showed all her geekiness (one of my biggest irks in reading is when a character calls his or herself smart and then doesn't show it at all!) and yes, her intelligence, and weird quirks.
Lauren Morril...thank you for saving my faith in the YA genre. This book is what we need. Not dumb stories of "We were meant to be forever and ever!" and perfectly packaged fairy-tale endings or circumstances, and no promises of forever--and this book will definitely teach you that, and you'll still be happy anyway even without those unrealistic expectations out of a relationship.
The characters were all lovable and wonderful and so well developed I just want to take them all home with me and hug them to death.
I really can't tell you how much I recommend this book, and I don't want to give too much away, so just go on! Go! What are you waiting for?!
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