Save the Dateby Morgan Matson
Published by Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: June 5th, 2018
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 480
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher via Netgalley
Summary from Goodreads:
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.
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Review:
Save the Date was what I expected from Morgan Matson. I found it cute and adorable, especially the whole wedding aspect and the situation with "Waffles". Honestly this felt more like a rom-com than a young adult book.
Save the Date focuses on family relationships and the complexity of it as each member goes through different phases of their life, letting go of the past and things they can't control, and growing up. There was so much happening to this family that it was a bit difficult to believe that all of it would end up coming to such a predictable ending. From the very beginning you can easily see where the story is heading so there was no real element of surprise. It was at times unrealistic and a bit farfetched. However, what redeemed some of the unrealistic scenarios were the characters.
The characters in this story felt real and the drama between them was entertaining to say the least. They made the book interesting, amusing, and captivating. The character development in this book was so well done that I was astonished by Morgan Matson's capabilities. The plot was too predictable but the characters were cute and ended up making up for the mediocre plot. I also really liked the concept of the comic strips as well as the story behind it
What sort-of surprised me was that this was not really a romance book. There were hints of it but it never really cemented. It was only about 10 pages of the whole book, and though I wish there was a bit more, I was content with how it was played out. In a way, by not making the romance take centre stage, I was able to learn more about Charlie's character and understand her behaviour in a better light. If the romance was more present I believe it would have ended up taking away Charlie's character development and the overall feel of the story.
In the end, Save the Date is young adult contemporary novel that was an overall interesting book to read. I would recommend this book to those who feel like reading something that would make them feel a bit nostalgic or those who are heading to college or university.
Rating:
★★★★
About The Author:Morgan Matson is the New York Times bestselling author of Since You've Been Gone, Amy & Roger's Epic Detour, and Second Chance Summer, which was the winner of the California Book Award. She received her MFA in writing for children from the New School. She lives in Los Angeles. Visit her at morganmatson.com.
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