Summary: Charlie Grant’s sister is getting married this weekend at the Grant family home, and much to Charlie’s excitement, it’ll be the first time in a long time that she’s reunited with her four older siblings. Charlie is desperate for one last perfect weekend together before the house is sold and the last Grant is off to college in the fall. But Charlie’s perfect weekend is shaping up to be a disaster.

Well for starters, there’s the unexpected dog with a thing for howling, an alarm that won’t stop going off, and a papergirl with a grudge.

With one mini disaster piling up on one another over the course of three chaotic days, Charlie will learn more than she’s ever imagined about her family and realize that keeping up with the past doesn’t make for keeping up with the future.

 

Save the Date by Morgan Matson

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My Rating: 5/5 Stars

My Thoughts:

Morgan Matson’s Save the Date was easily my most anticipated read for Summer 2018. I truly believe that it’s not summer without a Morgan Matson book (2017 sent me looking for rereads), and Save the Date was here to save the day with a story about one family’s crazy wedding weekend! After loving Sarah Dessen’s Once and For All and being the Say Yes to the Dress fan that I am, I was more than ready for a wedding-inspired book from another favorite contemporary author. 

If you haven’t gotten sick of the word ‘wedding’ yet, then never fear because I loved the emphasis on Linnie’s wedding through the entire book. Save the Date is separated into three major sections, highlighting the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the Grants’ wedding weekend. It was fun to see Charlie constantly save the DAY time and time again, with the adorable Bill at her side. Not to of course take any of the spotlight away from Waffles, the Grant’s temporary dog in promotion for the ending of Eleanor’s comic strip. Grant Central Station was another unexpected aspect of Save the Date to me, but I loved seeing the Grants come to cartoonish life through the strips from Eleanor/Eric Sailer.

And never fear Morgan Matson fans, because there are plenty of references to Morgan’s past books in Save the Date! All of Morgan’s book have something to do with Stanwich, Connecticut, and in this case, Stanwich is the home of the Grants and their last minute wedding to-dos. Along the way, we also get to see a few characters from The Unexpected Everything and Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour. And how could we forget Captain Pizza or Indoor Xtreme or Mogran’s latest addition, Swift Tailors?? While we don’t get to spend too much time with her, I really enjoyed Charlie’s best friend, Siobhan, who I want to say is named after fellow YA author, Siobhan Vivian.

If you enjoyed Morgan’s The Unexpected Everything and Second Chance Summer for its focus on family, you’ll love Save the Date for all the time we get to spend with the Grants. Above all, this book is truly about family, as we see the Grants through good, bad, and straight-up crazy times. I absolutely loved the Grants’ banter, and I’ll be the first to admit that J.J.’s humor stole the show for me (even though we all know that Waffles is the true star). And no worries, like Morgan’s other books, the ending of Save the Date left me with tears in my eyes and starting my countdown until another Morgan Matson book!

I received a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.Thank you to The Fantastic Flying Book Club  for selecting me to participate in this tour!

About Morgan Matson 

Morgan Matson was born in New York City and grew up there and in Greenwich, Connecticut. She attended Occidental College in Los Angeles, but halfway through a theater degree, she started working in the children’s department of Vroman’s Bookstore and fell in love with YA literature.

Following college graduation (and the proud bearer of an incredibly useful theater/English degree) she received her M.F.A. in Writing for Children from The New school and worked as an editor for YA novels. She received a second M.F.A. (for reasons that made sense at the time) in Screenwriting from the University of Southern California.

Her novels have been translated into dozens of languages, and published all over the world.

Morgan’s first novel, Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour, was inspired by her love of road trips, snacks, and the quest for the perfect playlist. It was named an ALA Top Ten Best Book, a Publisher’s Weekly Flying Start book, and was shortlisted for the Waterstone’s Book Prize.

Her second novel, Second Chance Summer, was inspired by her experiences spending summers in the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania. It was the winner of the California Book Award (YA category) and was named to the ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults List, selected for the Oklahoma Sequoya List, and selected as a School Library Journal Best Book.

Her third novel, Since You’ve Been Gone, was published in 2014, and was a Publisher’s Weekly and international bestseller. It was named to the YALSA Teens Top Ten list, and the Eliot Rosewater Indiana High School Book Award List.

Morgan’s fourth novel, The Unexpected Everything, was published May 3rd, 2016.

She currently lives in Los Angeles with her dog, Murphy.

Tour Schedule

June 4th

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June 14th

June 15th

Giveaway

(June 4-June 21)
Rafflecopter Giveaway

• 3 winners will win a copy of Save the Date
• US ONLY
• Please read the rules in the rafflecopter

What’s your favorite Morgan Matson book? Are you excited to read Save the Date? Share in the comments!