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 

Add to Goodreads! 

Amazon | BN | Indiebound 

All first editions will be signed by the author—available while supplies last!

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!! 

Giveaway for Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

Today, I have a digital photo frame keychain to store your road trip shots plus a copy of Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour from the lovely people at Simon & Schuster/Big Honcho Media to giveaway!! And let me tell you; this book is one you simply can't miss!

Here's the summary, in case you're not sure what it's about:

Amy Curry thinks her life sucks. Her mom decides to move from California to Connecticut to start anew—just in time for Amy's senior year. Her dad recently died in a car accident. So Amy embarks on a road trip to escape from it all, driving cross-country from the home she's always known toward her new life. Joining Amy on the road trip is Roger, the son of Amy's mother's old friend. Amy hasn’t seen him in years, and she is less than thrilled to be driving across the country with a guy she barely knows. So she's surprised to find that she is developing a crush on him. At the same time, she’s coming to terms with her father’s death and how to put her own life back together after the accident. Told in traditional narrative as well as scraps from the road—diner napkins, motel receipts, postcards—this is the story of one girl's journey to find herself.

And here's the link to the book's website, as well as a link to read an excerpt from the first chapter.

Here are the rules:

~ Must be 13 or older to enter.
~ Open to participants with a United States mailing address only (international readers can enter if they have a friend in the States who can accept their prize by mail).
~ Fill out the form below to enter!
~ This contest will close on June 1.



Please note that I received a review copy of Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour in support of this post from Big Honcho Media, as well as the copy to giveaway.

Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

Summary/Cover Image from Publisher Website:

Amy Curry thinks her life sucks. Her mom decides to move from California to Connecticut to start anew--just in time for Amy's senior year. Her dad recently died in a car accident. So Amy embarks on a road trip to escape from it all, driving cross-country from the home she's always known toward her new life. Joining Amy on the road trip is Roger, the son of Amy's mother's old friend. Amy hasn’t seen him in years, and she is less than thrilled to be driving across the country with a guy she barely knows. So she's surprised to find that she is developing a crush on him. At the same time, she’s coming to terms with her father’s death and how to put her own life back together after the accident. Told in traditional narrative as well as scraps from the road--diner napkins, motel receipts, postcards--this is the story of one girl's journey to find herself.

Review:

I don't know about you but I love debut novels. One of the main reasons why I do is because you seriously do not know what to expect, unlike, say, picking a novel up by one of your favorite authors. They can rock your socks and make you have a new favorite author or you can end up detesting the book and have an author you're not too sure about. Though either way you still get a taste of something new and exciting. Thankfully, Amy & Roger's Epic Detour was one of the former of those two ways debut novels can go because, quite honestly, it was outright amazing in a way that I loved.

This book was sweet, funny, touching, and, well, basically all the positive adjectives out there, which made this one book I could not get enough of and sure many others will feel the same exact way!

In the start of Amy & Roger's Epic Detour, I wasn't too found of Amy. I didn't like how closed off she was from the world around her and how awkward she was around others. I mean I understand why she was that way, I would be too if I was her, but it just bothered me a bit. Though as the novel progressed she began to be a better improved version of her prior self as she made amends with her past, learning how to move on yet remember, and shinned in result, leaving her to become someone I truly cared about. Adding to this, I adored Roger! He was swoon-worthy in a way that only literary male characters can be and I loved how he ended up being one of the main people along the trip who made Amy come out of her shell. While the minor characters parts were small, they still ended up leaving a big punch and made you wish that they had page space a bit longer than what they did.

As you can probably tell from the title, cover, and summary, road trips, one in particular, played a huge part in this novel and boy did I love that part. Since through Amy's POV and travel notes/emails/playlists/pictures, you get to feel like you're also part of the road trip along with her and Roger as they go through state after state facing drama and romance along the way. Lastly I loved the fact that there was bits and pieces of different state's history throughout.

And how I loved the ending, even though I hated to see this one end, since it gave you true hope of what's to come for the characters down the road and left me with one big smile on my face!

In all, Amy & Roger's Epic Detour is a debut that you shouldn't miss for anything! Though, word of warning, you'll be dying to go on a road trip along with someone as adorable as Roger when your'e done like I am now.

Grade: A+

Amy & Roger's Epic Detour is now out!

Souce: Chelsy at Big Honcho Media. Thanks!