MEET CUTE: SOME PEOPLE ARE DESTINED TO MEET
by Jennifer L. Armentrout, Dhonielle Clayton, Katie Cotugno, Jocelyn Davies, Huntley Fitzpatrick, Nina LaCour, Emery Lord, Katharine McGee, Kass Morgan, Julie Murphy, Meredith Russo, Sara Shepard, Nicola Yoon, and Ibi Zoboi
Young Adult Fiction // Categories: Contemporary, Romance, Science Fiction
Release Date: January 2, 2018
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Format: Hardcover • 314 pages
Rating: 3.5 stars
Links: Purchase from Amazon • Add to Goodreads
Whether or not you believe in fate, or luck, or love at first sight, every romance has to start somewhere. MEET CUTE is an anthology of original short stories featuring tales of "how they first met" from some of today’s most popular YA authors.MEET CUTE (according to Urban Dictionary) = described as a "scenario in which two individuals are brought together in some unlikely, zany, destined-to-fall-in-love-and-be-together-forever sort of way (the more unusual, the better)."
Readers will experience Nina LaCour's beautifully written piece about two Bay Area girls meeting via a cranky customer service Tweet, Sara Shepard's glossy tale about a magazine intern and a young rock star, Nicola Yoon's imaginative take on break-ups and make-ups, Katie Cotugno's story of two teens hiding out from the police at a house party, and Huntley Fitzpatrick's charming love story that begins over iced teas at a diner. There's futuristic flirting from Kass Morgan and Katharine McGee, a riveting transgender heroine from Meredith Russo, a subway missed connection moment from Jocelyn Davies, and a girl determined to get out of her small town from Ibi Zoboi. Jennifer Armentrout writes a sweet story about finding love from a missing library book, Emery Lord has a heartwarming and funny tale of two girls stuck in an airport, Dhonielle Clayton takes a thoughtful, speculate approach to pre-destined love, and Julie Murphy dreams up a fun twist on reality dating show contestants.
This incredibly talented group of authors brings us a collection of stories that are at turns romantic and witty, epic and everyday, heartbreaking and real.
Siege Etiquette by Katie Cotugno (★★★)
There's nothing surprising to me about Cotugno's messy and complicated short story — that's the way she writes and you either love it or hate it. (Luckily, I love it! But kind of in a twisted way ...) Although the main character is unlikeable, it felt like an honest depiction of how some teens feel and think. The stars are not always going to be perfectly aligned, and sometimes people do messed up things. Was this a meet cute? No, not at all 😢
Print Shop by Nina Lacour (★★★)
It was a little slow in the beginning, and I felt like we didn't learn much about the love interest! I was more interested in the secondary characters' lives, haha ... I just wanted more interaction. Was this a meet cute? Kind of!
Hourglass by Ibi Zoboi (★★★)
I like that this one was more than just a meet cute. We got to learn about the main character's background and friendships, which sort of led into everything else. But it was hard to rate because the love interest isn't around for the majority of the story! So we don't see what happens with the two of them, just how their paths cross. Was this a meet cute? Kind of?
Click by Katharine McGee (★★★★)
This one reminded me of a Black Mirror episode, but a light-hearted version. It was cute and cheesy, which is the kind of meet cute I enjoy! Was this a meet cute? Yes!
The Intern by Sara Shepard (★★★)
I felt like this one was too quick to be a meet cute? It reminded me a lot of Jesse's Girl by Miranda Kenneally. So not quite unique but sweet and meaningful. Was this a meet cute? Not really ...
Somewhere That's Green by Meredith Russo (★)
I really didn't like this one because there wasn't enough internal dialogue from the main character, especially since she went through the most development. I felt like she was thinking one way in the beginning of the story, and then we don't know anything about what she's feeling in the end. I'm not saying that people aren't allowed to change (because yes, we are!) but I couldn't see how or why she wanted to? I hope that makes sense. Was it a meet cute? Not to me ... it seemed like the main character was bullying the love interest the entire time.
The Way We Love Here by Dhonielle Clayton (★★★★★)
I rarely enjoy fabulism (a form of magic realism in which fantastical elements are placed into an everyday setting) but I really loved this one. We need a full-length novel!!! Was this a meet cute? Yes ... ish.
Oomph by Emery Lord (★★★★★)
Emery Lord never fails me. Her stories are so easy to read (in the best way possible) because her writing is addicting. I don't know how else to say it! Was this a meet cute? Yes!
The Dictionary of You and Me by Jennifer L. Armentrout (★★★★)
Another cute and cheesy story, which I am 100% here for. The love interest was a little strange, but that didn't bother me at all. Was this a meet cute? YES!
The Unlikely Likelihood of Falling in Love by Jocelyn Davies (★★★★★)
I LOVED THIS ONE SO MUCH. THIS IS WHAT A MEET CUTE IS. Can someone turn The Unlikely Likelihood of Falling in Love into a movie, please?! The main character decides to do her statistics project on the likelihood of seeing one guy on the train again. This short story was even formatted to look like a report, with the five sections being introduction, hypothesis, research, analysis, and conclusion. My nerdy heart is so happy. Was this a meet cute? YES!!!
259 Million Miles by Kass Morgan (★★★)
I like that we aren't told immediately what's going on, but we find out piece by piece. This is the kind of thing that's hit or miss with me — it worked in this case! Knowing more about the main character and his past gave this story more meaning, but I felt like he didn't have enough time to process everything and make the decision he did in the end. And what happened with the love interest was awful 😭 Was this a meet cute? Yes.
Something Real by Julie Murphy (★★★★)
Like Print Shop, I wish we got to learn more about the love interest. To be honest, I thought she was lying about her life. Oops. But overall, I enjoyed it because I'm a sucker for game shows and competitions. Was this a meet cute? Yes.
Say Everything by Huntley Fitzpatrick (★★★)
Definitely thought of A Cinderella Story immediately. It would have been a really sweet full-length novel but since it's a short story, it felt rushed and things happened WAY TOO SOON. I need that back story! It was introduced very weakly (and that makes sense because you want the readers to know what's going on, but you also only have so much you can say in a short amount of time.) The flow of the story was also kind of hard to get into. Was this a meet cute? It was more creepy than cute, to be honest. If it was stretched out over a long period of time, then yes?
The Department of Dead Love by Nicola Yoon (★★★★)
This story takes place in the future, a touch dystopian without being too science-like. There wasn't much development between the main character and the love interest ... I could imply that something would happen between the two of them, but I didn't really want to root for it? I like the concept of the story more than the meet cute itself. Was this a meet cute? Kind of?
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What are your favorite "meet cute" stories?
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