Review: Save the Date by Morgan Matson

Save the Date by Morgan Matson

Release Date: June 5, 2018 

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary 

Source: ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review 

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Father of the Bride meets Sixteen Candles in the latest novel from New York Times bestselling author Morgan Matson.

Charlie Grant’s older sister is getting married this weekend at their family home, and Charlie can’t wait—for the first time in years, all four of her older siblings will be under one roof. Charlie is desperate for one last perfect weekend, before the house is sold and everything changes. The house will be filled with jokes and games and laughs again. Making decisions about things like what college to attend and reuniting with longstanding crush Jesse Foster—all that can wait. She wants to focus on making the weekend perfect.

The only problem? The weekend is shaping up to be an absolute disaster.

There’s the unexpected dog with a penchant for howling, house alarm that won’t stop going off, and a papergirl with a grudge.

There are the relatives who aren’t speaking, the (awful) girl her favorite brother brought home unannounced, and a missing tuxedo.

Not to mention the neighbor who seems to be bent on sabotage and a storm that is bent on drenching everything. The justice of the peace is missing. The band will only play covers. The guests are all crazy. And the wedding planner’s nephew is unexpectedly, distractingly…cute.

Over the course of three ridiculously chaotic days, Charlie will learn more than she ever expected about the family she thought she knew by heart. And she’ll realize that sometimes, trying to keep everything like it was in the past means missing out on the future.

Review:

Y'all this book is HILARIOUS and HEARTWARMING and even a tad BITTERSWEET. 

Honestly, I had forgotten how amazing Morgan's books are; however, Save the Date has made me want to go back and read the ones I've missed.  

When I started this book I was in desperate need of a happy book. I had just finished a chilling, gut wrenching thriller, and while it was enjoyable it definitely didn't bring sunshine and rainbows to my life and I needed some of that ASAP. Luckily, Save the Date was 100% what I wanted, because while Charlie did face her fair share of trials and tribulations, there was a lot of fun to be had along the way. 

There was something about Charlie's voice that just clicked with me from the get-go. It was funny, charming and, most importantly, it seemed real. For the most part, Charlie is a normal, everyday girl. Sure, her mom has a world famous cartoon strip featuring their family, but at the end of the day, Charlie's just like you and me. 

She's caring. She'll do anything for the ones she loves. There's nothing she loves more than when her family is together, but that doesn't mean there isn't drama because there is A LOT of drama when it comes to her family. She's still obsessing over the boy that got away.

I could go on and on, but to sum it up, she reminded me of me when I was in high school. I found it easy to relate. What I loved the most about Charlie, however, was that she wasn't perfect. There were so many times I wanted to shake some sense into her, to make her realize that she wasn't always being a good friend, that sometimes she could be a bit selfish and self obsessed  However, I did appreciate seeing these moments occur. Everyone has those times were it's all about them. I know I have, and Charlie was 100% having one of those moments over the course of the weekend. But that doesn't mean their wasn't growth, because there was. I loved seeing her change over the three day period. She started to see the whole picture and realize that things weren't always as black and white as they seemed. There was a lot of gray space, and while it killed her that life couldn't be the way she always thought it would be, she did have the ability to adapt and survive and she would do just that. Adding to this, I enjoyed seeing her mend her relationship with her brother. There were so many times I wish she would give him a chance, to listen instead of jump to conclusions, and more and more of that began to happen over the course of the book. 

Additionally, I couldn't get enough of her family. Seriously, can we PLEASE have more books about the Grant family?! I need more of their hijinks in my life! At first I was worried that I wouldn't be able to keep them all straight. There were sisters, brothers, uncles, aunts, grandparents, etc. It was a family affair for sure; however, Morgan made each and every character stand on their own. What I loved the most, however, was the fact that she captured so many different types of family members within Charlie's family. The always-squabling former couple, the uncle that has to be the cheapest human being alive, the brother that is smart as smart can be  but doesn't have a lick of common sense...They are a huge part of what made this book so enjoyable, so heartwarming, and without them I don't think Save the Date would have been nearly as good of a read. 

As I mentioned before, Save the Date takes place over the course of three days. Originally, I was a bit leery of this aspect. Could the story possibly be well developed over that short of a time frame? Would I get everything I wanted out of the story? The answer: I shouldn't have been worried one bit. Morgan covers a lot of ground within Save the Date, and I never felt that it was too little or too much. There weren't any moments where I thought "wait, that's it?" or "what's happening again?". Everything flowed very well. I enjoyed the focus on the wedding, and while I know some readers didn't like the movie feel to this book, I did. It did feel like it could easily be a blockbuster comedy movie, and honestly, I would love to see Morgan do more of these kind of books. She has a knack for writing funny, laugh out loud scenes as well as scenes that contain so much heart that your own heart may explode from it all. 

I could go on and on about Save the Date, but I'll end it here. This book is heartwarming and comical. There's so many times I couldn't stop laughing or couldn't stop smiling and going "awww!" This book may be about a wedding and the hijinks that ensue, but at its heart it's a book about growing up, learning how to adapt, and making the best out of the messy. It's currently one of my favorite books of the year, and I have no doubt it will hold a place in my top ten of the year list. 

5 stars!!