Review: Meant To Be by Lauren Morrill

Title: Meant To Be

Author: Lauren Morrill

Pages: 304

Format: E-book

Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Released: November 13th, 2012

Synopsis

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.

“There's a difference between preferring books to parties and preferring sixteen cats to seeing the light of day.”

My Thoughts

Rating: 3/5 stars

Meant To Be is a really quick read which revolves around a girl who believes that everyone in the world gets their own "meant to be", which means "made for each other" — a perfect couple. Throughout the story, she tries to find her own "meant to be"; but at the end, she realizes that there's no such thing in life. People are destined to meet and fall for their perfect match.

I had several problems with this book. It is a very character driven novel. While some of the characters pulled the story along, a few of the others seemed to be just tossed in there to nudge the plot along.

Julia was a very strong female lead, but she also had the need for a boyfriend. This didn't make her a weaker character. It just made her more believable. Her voice is a hysterical mix of snark and feeling that will have you rooting for her until the very last page.

Jason was a little cliche for my taste, but I liked the way their friendship developed. Morrill wasn't afraid to make him totally dislikable, which worked very well for his character development.

All the other characters, though, did seem a little run of the mill.

It isn't a perfect read in my opinion. It could have been better in many ways. The overall storyline was really simple and predictable. I think I would have liked it more if there was a more engrossing plot with more realistic and relatable characters.

The only redeeming aspect of Meant to Be is the writing. Despite all the things that annoyed me, Lauren Morrill has a light, sweet, humorous style that read really nicely, making Meant to Be a quick read, at least. So I might still give Lauren Morrill's next book a try—maybe. I'd recommend this book to anyone who's looking for a fluffy contemporary read.