Review: Meant to Be by Lauren Morrill

Meant to Be by Lauren Morrill

Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Published November 13, 2012

Hardcover, 304 pages

Overview:

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:

The first thing that drew me to this book (other than the gorgeous cover) was the idea of a class trip to London. I'm a huge fan of YA romances in foreign countries (like Anna and the French Kiss, 13 Little Blue Envelopes), so I knew immediately that I had to read this one. I thought the city of London was described really well in Meant to Be--the characters are always running down famous streets or checking out iconic landmarks.

I found the main character, Julia, extremely relatable--almost to a fault. She's a stickler for following the rules and can't bear to go anywhere without a book in her bag, but most of the time, she lets these things get in the way of being adventurous and having a little fun. Half the time I was rooting for her, half the time I wanted to throw the book at her head. The character Jason was much of the same way--sometimes I wanted to yell at him to stop being such a jerk, the other half I was grinning ridiculously at something he did or said. That's what makes their relationship so interesting--sometimes Julia and Jason can't stand to be in the same room with each other, other times they're unbelievably cute together.

Overall, the plot was entertaining enough to keep me reading. I thought I knew how everything was going to end up, but the twist of events at the end of the book took me by complete surprise. While some of the other events were a little predictable, I was very happy with how the book ended. Meant to Be is a really great choice if you're looking for a quick, light read with fun characters and a fantastic setting.

Overall rating: 3.5 of 5 stars.