Review: Meant To Be by Lauren Morrill

Title: Meant To Be
Author: Lauren Morrill
Published: November 13th 2012
Source: NetGalley
Genre: Young Adult
Buy: Amazon ~*~ Barnes & Noble
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Caution: May contain spoilers

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.

~synopsis from Goodreads

My Thoughts:

I loved this book. LOVED THIS BOOK. I saw it on NetGalley and said, ‘Why not?’ It was another one of those ‘looks cute’ kind of books. It’s more than cute. It’s adorable times infinity and awesome squared. It’s one of the best books I have read all year, and in my life… um… did I mention I loved it?

So, the story starts out with Julia on her way to London with a group of her classmates. One of them, Jason, is just irritating her to no end the whole time. When she arrives there, she finds out they are assigned as buddies--meaning they have to be with each other at all times when they are looking at the sights. This just proves to be a disaster, on so many levels. He’s spontaneous, she’s by the book. Julia seems to make the most of it, tolerating his immaturity to some degree, but then she discovers a new side of him. His personality appears so multifaceted that he’s almost a mystery.

But, there’s no way Jason could be anything more to her. He’s not her MTB, or Meant To Be. She’s reserved that spot for Mark, the guy she’s loved since their fake wedding when they were five. He’s everything she wants. Yet, Jason grows on her and their friendship builds over time. Every new thing I saw in Jason, I just wanted to throw my arms around him and hold him forever. He was just the sweetest, even with the immature moments… Then Mark shows up and throws a damper on the whole thing.

This book has everything I always love about YA novels. It’s like the epitome of my kind of book. Sure, I pick up a variety of novels, but this… this is now one of my absolute favorites. Meant To Be was meant for me. The love story was just, oh, so wonderful. And that kiss? I think I read that scene at least a dozen times more after I finished the book. I was so sad it was a NetGalley copy… and that it was going to be months before I could get my hands on it! (You know, running around your room squealing, “AH!”) Lauren Morrill has created a truly remarkable debut novel. I am most definitely in high anticipation for what she has in store next!

My Rating: