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Meant to Be
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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 hee ...more
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 hee ...more
Hardcover, 320 pages
Published
October 24th 2017
by Feiwel & Friends
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Shana Rivera
Just started reading it and so far it doesnt remind me of Delirium or Matched.
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My overall opinion: comic/light dystopian is VERY tough to pull off. Remember Bumped by Megan McCafferty?
Well, if you liked that, you might like this.
Basically this takes a familiar YA dystopian trope about assigned OTPs (the name of yours suddenly appears tattooed on your chest when you turn eighteen -- think Matched by Ally Condie) and combines it with a YA contemporary narrated by a wisecracking character in a sort of love triangle (she gets the name of her match but is falling for her co-wo ...more
Well, if you liked that, you might like this.
Basically this takes a familiar YA dystopian trope about assigned OTPs (the name of yours suddenly appears tattooed on your chest when you turn eighteen -- think Matched by Ally Condie) and combines it with a YA contemporary narrated by a wisecracking character in a sort of love triangle (she gets the name of her match but is falling for her co-wo ...more

I read Julie Halpern’s The F-It List a couple of years ago and adored it. I haven’t picked up anything else by her since, but when I came across Meant To Be, I got curious. Unfortunately, for me, this was one of those books that has an interesting concept that’s just not executed to its full potential.
In Halpern’s world, on your 18th birthday, your soulmate’s name becomes etched onto your skin, a phenomenon that’s gone unexplained. Isn’t that such an interesting story line to explore? Anyways, o ...more

Chapters read: 1
Oh man is this voice not for me. It's clunky and very focused on gross things and just not funny to me personally.
A couple sample quotes (from the ARC, so they might have changed etcetera etcetera):
Oh man is this voice not for me. It's clunky and very focused on gross things and just not funny to me personally.
A couple sample quotes (from the ARC, so they might have changed etcetera etcetera):
The department store salesgirl with one false eyelash dangling over her left eye (she must have thought it was a bug and kept swatting at it thusly) assured me that cup size doesn’t necessarily correspond to how large one’s breasts are.
“Asshole,” I chide my torso. “Can’t you do somethi...more

Nov 05, 2017
i_like_big_books
rated it
did not like it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
read-in-2017
k not gna lie, i pretty much technically only read like 70 pages of this lmao. i got to the 130ish or less point but i skimmed. and then i read three sentences of each page for the rest of the book. if i didn’t do that then i’d be done w this in a year cus it drags and is one of the worst books i have everrr read. o m g. i could honestly write like a 10 page essay on this book and how much it sucked but i’ll say five things: predictable, drags, stereotypical, boring, and no character is likeable
...more

3.5 stars

Jan 18, 2018
Barbara
rated it
liked it
Shelves:
animals,
community,
moving,
romance,
conflict,
emotions,
empathy,
facing-fears,
families,
friendship
In this dystopian-lite book, when anyone reaches the age of eighteen, the name of his/her true love--their Meant to Be (MTB)--appears scrawled on his/her chest. Free-spirited (sort of) Agatha Abrams has never believed in this fated love, and even calls these romantic connections "Empties." I had high hopes for this book because of this original concept and the humor, but my interest flagged about halfway through, and I was more than a little annoyed that such an interesting concept wasn't explor
...more

To be completely up front, I wanted to really like this book - I meet Julie and spoke to her for about an hour in a line at ALA and really enjoyed the time chatting. I'm relieved to say I would have liked this YA romance even if I had never met Julie! It's an interesting premise and filled with terrific dialogue and characters who sound like 18 year-olds actually sound. I feel compelled to add this is a read for mature teens - there's lots of sex (they are 18 year-olds, after all) but there is m
...more

Full review to come as on-sale date approaches. For now, I'll leave my short blurb:
"Meant To Be is a novel about a young woman defying the rules imposed upon her to prove the importance of choices and freewill. It's a novel that's filled with humor, thanks to a main character who is as funny as she is smart. I might not love it as much as I wanted, but I did like the story as a whole and I would still recommend it for lovers of the contemporary genre, especially for those who like the idea of fa ...more
"Meant To Be is a novel about a young woman defying the rules imposed upon her to prove the importance of choices and freewill. It's a novel that's filled with humor, thanks to a main character who is as funny as she is smart. I might not love it as much as I wanted, but I did like the story as a whole and I would still recommend it for lovers of the contemporary genre, especially for those who like the idea of fa ...more

I absolutely LOVE the whole concept of soulmates and their name or mark being on you in some way as a story concept. It's one of my favorite fanfiction prompts LOL. However, I did not feel like this book was well written and the plot wasn't coherent enough for me. I didn't like the character development, but did appreciate how realistic it felt? It was a solid 2 star read that I bumped up to 3 for the end like 10 pages because they were so darn cute
...more

If I am honest, this book was good but different then I thought it would be. I had different expectations of what I thought it would be. Essentially each person is labeled with their "meant to be' person and this was the story of working through if you would chose that destiny or not. I think the phrase you have to kiss a frog to find a prince rings true for me.
...more

Interesting and fun take on the soulmate concept and how (allegedly) having one would affect society. Aggy is a great narrator, and for anyone who's been waiting for a YA female protagonist who gets unapologetically horny and owns her sexuality, she's your woman.
...more

I really liked the story line of this book. Wasn't always a fan of the way she wrote, sometimes it was too childish and then it got weirdly over sexual. I wish there was a second book though because it waited until the last second to get super interesting.
...more

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.

Received an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for a fair review from MacMillian Children’s Publishing Group via NetGalley.
Along of the lines of the Matched series.
I like Julie Halpern's writing style a lot.
I enjoyed the book, I had quite a few questions in regards to this process of your Meant To Be's name appearing on your chest...so, so many questions. BUT. All-in-all, I enjoyed the book. Honest rating is a solid 3.5 stars. ...more
Along of the lines of the Matched series.
I like Julie Halpern's writing style a lot.
I enjoyed the book, I had quite a few questions in regards to this process of your Meant To Be's name appearing on your chest...so, so many questions. BUT. All-in-all, I enjoyed the book. Honest rating is a solid 3.5 stars. ...more

Received an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for a fair review from MacMillian Children’s Publishing Group via NetGalley.
The premise of this book is very intriguing about discovering your soulmate or “meant to be”. At 18, a name appears and that person is the person you are supposed to be with forever. This is thought provoking, because 18 is very young to know the person you are supposed to be with for the rest of your life. Part of the fun of being 18 is dating, discovering what you like in yo ...more
The premise of this book is very intriguing about discovering your soulmate or “meant to be”. At 18, a name appears and that person is the person you are supposed to be with forever. This is thought provoking, because 18 is very young to know the person you are supposed to be with for the rest of your life. Part of the fun of being 18 is dating, discovering what you like in yo ...more

On your 18th birthday, the name of your soul mate appears as a tattoo over your heart and is know as your MTB (Meant To Be).
Agatha is not sure what to think about this and she believes in free will and doesn't want her mate decided for her. After her tattoo appears, she ends up having a summer fling with a co-worker as a way to defy the tattoo, but everything comes back to the tattoo and should she search for her soul mate.
This had the potential to be an awesome story, but 90% of it is her fling ...more
Agatha is not sure what to think about this and she believes in free will and doesn't want her mate decided for her. After her tattoo appears, she ends up having a summer fling with a co-worker as a way to defy the tattoo, but everything comes back to the tattoo and should she search for her soul mate.
This had the potential to be an awesome story, but 90% of it is her fling ...more

I read an advanced reader copy of this book.
Boobs. The main character's breasts were mentioned so often, they deserve their own line in the credits.
On to the main theme... it seems like it was mostly skimmed over. Which I guess is okay, because you can't really go very far with the premise of random signatures appearing on people's bodies out of nowhere. I'd say it is a nice quick summer read for when you don't want to think too hard.
For those interested, there's a good bit of casual sex. ...more
Boobs. The main character's breasts were mentioned so often, they deserve their own line in the credits.
On to the main theme... it seems like it was mostly skimmed over. Which I guess is okay, because you can't really go very far with the premise of random signatures appearing on people's bodies out of nowhere. I'd say it is a nice quick summer read for when you don't want to think too hard.
For those interested, there's a good bit of casual sex. ...more

This is one of those books that are a little difficult to classify. I guess I would call it a contemporary (possibly slightly futuristic) YA romance with a magical/supernatural twist (just the Meant-to-Be name appearing on people at age 18 with no explanation). Our protagonists use technology that seems the same as what we have in 2017, make pop culture and slang references that mimic our current choices, and aside from this mysterious Name thing, appear to be living in our times.
I was very clos ...more
I was very clos ...more

This is etched into my skin. This is real. This is forever.
This is a stranger's name.
Six years ago, Names started showing up on people eighteen and older. Most believe that their Name belongs to the person who is their soulmate, or, as they now call them, Meant-to-bes (MTBs.) People spend exorbitant amounts of money to find their MTB. Movies and books have incorporated the Names into their plots. But not all find the MTBs to be romantic or necessary. Like Agatha Abrams, who is convinced that ...more

*Read at work for review for ROYAL*
Julie Halpern’s Meant to Be presents the all important topic of choice and free will, specifically in relation to our love lives and who we are meant to be with.
Main character Agatha is living in a quasi dystopian world where on your eighteenth birthday, the name of your soulmate, or in the case “meant to be” appears on your chest, over your heart in their handwriting. Agatha is pretty opposed to the idea of MTBs, or as she refers to them “Empties” and would ra ...more
Julie Halpern’s Meant to Be presents the all important topic of choice and free will, specifically in relation to our love lives and who we are meant to be with.
Main character Agatha is living in a quasi dystopian world where on your eighteenth birthday, the name of your soulmate, or in the case “meant to be” appears on your chest, over your heart in their handwriting. Agatha is pretty opposed to the idea of MTBs, or as she refers to them “Empties” and would ra ...more

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 ...more
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 ...more

This book was missing something. Exactly what, I couldn't say.
The premise that on your 18th birthday your soulmate's name appears etched onto your skin is a good one. There's so many directions one could run with here. These directions should be filled with drama and emotion. Sincerity. None of which I really felt while reading this total miss of a novel. The main protagonist, Agatha, wants absolutely nothing to do with her soulmate. Why do you ask? I wish I could tell you. It's not like she is ...more

The concept of a "soul mate" has been around for practically forever, but something strange started happening a few years ago. No one knows why, but people started getting names on their chests. Not like a tattoo, per se, since they didn't choose the name and/or do it themselves. Names just started appearing. Signatures, actually. Though no one knows why or how this started happening, many people honestly believe that the signature belongs to the person they are Meant To Be with (their MTB)
...more

I read an ARC I got through a goodreads giveaway.
This book was exactly what I needed right now. I needed this light, funny, rebellious soulmate AU.
I am confused timeline wise when this book takes place, if it's present-day but alternate universe or if it's slightly in the future. Anyway, about 6 years before this book is set, names started appearing on people's chests, usually above the heart, of everyone over the age of 18. It was determined that these name's were your soulmate or your meant-to ...more
This book was exactly what I needed right now. I needed this light, funny, rebellious soulmate AU.
I am confused timeline wise when this book takes place, if it's present-day but alternate universe or if it's slightly in the future. Anyway, about 6 years before this book is set, names started appearing on people's chests, usually above the heart, of everyone over the age of 18. It was determined that these name's were your soulmate or your meant-to ...more

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
When it comes to love, Agatha Abrams is disenchanted. Her parents' relationship didn't survive the MTBs (meant to be), and she firmly believes in free will and choices. Instead of jumping for joy and spending a lot of money to locate her meant to be (or even conducting an online search for him), Aggy rebels against the system. She is determined to fall in love on her own terms - when, where, and wit ...more
When it comes to love, Agatha Abrams is disenchanted. Her parents' relationship didn't survive the MTBs (meant to be), and she firmly believes in free will and choices. Instead of jumping for joy and spending a lot of money to locate her meant to be (or even conducting an online search for him), Aggy rebels against the system. She is determined to fall in love on her own terms - when, where, and wit ...more

There are many ways I could approach a review for this book, so I’m not sure where to start. I liked the premise of the book, which is why I decided to read it. I was soon surprised at how much language, vulgarity, and sexual content it contained. However, there is a certain momentum this book creates, so I persevered. Even so, I didn’t respect the narrator, and disliked a lot of what she said.
Why did I keep reading? Because this book is well written. The author placed herself in the mind of a t ...more
Why did I keep reading? Because this book is well written. The author placed herself in the mind of a t ...more

How would you feel if someone's name in signature form appeared on your chest when your eighteenth birthday came? The phenomenon started six years ago and nobody's quite sure why. Was it a god thing, or did some company come up with a way to convince almost everyone that these signatures are a shortcut to everlasting true love so they could capitalize on the marketing possibilities?
Opinions are mixed and Agatha's more than unhappy when Hendrix Cutter appears in fine script on her boob. While he ...more
Opinions are mixed and Agatha's more than unhappy when Hendrix Cutter appears in fine script on her boob. While he ...more

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.

I loved it so much. The suspense, wanting them to meet, needing to find out what happens next. I was so emotionally tormented when I finished it. I really really really want there to be a sequel where they meet and experience love and do other stuff and just do things together. It would be so exciting and amazing to continue the journey with them. Maybe Hendrix's girlfriend tries to get him back when her MTB dies and does things to Aggie to try to separate them. What if something goes wrong with
...more
topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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What's the Name o...: SOLVED. YA Romance. Girl meets boy in high school and they do intimate stuff after a carnival. Cover: broken heart with hot pink, black background. Read around 2018. [s] | 14 | 62 | Dec 31, 2020 06:31PM |
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 illustr
...more
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