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nagam's review against another edition
4.0
[Review originally posted on Rather Be Reading]
Book Licker. I fell in love with this book at the first mention of Book Licker – the ever-so-endearing nickname Jason gave our resident Type-A, obsessive compulsive protagonist, Julia. Much of this book is founded on the understanding that Julia and Jason are complete opposites who are unwillingly partnered during their spring break school trip to London.
Jason is difficult. He’s funny, but secretly smart. He’s a jokester. He picks on Julia to NO END.
Julia is uptight and follows rules to a fault. She’s a goody two shoes. It’s her worst nightmare to be paired with Jason.
I mentioned in my Smart Girls Get What They Want review that there are two types of books – those definitely written for teenagers and those who are for a more mature audience. Meant to Be is mature because of Julia and Jason – they’re two intelligent, worldly characters that are responsible and wise beyond their years. Julia’s character reminded me of who seventeen-year-old me was. The girl who was anxious to do everything right, to be the best at everything, and who sometimes forgot to live a little because she was so focused on aiming for perfection.
Jason pushes forces Julia to step outside her comfort zone and experience the non-guidebook version of London. Morill did a beautiful job making London come alive for me; I’ve never been, but I so hope that I have the chance to in the very near future. Jason showed Julia that it’s okay to go off the beaten path and that life doesn’t always have to be so literal. Julia, in turn, had a great effect on Jason, too.
She showed him it’s okay to be a little nerdy. She fascinated him with the random factoids she had stored away. Their interactions were beyond amusing. I found myself laughing out loud as these two incredibly different people tried to navigate their way around London to complete their homework assignments.
I can’t lead you astray and let you think that Jason is our main man in Meant to Be. Julia meets a random person, Chris, at a party who she spends much of her time texting. She also bears the burden of a long-term crush on resident good-boy, Matt, from back home. At times I felt Julia’s decisions were a little jarring and I desperately wanted her to be confident in her decisions. There was definitely a big dose of confusion over who she liked. In the end, everything worked out really well and I was happy with who Julia became.
Meant to Be is an incredible debut novel by Lauren Morrill. I definitely encourage you to check this one out. It’s every ounce as wonderful inside as the cover is on the outside.
Book Licker. I fell in love with this book at the first mention of Book Licker – the ever-so-endearing nickname Jason gave our resident Type-A, obsessive compulsive protagonist, Julia. Much of this book is founded on the understanding that Julia and Jason are complete opposites who are unwillingly partnered during their spring break school trip to London.
Jason is difficult. He’s funny, but secretly smart. He’s a jokester. He picks on Julia to NO END.
Julia is uptight and follows rules to a fault. She’s a goody two shoes. It’s her worst nightmare to be paired with Jason.
I mentioned in my Smart Girls Get What They Want review that there are two types of books – those definitely written for teenagers and those who are for a more mature audience. Meant to Be is mature because of Julia and Jason – they’re two intelligent, worldly characters that are responsible and wise beyond their years. Julia’s character reminded me of who seventeen-year-old me was. The girl who was anxious to do everything right, to be the best at everything, and who sometimes forgot to live a little because she was so focused on aiming for perfection.
Jason pushes forces Julia to step outside her comfort zone and experience the non-guidebook version of London. Morill did a beautiful job making London come alive for me; I’ve never been, but I so hope that I have the chance to in the very near future. Jason showed Julia that it’s okay to go off the beaten path and that life doesn’t always have to be so literal. Julia, in turn, had a great effect on Jason, too.
She showed him it’s okay to be a little nerdy. She fascinated him with the random factoids she had stored away. Their interactions were beyond amusing. I found myself laughing out loud as these two incredibly different people tried to navigate their way around London to complete their homework assignments.
I can’t lead you astray and let you think that Jason is our main man in Meant to Be. Julia meets a random person, Chris, at a party who she spends much of her time texting. She also bears the burden of a long-term crush on resident good-boy, Matt, from back home. At times I felt Julia’s decisions were a little jarring and I desperately wanted her to be confident in her decisions. There was definitely a big dose of confusion over who she liked. In the end, everything worked out really well and I was happy with who Julia became.
