Cover Love:
Yes! I love the colors and the models. Eye-catching!
Why I Wanted to Read This:
I just love contemporary romances, books that I can whip right through. This one came in my last book order of the year and was the one I decided to read first!
Here's the synopsis from GoodReads:
Meant to be or not meant to be . . . that is the question.Romance?: Of course!
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.
My Thoughts:
Julia drove me nuts for lots of this book, mostly because she reminded me of one of my friends in high school. She had heard how her mom knew from the time she was in second grade that she would marry the man that became her husband--even though he was 5 or 6 years older than her at the time. So, my friend always felt that was the kind of thing that should happen to her. I didn't mind her thinking this way, but when it wasn't happening, I always felt like she might be missing out on other opportunities. That's the way I felt about Julia, but luckily, she does come to realize this herself, eventually.
I wasn't overly sold on Jason either. On one hand, he was totally immature, but sometimes Julia was able to glimpse a really, really great guy. I guess that's pretty realistic of a teen age boy, but having two such different sides is not my favorite thing in a YA book boyfriend. I also dislike how he felt he had to push Julia to break rules and allow her to live a little. Yes, she was a bit of a stickler, but sometimes people need order to thrive. The teenage years don't always have to be about getting drunk and making tons of mistakes.
I loved the setting of London and England. Books set on foreign soil are not my favorite for some reason, but this author did a great job putting us there and having us enjoy the tour along with Julia and Jason. The problem is that their relationship blossoms on overseas, I hope that it lasts when they get home. However, you get the impression that Jason has liked Julia for sometime and it just took being partnered together for him to act on his feelings.
To Sum Up: This is a sweet, fun romance that I will have no trouble getting my middle school readers to enjoy. There is some drinking and a little bit of swearing but nothing I felt couldn't be included in a middle school library!
Book bought for my school library.
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