Meant to Be by Lauren Morrill
Published: Delacorte Books for Young Readers (November 13th, 2013)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 304 pages
Rating: 4 of 5 stars
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.
Review:
This was such a"feel good" type of story. Julie is a complete good girl who never breaks the rules. She has a strict plan in place for her spring break class trip to London. She also has this crazy idea that this one guy is her future"meant to be" and no one else is even on her radar. The guy had left when they were younger and now he was suddenly back. But Julie hadn't seen him in years and she learns that he has changed… a lot. He might not be as perfect as she may have thought.
I really enjoyed this book for so many reasons. Yes, Julie is a bit childish at times and very buttoned-up but she was so fun to read about. It drove me crazy that she was soooooo clumsy but I still felt her pain each time she was disappointed. She as thrown for a spin after being partnered up with Jason during the trip. He's a total class clown and never takes anything seriously… which kills Julie. She wants plans and structure at all times. Jason forces her to break free of that and take risks.
He also challenges her attitudes towards love and friendship. But even with this, he isn't easy to figure out. He mostly has a hot-and-cold attitude at times which further frustrates Julie.
The setting of this story was so perfect. It really made me want to be young again and have the chance to visit all of these fantastic sites. There would be such freedom with being able to run around London, pretty much alone, and see everything.
This book isn't the most original but it was still highly enjoyable and I look forward to checking out more books by Lauren Morrill.
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