Meant to Be is an incredible debut novel by Lauren Morrill. I definitely encourage you to check this one out. It’s every ounce as wonderful inside as the cover is on the outside.
postitsandpens's review against another edition
4.0
This book was a really fun, cute read. I was slightly annoyed with the main character's obtuseness, but understood why it needed to be that way - she had some realizations to achieve and truths to discover, so I'll forgive her for being, well, a bit of a b*tch to poor Jason. There were some parts that made me tear up, some parts that made me laugh, and some parts that made me angry, but I'm glad I gave this one a read; it definitely put a smile on my face!
berkekilic's review against another edition
2.0
Rating: 2,5
Allah'ım, sen bizi ergen kızlardan koru. Dinimiz amin.
Allah'ım, sen bizi ergen kızlardan koru. Dinimiz amin.
andreana_k's review against another edition
3.0
Very cute book, totally adorable YA romantic lit. A perfect lazy weekend read.
bookishvice's review against another edition
5.0
Julia is on a class trip to London, the place where her parents met, fell in love, and got married. They were simply “meant to be,” something that Julia desperately believes in. In fact, she already knows who is her MTB. But one week of being partnered with Jason, the class-clown, and Julia’s whole world and carefully laid out plans are thrown out the window. She’s about to learn that perfect doesn’t exist and the most unexpected things can be ‘meant to be.’
Lauren Morrill’s debut novel Meant to Be is the type of story that keeps you laughing and swooning all throughout. I couldn’t get enough of it!
Julia is the shy, nerdy, unpopular girl of her class. She’s never broken the rules, nor does she ever want to, but when Jason Lippincott dares her to have some fun on the class school trip to London Julia can’t back down. She has to prove that cocky bastard that she can have fun too. And have fun she does!
But what Julia didn’t count on was how tangled the lies would get (oh, dear God, the lies she invents!), how ridiculous her notions really were, and how wrong she could be about people.
Jason a hottie, but he’s the class’s clown and a major jerk. His nickname for Julia is ‘Book Licker’ which not only is gross, but infuriates her to no end. After seeing Julia desperate when she receives the text message from the hot British guy, he offers his expertise in the matter in exchange for her writing all their reflection papers during the trip. You might think his attitude reeks (and it does), but it’s all for the higher purpose. I promise. As his story unfolded I couldn’t help but swoon.
Part of the reason why I loved this book so much is because I identified myself a lot with Julia: her obsession with rules, her feeling apart from every one of her class, her OCD streak of having everything in order, her love of books, and her desire for an MTB. Plus I went on a trip to London, so I totally saw myself in Julia’s shoes! And all the descriptions of the city and the places, God, I would just close my eyes and see it all perfectly. But for those of you who haven’t been to London, don’t despair, because after reading Meant To Be, you will!
*Arc copy provided by the publisher via Netgalley*
Lauren Morrill’s debut novel Meant to Be is the type of story that keeps you laughing and swooning all throughout. I couldn’t get enough of it!
Julia is the shy, nerdy, unpopular girl of her class. She’s never broken the rules, nor does she ever want to, but when Jason Lippincott dares her to have some fun on the class school trip to London Julia can’t back down. She has to prove that cocky bastard that she can have fun too. And have fun she does!
I could be someone cooler, more confident, just for tonight, just for this party. I can be the uber-Julia. The Julia who says witty things and drinks and has boys, sober or otherwise, hanging on her every word.
But what Julia didn’t count on was how tangled the lies would get (oh, dear God, the lies she invents!), how ridiculous her notions really were, and how wrong she could be about people.
Jason a hottie, but he’s the class’s clown and a major jerk. His nickname for Julia is ‘Book Licker’ which not only is gross, but infuriates her to no end. After seeing Julia desperate when she receives the text message from the hot British guy, he offers his expertise in the matter in exchange for her writing all their reflection papers during the trip. You might think his attitude reeks (and it does), but it’s all for the higher purpose. I promise. As his story unfolded I couldn’t help but swoon.
Part of the reason why I loved this book so much is because I identified myself a lot with Julia: her obsession with rules, her feeling apart from every one of her class, her OCD streak of having everything in order, her love of books, and her desire for an MTB. Plus I went on a trip to London, so I totally saw myself in Julia’s shoes! And all the descriptions of the city and the places, God, I would just close my eyes and see it all perfectly. But for those of you who haven’t been to London, don’t despair, because after reading Meant To Be, you will!
*Arc copy provided by the publisher via Netgalley*
amyka's review against another edition
4.0
Super cute, easy beach read. Nothing deep or groundbreaking but pulls you in and makes you want to read more. Exactly what one needs after a long intense day.