Title: Meant to Be
Author: Lauren Morrill
Published By: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: November 13, 2012
Pages: 304
Genre: YA, Contemporary
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.
The Writing: The writing in this book is quite mediocre and fairly average. The descriptions are decent although I would have liked the author to describe the appearances of the main characters earlier on in the book. Jason is actually a redhead and we don't really find that out until quite a ways through the book and I think knowing that would have helped to visualize the characters better.
The Plot: Cliché. Predictable. Still kind of cute. Even reading the summary, it's not hard to guess what's going to happen in this book. However, sometimes it is nice to have that cliché romance and light, fluffy plot. The "plot twist" was also very predictable for me. You know what's coming and it's so obvious you want to yell at Julia because she's just not getting it. It's also set in London so that's an automatic bonus for me!
The Characters: Both of these characters have exaggerated personalities. Julia is the introverted nerdy bookworm and Jason is a loud, childish troublemaker. In saying that, I absolutely hated Julia. She is the epitome of the saying "I'm not like other girls." She is extremely judgemental and has a feeling of superiority just because she reads Shakespeare and Austen while listening to The Beatles. She is constantly judging her other classmates for how they act/what they wear and it gets very frustrating. She's also just so clumsy it becomes unbelievable and just stupid by the middle of the book. While Jason is very childish and funny it's also so over-the-top that I found myself getting a little annoyed by him at times as well (Not as much as Julia, mind you). They're relationship was also very hot and cold. One minute they were fighting and the next they were best friends. It was enough to give me whiplash. Jason's feelings for Julia also seemed quite contrived and progressed so quickly that it doesn't feel natural. Before this trip the two had never spoken with each other and all of sudden they are hanging out and BAM feelings.
This book was really just okay for me. It's only redeeming qualities for me is the setting and the cover. I think it's so vibrant and pretty! This just good if you want something fluffy and quick to read. You can easily finish this in one sitting and while it may not be the most thought-provoking book, it is fun to read.
2.75/5
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