Review: The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson

From Back Cover: When you are a politician’s daughter who’s pretty much raised yourself, you learn everything can be planned or spun, or both. Especially your future. Important internship? Check. Amazing friends? Check. Guys? Check (as long as we’re talking no more than three weeks). But that was before the scandal. Before having to be in the same house with her dad. Before walking an insane number of dogs. That was before Clark and those few months that might change her whole life. Because here’s the thing - if everything’s planned out, you can never find the unexpected. And where’s the fun in that? 

My Rating: 3.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Morgan Matson’s novels always have a nice blend of family, friendship, and romance, which is why I enjoy them. However, her latest book, The Unexpected Everything, was my least favourite of her novels.

Since my thoughts for The Unexpected Everything were kind of all over the place, I figured the best way to review this book would be to write a pros and cons list.

Pros: 

• Despite the fact that she didn’t make the best decisions, I still found Andie to be a likeable character. 
  
• Clark was an adorable love interest. 
• I loved seeing the change in Andie’s relationship with her father. I would have liked The Unexpected Everything to have spent a little more time exploring that relationship in greater detail and a little less time on the drama between Andie’s friends. 

Cons: 

• At just over 500 pages, I think this book was a little too long. Had it been shorter, the plot wouldn’t have dragged at times. 
• I found the character of Topher – and by extension, Andie’s relationship with him – to be totally unnecessary.
• Although I understood how important Andie’s friends were to her, I still didn’t care about the drama between Bri and Toby.

The Unexpected Everything was released by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers in May 2016. 

Comments About the Cover: It makes the book look like a great beach read, which I could easily imagine The Unexpected Everything being.  

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (Simon and Schuster Canada) for free.

Review: Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson

From Back Cover: It was Sloane who yanked Emily out of her shell and made life 100% interesting. But right before what should have been the most epic summer, Sloane just ... disappears. All she leaves behind is a to-do list. On it, thirteen Sloane-inspired tasks that Emily would normally never try. But what if they could bring her best friend back? Emily now has this unexpected summer, and the help of Frank Porter (totally unexpected) to check things off Sloane's list. Who knows what she'll find. 

My Rating: 4 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: After I ended up loving both Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour and Second Chance Summer, Morgan Matson quickly joined my list of contemporary authors I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend. So, I was thrilled when I received an ARC of her newest novel, Since You’ve Been Gone, for review because it shortened my need to wait for its release.

In a well-ordered universe, here are five reasons (in no particular order) why you should get your hands on a copy of Since You’ve Been Gone:

1. The realistic depiction of friendship: I thought Matson did a fabulous job of showing a friendship from a variety of different angles. For example, through Emily’s thoughts, you see Sloane portrayed ideally whereas through flashbacks, you come to learn some of Sloane’s faults. When combined with Sloane's list of dares and the ending, the flashbacks also enable the reader to understand how important their friendship is to both girls.
2. The protagonist: I found Emily really easy to relate to because her personality is similar to mine. The way she reacts and the choices she makes are ones that I could see myself making too if I were placed in the same situation.
3. The slow personal growth: Accomplishing Sloane’s list of dares causes Emily to change in a very natural way, and it’s only at the end of the novel that you realize just how much she has grown over the course of the summer.   
4. The secondary characters: I loved that they seemed like real people and were complex. For example, though Collins is Emily’s friend, he is also simultaneously jealous of her friendship with Frank, his best friend, because it means that he gets to spend less time with Frank.
5. The romance: Although I didn’t completely love the romance because Frank still had a girlfriend when he hooked up with Emily, I did like how it developed. I found the transition from the two being acquaintances to friends to something more to be very nicely paced.

Since You’ve Been Gone was released on May 6, 2014 by Simon & Schuster. 

Comments About the Cover: Besides making me want a scoop of ice-cream, I like that the cover has a fun summer feel to it. I also really like that it emphasizes the friendship aspect of the novel by showing two girls hanging out and looking like they’re having a good time.

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (Simon and Schuster Canada) for free.

Review: Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson

From Goodreads: Taylor Edwards’ family might not be the closest-knit - everyone is a little too busy and overscheduled - but for the most part, they get along just fine. Then Taylor’s dad gets devastating news, and her parents decide that the family will spend one last summer all together at their old lake house in the Pocono Mountains. Crammed into a place much smaller and more rustic than they are used to, they begin to get to know each other again. And Taylor discovers that the people she thought she had left behind haven’t actually gone anywhere. Her former best friend is still around, as is her first boyfriend ... and he’s much cuter at seventeen than he was at twelve. As the summer progresses and the Edwards become more of a family, they’re more aware than ever that they’re battling a ticking clock. Sometimes, though, there is just enough time to get a second chance - with family, with friends, and with love. 

