Save the Date

It's been a long time since I actually found myself laughing out loud at a book, but Save the Date had me doing just that every few pages! Matson's latest novel follows the Grant family during the weekend of their oldest daughter, Linnie's wedding. Our main character, Charlie Grant, is thrilled to have her older siblings home for the event and is determined to make everything perfect; until the wedding planner quits, and chaos ensues.Overall, I enjoyed Save the Date. The focus of this book was definitely on the dynamics of the Grant family, and they were so much fun to read about! The Grant's are dysfunctional and wild, but their flaws only made them that much more realistic. The siblings dynamics were wonderfully portrayed, and served for many hysterical moments. Each of the Grant siblings were lovable, but I found "DJJJ" to be a stand-out character. Fans of Matson's The Unexpected Everything can also look forward to cameos from a few certain characters ;)My biggest complaint about this book is the pacing. Having the book set over the course of one weekend really kept this from being a 5-star read for me, because I kept wanting MORE from certain relationships, but there wasn't enough time to see them develop. I especially think this hindered the romantic plot, since there was more pining than actual romance; in fact, the romance at times felt more like an obligation than a supplement to the storyline.Save the Date comes up short to some of Matson's other works, but is still a very funny, light-hearted read I would recommend for this summer!

"It seemed like the second you tried to tell someone why you loved someone else, it took the luster off it, like pinning a butterfly down in a case—it never quite captured it."So, I ordered this book because I've been super into contemporary romcoms lately. And the 'com' part of romcom was definitely there. There were a ton of laugh-out-loud moments. But if you want romance, this really isn't the book for you. And that is fine, it just wasn't what I was expecting.This story is told from the perspective of Charlie Grant, a high school senior and the youngest of five children. Charlie has been looking forward to her sister's wedding weekend for, like, EVER because her entire beloved family will be together again. All her older brothers (three of them), and her older sister have moved away for school/work, and she misses her family more than anything. Her sister, Linnie, wants to have the wedding at their family home before their parents sell the house in a couple of months. So, everyone is together again for the weekend!In addition, the Grant family is famous. Their mother has chronicled their entire lives through a 'fictional' comic strip that is nationally famous and titled Grant Central Station . So on top of the wedding, Good Morning America is also there that weekend interviewing the famous Grants as the comic strip is coming to an end.What happens over wedding weekend is a series of one disaster after the other, and Charlie slowly realizes that her family isn't as perfect as she thinks. The disasters are the funny bits, and I'm pleased my wedding didn't have even half of the things that were in the story. *SHUDDER*This was cute, but Charlie irritated the living crap out of me. If I had to hear, one more time, how she was so happy because "this" was what she had envisioned forever, blah blah blah, I was going to throw my Kindle across the room.Aside from that, this is a feel-good story with a solid learning lesson at the end. :)

I’m not usually a half star kind of person but ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ // 5 for this joyful and realistic family drama-comedy. The story timeline is easy to follow and I felt that the pace was appropriate for each situation. Set during the weekend of a wedding we get all the quirks and comedy of things going wrong, the joy and frustration of being with family, and the growth and change of characters. Similar to the rom/com style movies it has moments of predictability. Matson’s writing style far outshined that fact and left me feeling content and fulfilled. I wouldn’t mind continuing this family on their new adventures.

Save the Date is a perfect mix of everything I love in YA. I really enjoyed Matson's writing of the family, their relationship with each other, and Charlie's overall story. The events leading up to the wedding were just a constant cringe in the best way possible. When something was hinted at being ruined, I knew how it all would go down before reading the next page, but still enjoyed it nonetheless. The second hand embarrassment and frustration was strong with this one. I also enjoyed Charlie's perspective on the world around her. I loved reading her story and her feelings towards everyone in her family and her desire to fit her family into a perfect box only to have everything come crumbling out at the end. The way Matson wrote Charlie and her growth in the story was one of the best I've read so far in a contemporary story. I also did enjoy the addition of the comics, and, I'm not going to lie, I did cry at the final one Charlie's mom did for Grant Central Station. I think this whole book was just wonderful to read. I almost didn't want to leave the characters by the end because they were all so much fun! Definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Matson's other stuff or is in need of a wholesome and good contemporary read.