Meant to Be

Agatha “Aggy” Abrams, 18, has just received her Meant-to-Be (MTB). An MTB is the name of a person’s true love, which magically shows up above his or her heart. Unlike her best friend Lish, Aggy hates the idea of MTBs (“Fuck fate. Screw destiny. I’m team free will”), and she plans on ditching college and heading to Australia to go backpacking. When Aggy’s longtime crush Luke proposes a summer fling, she jumps at the opportunity, but matters get complicated when it becomes clear that Luke might be more serious about their romance than she is, and Lish rapidly escalates her relationship with her own MTB, Travis. Halpern (The F- It List) tackles questions of soul mates and destiny in this charming and bawdily funny novel. Aggy’s stubborn skepticism gives the story a healthy dose of realism, and Halpern’s setup is a smart allegory for the choices teens are forced to make after high school. Whether these decisions are ours or part of a greater plan is irrelevant, Halpern suggests. What matters, as Aggy discovers, is making a choice to begin with. Ages 14–up. [em]Agent: Rosemary Stimola, Stimola Literary Studio. (Oct.) [/em]