Audiobook Details:
Format: Audiobook
Source: Library
Narrator: Shannon McManus
Length: 9 hours 53 minutes
Read: June 2017
Synopsis:
Meant to be or not meant to be…that is the question.
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 ThoughtsI think the best part of this book was the narration. I had this on my reading list for a long time now but never got around to reading it until I saw that Shannon McManus narrated it. It’s summertime and I usually have things like cleaning and weeding the gardening to do so I want something light to listen to to make things more enjoyable.
This was definitely light and there were elements I enjoyed, but other things I didn’t enjoy so much. First off, I love books that revolve around school trips to different countries. I just like books about travel to other countries period! And I loved that the main character, Julia, is a reader, even if she comes across as snobby about it. I liked the bit of romance thrown in, I guess, but it was almost too juvenile. This is a high school book, so it should be a given that it’s not going to be some epic love story, but it was predictable, and yet I wished things had happened differently. Or maybe that the annoying tendencies of certain characters would have been redeemed later in the book.
The thing I didn’t enjoy was the characters. Julia, for example, was just so annoying! And so was Jason, for that matter. I felt like the school trip read like anything but a normal school trip – it seemed very casual with not a lot of supervision when clearly everyone needed some supervision. Maybe that’s just me in my old age?
At any rate, though, this was a cute book and definitely fun for a few afternoons of listening. I’m glad I finally got to it. I might not have totally identified with bookish Julia’s Type-A, totally rigid personality, but it was still a decent book for what I was looking for.
A note on the narration, while I love Shannon McManus’s narrating style, I think part of that is what made me on the fence about this book. I didn’t like the snarky, high schoolish vibe I got from Jason’s character. I think maybe had I read his dialogue in my head it would have been less snarky and I wouldn’t have found him so annoying? However, I still love listening to her read books like this and I think I just have to look past that when I read my next one.
But don’t take my word for it … read some other reviews!The Three Skoob
Alexa Loves Books
Reading In The Rain
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