A collection worth loving

Sol Garcia | THE RIDER

With a new semester beginning, it is a challenge to find time for reading. One of the best ways to sneak reading into your life or overcome a reading slump is by reading short stories. 

If romance fiction is calling your name, “Meet Cute: Some People are Destined to Meet” is the most endearing collection of short stories for you.  

“Meet Cute” is composed of 14 short stories, each written by a different author, including Sara Shepard, best known for her “Pretty Little Liars” series, and Nicola Yoon, author of “Everything, Everything.” The tales all share a common theme: the first moment or encounter between a pair that reveals a romance will begin. 

Since each author has their own style, some stories are more favorable than others. 

Emery Lord’s tale, “Oomph,” stands out immediately. Two seniors await their plane to New York, and fate or pure coincidence leads them to stand in line together. They immediately fall into an easy-to-believe banter, and the girls seem to hit it off. Soon, the main character finds herself revealing her inner dilemma, the question everyone asks themselves at one point, “how do you know if you are heading in the right direction?” In just a few pages, Lord creates a sweet and realistic portrayal of young women falling head over heels, and the ending ties it all together. 

Another favorite is easily Jennifer L. Armentrout’s, “The Dictionary of You and Me.” Moss works at her local library, and she has made it her duty to get an overdue dictionary returned. Every week, she calls the borrower, but he keeps coming up with excuses as to why he can not return it. Moss does not mind that much, though. In fact, she looks forward to their calls, as he attempts to get to know her through the phone and show off the new vocabulary he has learned. The ending seems a tad rushed, but who doesn’t love library settings when it comes to romance? After reading this short story, you will gush … or text your friends to search up a “zokor.” 

Honorable mentions include “The Way We Love Here” by Dhonielle Clayton, “Click” by Katharine McGee and “Something Real” by Julie Murphy. 

Other stories in the collection are just mediocre. 

Kass Morgan, author of “The 100” series, keeps up her space-related writing in “259 Million Miles.” Philip has the chance to move to Mars and escape all of his problems on Earth. He just needs to pass a final round, which includes staying in close quarters with a potential teammate for 24 hours. As time passes during their test, Philip and his potential teammate start to confide in each other why they want to leave Earth. It is a great plot, but as often is the case in short stories, the ending is not as well-developed as it could have been. Granted, the twist at the end is still crushing. 

Overall, “Meet Cute” is worth the read. With hot chocolate by your side and some comfy pajamas on, it is a guarantee the short stories will warm your heart. The good thing about a book made up of short stories is you can always skip one if it is not up to your taste and fall in love with the next one. 

“Meet Cute: Some People are Destined to Meet” (Alloy Entertainment, LLC, 2018) receives a sunny rating of ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼.

Reviews are based on five suns.