Meant To Be – Lauren Morrill

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The Selective Collective reads MEANT TO BE by LAUREN MORRILL

This month for The Selective Collective, we were so incredibly lucky enough to receive copies of Lauren Morrill’s debut novel, MEANT TO BE from Delacourte Press for Young Readers for review and book club discussion. For my part in this month’s Selective Collective post, I have the incredible pleasure to post my review for MEANT TO BE!

Meant To Be – Lauren MorrillTitle: Meant to Be by Lauren Morrill
Publishing Info: November 13, 2012 by Random House Publishing Group
Source: Received from the publisher for review purposes
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult
Find it on the web: Buy from Amazon // GoodreadsDate Completed: November 11, 2012
Related Posts: Being Sloane Jacobs, The Trouble With Destiny

    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.

bookreview1

I absolutely, positively adored this book. This was the perfect contemporary romance and just what I needed – a nice breath of fresh air after being slightly disappointed in my last couple of reads. Lauren Morrill’s writing was fresh, fun, and real. I always get a bit worried whenever I read books that are set in places that are so foreign to me – I’ve never been across the pond to London (or off the continent of North America for that matter) – so I was a tiny bit hesitant that I would be overwhelmed with all of the unknowns that London would hold for our story. Upon reading, I found that it wasn’t the case at all. Morrill did a fantastic job of making me feel like I was on my very own vacation with the characters. Everything was beautifully described and I didn’t feel lost in a foreign country at all. Julia was a fantastic main character for me to read about. I absolutely love any character that has an utterly nerdy side because, well, I can relate! I may not have been as intensely organized as Julia, but if there was ever a nickname for me at this very moment in time, “Book Licker” could definitely be it! What I loved the most about Julia is that she not only has a life changing experience just by being over in London, but she also transforms as a person. She learns a lot about herself by breaking the rules (many, many rules) and by figuring out how to deal with her assigned buddy and current nemesis Jason. Jason was also another interesting character for me. We start off by seeing exactly how Jason and Julia conflicted with each other. Julia saw him as nothing but immature and a bully. He teases her, initiates rumors, even goes as far as sticking gum in her hair and calling her “Book Licker”. As the story goes on, we see that there’s so much more to Jason than people’s first impressions, especially Julia’s. The relationship that begins to develop between Jason and Julia once they’re forced together is a roller coaster of emotions that makes us wonder how they’ll end up once the London trip is over. I also really love the “meant to be” story line. So many times I’ve felt the same way as Julia – there’s someone out there for each one of us, a “one and only”, and I really do believe that where you end up in the end is where you’re supposed to be. What I really loved about this book is the message that Fate can only take you so far and you have to take control of your own destiny. You have to be active in your own life and you can’t just sit back and expect the world to happen around you. What I really loved is that we see Julia idolizing her parents’ MTB relationship and she expects it to happen for her. In the end, we see her come around to reality a little bit and realize that although that does happen for some people, not everyone can have this incredible, coincidental, perfect love story. Sometimes things don’t happen the way you expect and that really turns out to be your MTB situation. Although the final message almost appeared to be that there is no such thing as “meant to be” for everyone, what I like to take from it is that “meant to be” can happen for everyone, but it’s just not always what you expect it to be and not always what you’re looking for. character_breakdown1

Julia: Oh, Julia! I totally could see myself being best friends with Julia. Or I could see myself as Julia. I loved watching her transformation throughout this book and seeing how she discovers different bits and pieces about herself as the book progresses. It really reminded me a lot of similar situations that I went through as a teenager, figuring out what rules to break and what ideas it’s time to grow out of.
Jason: I really enjoyed watching Jason and Julia go back and forth from enemies to friends to enemies to two dewey-eyed kids falling in love. The best part about Jason’s character is that we see him as a bully, a name-caller, and immature, but that’s just what everyone sees on the surface. His character is much more deep and involved than Julia or her classmates realize. I’m really not sure if we see Jason actually grow throughout the story or if we just discover layers of him that were always buried underneath. Either way, I loved seeing his transformation through Julia’s eyes and how through these revelations, their relationship changes entirely.

QUOTES

These quotes are from the Advanced Reader’s Copy — Page numbers and wording may vary from published copy.

p 25-26: “I have my own e-reader, but I hardly ever use it. I need to fold down pages and flag passages with sticky notes. I need to experience books, not just read them.” (I then proceeded to tweet Lauren Morrill about how much this described me to a tee. And I flagged the passage with a sticky note)

p 29: “‘The Czech Republic. Czechoslovakia hasn’t existed or almost twenty years. So unless her parents are visiting 1992, they’re in the Czech Republic.'”

p 152: “In fact, he has been the exact opposite of helpful (help-empty?).”

p 191: (Jason) “‘Well, either you stand here in this rainstorm, or you take a chance with me.'” (My favorite line of the entire book)

book_recommendations1BOOKS LIKE MEANT TO BE

     

And please don’t forget to check out the features from the other ladies in The Selective Collective! We each have a post to feature a different side of MEANT TO BE so please go visit their take on the book as well!

Hi, I'm Brittany!
Hi, I'm Brittany!

I'm an avid reader, candle-maker, and audiobook lover! Here you'll find book reviews, fun blog posts, and my other loves of photography & craft beer!

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25 thoughts on “Meant To Be – Lauren Morrill

  1. Jenny Broyles

    I am usually not one to bash a book, but man this one was just terrible!!! It had a storyline with so much potential, yet the author went nowhere with it. You are faced with a girl who can’t choose between 3 guys. She resembles the Katy Perry song Hot and Cold. She’s hot and she’s cold, she’s yes and she’s no, she’s in and she’s out, she’s up and she’s down. It was exhausting trying to keep up with the lead character and her emotions. The author also did not elaborate on so many parts of the story. She would touch base with a subject or idea and then suddenly transition to another with no sort of closure to the aforementioned subject. She waits until the last page of the book to solve the major problem of which guy the lead character wants. I feel there was no closure at all. I am sad to have wasted $10 on this terribly unorganized book.

  2. Nat

    I quite don’t get it
    If the swap of phones happened in the party.. How come Julia still received texts from Phoebe after that night?

  3. Shelver506 @ Bookshelvers Anonymous

    Augh! The more I read about this book, the more I want it. Cute romance in London? Yes please!

  4. Livvy @Nerdy Book Reviews

    I saw another review for this and when I saw yours I just had to read and see if you enjoyed it as much. I am very happy to hear that you enjoyed it because you have made me really want to read the book.
    It sounds like a really good contemporary romance which aren’t always my thing.
    Lovely review! 🙂

  5. vmcarswell

    Great review! I have only recently started reading contemporaries and have really loved the ones I have read so far, so this one will be a great addition to my contemp TBR 🙂

  6. Inky

    I can not wait to read this book! It sounds amazing and looks gorgeous! I’m going to have to snag it ASAP! Thanks for the lovely review!

    XOXO, Inky@ Book Haven Extraordinaire

  7. Kelsey

    I’m so excited to read this one! I have it on hold at the library, just waiting for them to actually get some copies in first. 🙂

  8. Dixie

    i loved that he called her “book-licker” because it not only reminds me of myself, but it reminded me of Princess Diaries when Lily would call Mia Baby-Licker. Ha!

    1. Tee

      That’s exactly what I thought! As soon as I saw that I was in love. Great review, Brittany. You nailed it! Also, I love that you included the Czech quote. That part made me totally laugh. Such a cute book.

  9. Sandie @TeenLitRocks

    I love the quotes you picked out, because they really reflect Julia’s personality. And I can definitely see you having been Julia-like in high school! What a fun read and an adorable literary couple.

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