My Rating: 4 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Having read and loved Morgan Matson’s debut novel, Amy andRoger’s Epic Detour, I was excitedly looking forward to reading her sophomore novel, Second Chance Summer. I finally got a chance to read it during my blogging hiatus … and loved it because while the book deftly tackles a terminal illness, it also manages to celebrate life.

Initially, I wasn’t a fan of Taylor’s because she had a tendency to run away from problematic situations rather than dealing with them. However, Taylor acknowledges this fault of hers and attempts to work on it. For example, flashbacks throughout the novel cause the reader to realize that something happened five summers ago that led to the breakdown of Taylor’s relationships with her best friend, Lucy, and her first boyfriend, Henry. Although the reason turned out to be very anti-climactic, I liked that Taylor sought to repair those relationships.

Taylor’s family also develops over the course of the novel. At the beginning, they’re all busy with their own activities and not very close with each other. But, as Taylor’s father’s condition worsens, her family starts to spend a lot more time together, enjoying each other’s company and supporting one another. I especially loved the scene where Taylor told her father that she loved him; it was so touching and had me wiping tears surreptitiously since I was sitting on the bus. It also made me feel a little guilty because in a way I’m a lot like Taylor in that I don’t tell the people I care about that I love them, but just assume they know I do.

A book that manages to suspend the passage of time (and make you long for summer) before reaching its poignant climax, Second Chance Summer is a novel I definitely recommend reading!

Second Chance Summer was released in May 2012 by Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing. 

Comments About the Cover: Though I like the cover, I feel like it doesn’t adequately convey the depth of emotions that Second Chance Summer managed to elicit in me.

Review: Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

From Inside Jacket: Amy Curry is having a terrible year. Her mother has decided to move across the country and needs Amy to get their car from California to Connecticut. There's just one small problem: Since her dad died this past spring, Amy hasn't been able to get behind the wheel. Enter Roger, the nineteen-year-old son of an old family friend, who turns out to be unexpectedly cute ... and dealing with some baggage of his own. Meeting new people and coming to terms with her father's death were not what Amy had planned on this trip. And traveling the Loneliest Road in America, seeing the Colorado mountains, crossing the Kansas plains, and visiting diners, dingy motels, and Graceland were definitely not on the itinerary. But as they drive, Amy finds that the people you least expected are the ones you may need the most - and that sometimes you have to get lost in order to find your way home. 

My Rating: 4.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: While touching on some heavy topics, Morgan Matson’s wonderful debut novel, Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour, is mostly a fun read and will make you want to go on your own road trip!

There are so many settings in this book, and each affects Amy and Roger in different ways while allowing the reader to get to know them better. What I absolutely loved about Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour though was that it was filled with receipts, photos, doodles, playlists of songs and notes from the trip, which made reading the novel more enjoyable and also made me feel like I was experiencing the journey with Amy and Roger.

The story is told from Amy’s perspective and Matson does a great job allowing the reader to understand Amy’s thoughts and actions. Although Amy is distant and isolated initially, she never seemed unappealing to me because I could see how much she was struggling with to come to terms with what had happened to her and feel the burden of guilt that she was carrying. Then, as time goes on, the reader can see Amy start to slowly heal and her true personality really begins to shine through.

With his own problem and motivation for coming on the road trip, Roger is also a realistic character; and much like Amy, has his life changed by their journey. I liked Roger not only because he has an awesome taste in music, but is genuinely nice and honest. Plus, he has an adorable quirk of refusing to say goodbye.

As well, Matson does a good job of developing the romance in the novel. Having to spend so much time together, both Roger and Amy help each other deal with their past and therefore get to know each other very well. So, it wasn’t hard to understand why they would fall in love with each other. As someone who doesn’t believe in love at first sight, it’s refreshing to have a novel where I wasn’t wondering what does so-and-so see in this other character.

Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour was released in May 2010 by Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.

Comments About the Cover: It’s cute and conveys the point that the story involves a road trip and some romance. However, I feel like it gives off the feeling that the novel will be a fluffy read which isn’t true because there are emotional moments.