Publishers Weekly
High school junior Julia Lichtenstein is headed to London for her literature class’s spring break trip. But without her best friend or swim teammates there, she has to fend for herself when she’s partnered up with Jason Lippincott, who is as abrasive and free-spirited as Julia is uptight and studious. While Julia wants to visit museums, Jason is only interested in letting loose; he drags Julia to a house party, where she meets a cute boy, Chris. Jason offers to help Julia woo him, if Julia writes his papers during the trip, and romantic shenanigans ensue. Morrill’s debut, a Paper Lantern Lit property, is entertaining and quick-witted, but as a romance it’s forced. Although Julia has a crush at home in addition to Chris in London, both boys are all but invisible—no reader will expect Julia to end up with anyone but Jason. Those who share Julia’s passion for Shakespeare will appreciate the Benedick and Beatrice–style sparring between the two teens, but it doesn’t make up for the transparency of this opposites-attract romantic comedy. Ages 12–up. Agent: Steven Barbara, Foundry Literary + Media. (Nov.)
From the Publisher
"If you’re into swoony romances with a little bit of history thrown in, you’ll love Meant to Be. I love this book because it’s funny, it has a super-relatable heroine, and it features a ton of romantic tension...Lauren Morrill rules and this book is awesome." —HelloGiggles.com
"The author has a good ear for comic dialogue." —Kirkus Reviews
"Morrill’s debut is entertaining and quick-witted." —Publishers Weekly
"The traveling details are part of the fun: her friends are into shopping, not Shakespeare, and there are raucous puns about Big Ben. The contemporary scene with consumer name-dropping will grab readers...The core drama is the romance, with all its turnarounds and timeless realism." —Booklist
"This delightful debut explores the excitement and insecurities of an unexpected first love...A great choice for teens who enjoyed Jennifer E. Smith’s The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, Gabrielle Zevin’s Elsewhere, or Rachel Cohn and David Levithan’s Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares." —School Library Journal
Kirkus Reviews
A paint-by-numbers romantic comedy of errors. Ultraorganized, rule-following scholar/swimmer Julia's dreams of a perfect English-lit class trip to London are dashed when she is assigned to uber-immature slacker Jason as buddy for the entire time. Jason couldn't possibly be any further from Mark, Julia's Meant To Be back home, in looks, brains or character. Surprise, surprise: Numerous pratfalls, fights, mix-ups and unexpectedly revelatory conversations, and one awesome kiss later, it turns out that if not her, then at least the plot's, MTB is, gasp, Jason. Julie's heart follows a well-trodden path that only readers who have never encountered the genre before will find at all astonishing. What those who do know the formula will find striking is the doggedness with which sweet-at-heart Jason pursues bitchy Julia. Morrill drops plenty of clues for discerning readers that indicate Jason's basic decency and attraction to Julia. Julia, meanwhile, ignores all of them and maintains such an unbending attitude of intellectual superiority that she becomes profoundly unlikable, despite many narrative attempts to mitigate this with episodes of clumsiness and cluelessness. The author has a good ear for comic dialogue--"I'm just saying there are other fish in the sea, Julia," her best friend counsels via Skype. "Big fish. Tasty fish. Tuna fish!"--that bodes well for future, less formulaic outings. Physical comedy, particularly as presented in Julia's present-tense voice, is far less successful. For neophytes only. (Comic romance. 13-17)
