Meant to Be
by Julie Halpern
Publisher: Feiwel & Friendson October 24th, 2017
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary
Format: ARC
Pages: 320
Amazon
Goodreads
In a world where the names of MTBs—"meant to be" mates—appear on the body at age eighteen, a girl must decide whether to believe the phenomenon or follow her heart in this YA novel.
It started happening a few years ago: the names of MTBs—"meant to be" mates—appeared emblazoned on the skin at age eighteen. Agatha's best friend has embraced the phenomenon and is head over heels in love with her MTB. But Ag isn't so sure. As she searches the interwebs for her MTB (who has a common name, no less) she finds herself falling for a co-worker at the local amusement park. Is he a better match? What does Agatha really want in a mate, and moreover, what does she want for herself?
With her trademark wit and irreverence, acclaimed author Julie Halpern explores an age-old question: Who are we meant to be with? Readers won't be able to resist knowing the answer.
How amazing would it be if our soul mate's name magically appeared on our chest when we turned 18? Would we immediately be so stoked and head out to find our meant to be or would we be more like the main character, Agatha, and fight the fate that has already been decided for us?
In this "YA" novel, Meant to Be, Agatha fights against the destiny that she believes has been decided for her. She wants to travel the world and fall in love on her own, not with the person whoms name just magically name that just magically appeared right above her breast on her 18th birthday. As she struggles through the trials of dating her Not-Meant to Be, life after high school and the future can she truly be satisfy in the choices that she makes?
I truly struggled at the beginning of this story and here is why...
#1 - First of all I am not much for a contemporary novel, but something about the magical name appearing on the chest made me excited for the story. In the beginning we meet Aggie, our main character, who seems very fast to jump to conclusions, judge others and use profanity as she pleases. Throughout the story she becomes more of a whiny teenager and short tempered. Not a big fan of her.
Lish, Agatha's best friend is on board with finding, marrying and having babies with her MTB. While she is more mature and wiser in her decisions, I cannot help but think maybe she is just settling into "the norm" at age 18 instead of being her own person.
Luke Jacobs is a pretty cool, typical guy who gets a bit overboard, mushy and clingy at times.
Hendrix Cutter seems okay, but we only see him toward the end.
Agatha's mom and uncle are cool too.
#2 - There is a lot of sex. Pretty much detailed and I personally wouldn't want to know that my 14-18 year old child read a story that had numerous profanties including using God's name in vain and detailed sexual descriptions. I truly feel like this may not fall into the YA genre, but perhaps the New Adult? Like it wasn't over the top, but definitely mature scenes.
So to summarize, because I feel like I am all over the place, the synopsis of Meant to Be is a fun concept and a fun, fast read, but the main character was whiny and the story just sort of ended. I don't know if it was meant to have a sequel follow up or if it was just a purposeful, let-you-imagine-your-own-ending. If you are a contemporary romance lover then this is the book for you.
Even though this story was a bit difficult to continue I did stick it out and actually ended up enjoying and laughing toward the end, until the abrupt ending, but either way I feel this title deserves a 3-star rating.
JULIE HALPERN is the author of five young adult novels and one picture book for young readers. Maternity Leave is her first novel for adults. Prior to her life as full-time mom and author, Julie was a school librarian. In her imaginary spare time, she enjoys traveling, watching television for grown-ups, and eating baked goods. Julie lives in the Chicago suburbs with her husband, author and illustrator Matthew Cordell, and their two children.
One lucky reader will win my personal ARC by entering below!
US ONLY
Title: ME AND ME
Author: Alice Kuipers
Pub. Date: October 2, 2018
Publisher: KCP Loft
Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook
Pages: 248
Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, B&N, TBD
It's a perfect day for Lark's dream date with Alec from school. Blue skies, clear water, a canoe on the lake. Alec even brought flowers for Lark's birthday. Everything is just right ... until they hear screams from the edge of the water.
Annabelle, a little girl Lark used to babysit, is struggling in the reeds. When Lark and Alec dive in to help her, Alec hits his head on a rock. Now Annabelle and Alec are both in trouble, and Lark can only save one of them.
