RTW: Best (and Only!) Book of November

From YA Highway:

Road Trip Wednesday is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where YA Highway's contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question to write about on our own blogs. You can hop from destination to destination and get everybody's unique take on the topic.

This week's topic: What was the best book you read in November?

So -- unless I read something superfast before I hit "publish," I have to report that the Best Book of November wins by default.  I read only one book this month.  I don't think that's ever happened before.  Like, since I learned how to read.

So, without further ado, the Best Book of November:

source: goodreads

From goodreads:

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.

I loved the setting and the situation -- class trip to London?  Oh, yeah.  I was only so-so about the book for the first half, but by the end I loved it.

What I loved about this book:

• London.
• The Beatles.  (I could have used some more Beatles references.)
• Family relationships.  Julia's memories of her father, who died when she was young, and her parents' marriage. Jason's family history.
• Jason calls Julia "Book Licker."  This bothered me at first.  Jason bothered me at first.  By the end, he had me at "Book Licker."
• There's this one scene -- in the rain, in Stratford-Upon-Avon, just after they've visited Holy Trinity Church... yeah.

Why did I only read one book this month? I was sort of busy writing one of my own.

NaNo Update: I validated my word count last night.  Final number: 60,361 words of what might be the best thing I've ever written.  Or rather, what might become the best thing I've ever written.  That thing is Ready for Revision.

Or maybe it's not the best thing I've ever written.  Either way,  NaNo was relatively painless this time around (although Hammer Guy and the kiddos would surely disagree based on the state of our home and the horrible junk food we've been eating for the last month.  Oh wait, longer than that.  Never mind.).  

Anyway, I feel like I've been floating around in this sleep-deprived writerly state of bliss for the last 28 days and it's wonderful.  I'm going to enjoy this euphoric state for as long as I can.  I wrote a book.  I wrote a good book with a unique premise (I think) and I'm excited about its future.

 What's the best book you read this month?  And how's your NaNoTude?