Review: Meant to Be

Author: Lauren Morrill
Release Date: November 13, 2012
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Pages: 304
Source: Library
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Summary: 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.

My Favorite Lines:

“There's a difference between preferring books to parties and preferring sixteen cats to seeing the light of day.” 

“Point is, maybe some people wouldn't want to be around me all day, but there are people out there who would. And they're smart and funny. And they like some of the same things I like and hate some of the things I hate, but they also introduce me to all kinds of new things. That's as close to 'meant to be' as I can imagine.” 

Why I Loved It:  I love London.  And books set in London.  Ooo and love in London.  All of the above are found in the book called Meant to Be.. see above * ;) *

Scarily, Julia reminded me of myself.  Her nickname was Book Licker.  I never had anything that bad for a nickname, but I had my share in school.  Julia also has some ideas of love, normally found in books.  It happens I suppose.  I had the same problem.  The fact that we are so similar is probably why she drove me nuts.  Its one of those books where the reader knows a lot more about what's going than Julia does.  It drives you nuts, but it makes the end much sweeter.  And there was one particular twist near the end that I was not expecting at all.

I loved the Beatles influence in the book and put up with the Shakespeare * I am not a big fan of ol' Bill*.  The cover is beautiful... BEAUTIFUL.  I didn't want to change what I was reading because just the cover made my blog look better.  I want a blown up poster size for my room.

All in all, I devoured the book in about a day.  Any cliche was forgotten in the midst of the sweet and at times sour story filled with laughs and grunts of frustration with plenty of splashes of "awww" moments.  The book leaves you feeling happy and wanting desperately to go to London * so beware of that. *

Who Should Read It:  It's a great contemporary read.  The main character is a bit judgmental at times, so if that has a tendency to drive you crazy you might want to stay away.  I think people who love the idea of a contemporary set in London should pick it up.