With that split-second decision, Lark's world is torn in two, leaving her to cope with the consequences of both choices. She lives two lives, two selves. But which is the right life, and which is the real Lark?
Me and Me is about how it feels to be torn in pieces, and how to make two halves whole again. This mind-bending novel from Alice Kuipers, expert chronicler of the teenage heart, explores loss and love, music and parkour, all while navigating the narrow space between fantasy and reality.
Mini - Review
Hey guys! I graciously received Me and Me from the publisher a little later than expected due to bad weather and a new address so I am only about 70 pages into the story. I thought it would be fun for my stop on the tour if I was to do a fun "mini-review". First of all, can we stop and talk about that cover?! G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S! Check it out...
I hate to admit it, but I totally judge a book by its cover and this cover definitely lives up to my judgement. The cover showcases the mystery and suspense of the story.
Basically from what I gathered, Lark is the main character who has an unfortunate time on the lake, should she save this guy that she kinda might like or the little girl that she use to babysit. They're both struggling at the same time, but she can only save one. Alice does an amazing job of showing us what Lark's life would be like if she saved Alec first and then as the story goes on Lark starts to see some strange texts on her phone with no name attached and they disappear at that. Time goes on, Lark has deja vu, and then we see how life is like when Annabelle was saved first. Let me tell you - 70 pages in and I am constantly like WTF? what? this is crazy...in a good way of course. Me and Me will definitely take you on a rollercoaster and have you thinking - would I have done something different if I were in her shoes? Would I save the 5 year old girl who I use to babysit or the guy that might be the one?
This is definitely a must read and I cannot wait to see what the end has in store for my crazy mixed emotions.
Alice Kuipers is the author of the debut novel Life on the Refrigerator Door, an award-winning Young Adult/Adult crossover published to rave reviews in 32 countries and told entirely in post-it notes written by a mother and her daughter. Named a New York Times Book for the Teen Age, Life on the Refrigerator Door has won or been short listed for numerous prizes, including the Redbridge Book Award, the Sheffield Libraries Choice Award, the Grand Prix de Viarmes, the Saskatchewan First Book Award, the Salt Lake City County Library System Reader’s Choice Award, and the Carnegie Medal.Alice’s second novel, The Worst Thing She Ever Did (published in the US as Lost for Words), won the 2011 Arthur Ellis Award for Best Juvenile / YA Crime Book; was short listed for the White Pine Award; and was a Bank Street College of Education Best Children’s Books of the Year selection for 2011. The Worst Thing She Ever Did has been sold in 9 territories and praised as “gorgeous, heart-ripping, important” (Voices of Young Adults).40 Things I Want To Tell You, was published in Canada by HarperCollins in 2012. The book has been praised as “funny and totally up to date” by the Canadian Review of Materials, and “crisp and effective” by the Winnipeg Free Press. Rights have been sold in Germany, Greece, Denmark and Croatia.The Death of Us, came out in 2014 to great reviews, and was a CLA Listed Book. It’s been described as a quick and turbulent read, The Death of Us is a brilliant coming-of-age novel with a sharpened corkscrew of a twist that will leave readers breathless.Most recently, Alice’s YA novel, Me and Me, was published in 2017. It was described by Bif Naked as mesmerising.
Alice has a brand new chapter book series with Chronicle Press starting wit the first book: Polly Diamond and the Magic Book, an Amazon best book of the month, described by Booklist as a book that: Brings the imagination to life.Alice is also writing a memoir about teenager Carley Allison with Kids Can Press. She has had stories produced for CBC and essays published in Bristol Review of Books and Easy Living magazine. She has blogged for Today’s Parent, and The Huffington Post.Alice’s has two picture books with Little Brown Books for Young Readers, Violet and Victor write the Best-Ever Bookworm Book, and Violet and Victor Write the Most Fabulous Fairy Tale.Alice’s work is published in 34 countries.Born and raised in London, England, Alice now lives in Saskatoon, Canada, with her partner, the writer Yann Martel, and their four young children.
3 Winners will receive a finished copy of ME AND ME, US Only.
