Morgan Matson

“The cinema-worthy rom-com of your summer reading dreams.” —Bustle 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.

Save the Date

Ari </3

Mel 

My least favorite Morgan Matson book for sure.

Ryan 

i can’t believe i pulled through this book for a book that has a lot of pages and has tiny font, two things that mostly intimidates me in choosing a book. i have a lot of things to say for a book where it gave me a second chance to read a book by morgan matson aftering reading amy and roger’s and happen to absolutely dislike it and dnf’ed it. more to come.

Denaiir

I was really hesitating during the whole book between liking it and not. I generally enjoy MM's books quite a lot but this one didn't do it for me. I think it was due to the one-weekend setting. Everything that had to happen in such a short period of time to keep it entertaining made it too unrealistic and just too much. Too much drama, too much crazy, too many characters I didn't connect with, and way too many catastrophes.

But some parts were great, just like MM's other works. So it means sometimes I didn’t like it, then I was enjoying my read. Then back to disliking it and liked it again, so I’m not sure how I feel... 

I also didn't particularly enjoy the narration, it wasn't bad at all but it also didn't make the story better than it would have been on paper. 

I really enjoyed the parts about how the Grants interacted with each other, they were a cute family and their relationships were realistic. However they were also annoying at times. Charlie was super naive, the parents were randomly appearing out of nowhere, JJ was horrible, Danny was treating others like crap, not one of them was considerate. And how realistic is it that the 17yo sister has to organize the whole thing while all the bridesmaids are completely useless, the parents nowhere to be found, the side characters total caricatures (the neighbor situation, the paper girl situation, the judge situation... everything could have been resolved if people were communicating just a tiny bit).

There were also some attemps at creating plot twists that just didn't work at all because I saw them coming for miles, so yeah, nothing special.

I don't really recommend it, it was quite banal, the author has done much better.

“The cinema-worthy rom-com of your summer reading dreams.” —Bustle “A sparkling summer story ideal for teens who are on that bittersweet cusp of change.” —Booklist “[A] romantic comedy of errors.” —Publishers Weekly 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.

Victoria

I suddenly realized why I thought I wouldn't enjoy this: I have an aversion towards weddings. For some reason, I don't like the idea of it. Probably because same sex marriage is not legal here in the Philippines which means I cannot marry my partner.

But that's beside the point.

I surprisingly loved this book a lot. Of course, I love everything that Morgan Matson puts out but this surprised me especially because of the reason stated above.

Anyway, this is super funny and the pacing's great and the characters are all amazing. Would absolutely recommend.

Alexa M

It did tend to get a little repetitive but I loved the family dynamic and it was super fun!

brianna

“I couldn't help but notice how nice it felt—not trying to make everything perfect. Not trying to fit into some preconceived image. All the members of the Grant family were finally—in front of the entire country—being real.”
 

It's been days since I've finished this book and I still don't know how to put into words how much I loved this book. We follow Charlie Grant, the youngest of five children, the weekend of her sisters wedding. Everything keeps ending up in disaster and she's trying to make everything perfect for the big day. 

Morgan Matson basically wrote a fucking movie because I want to see this on the big screen asap. I think one of my favorite things in any type of story is a big family dynamic and that was probably the best part of Save the Date. I just felt so immersed into this story and as if I was part of the Grant family, and when it was over I wanted to just pick it right back up again. I love how romance wasn't the main focus of this one (because lets be real, we have enough romance in YA) and just ahhhh!!! I loved everything about Save the Date and I can't wait to reread it soon.

Rachel Kanyid

3.5 / 5
Definitely enjoyed this as just a quick light read, very lighthearted even with there being some underlying themes of family hurts. It definitely seemed a lot like every other "wedding goes to hell and then magically ends up wonderful" but there were aspects of this that I definitely liked.

Fátima

Este libro no es lo que esperaba pero, eso no significa que haya sido malo. Al contrario, lo disfruté mucho. Me reí e incluso llegué a ponerme sentimental. 

Esperaba una historia más romántica en lugar de una más familiar. Pero fue una grata sorpresa el hecho de que se centrara tanto en eso, en la familia, y el significado de ella para todos estos personajes tan diferentes el uno del otro, a veces disfuncionales y a veces armoniosos. 

A veces esta gran familia me recordaba a la mía, todos hablando al mismo tiempo, todos perfeccionando el multitasking, personas entrando y saliendo de todos los cuartos de la casa, enfrentando situaciones bizarras, en fin... Es gracioso y a la vez tiene cierto punto nostálgico. Este libro es el último punto al que tienen que llegar para crecer, estamos leyendo el final de un capítulo para los Grant. Muchas cosas serán diferentes después de la boda de Linnie, esa boda es el punto de inflexión y está por descubrirse si ellos serán capaces de soportar todos los cambios que se avecinan.

Si me lo preguntan, es un libro enternecedor. Bueno, quitando la parte donde todo lo que podría salir mal de hecho sale mal, y te encuentras a ti mismo deseando que al menos una sola cosa salga bien y deje de lloverles sobre mojado. Especialmente a la pobre Charlie que en su afán de tener la mejor reunión con sus hermanos, se vuelve la responsable de todo y es ella que, con ayuda de Bill, tiene que cargar con todos los dolores de cabeza.

Hay un pequeño triángulo amoroso, pero no toma gran relevancia en la historia y eso lo agradezco mucho.

Además de este sólo he leído un libro más de Morgan Matson. Amy y Roger, y puedo ver un poco de cuál es su "modus operandi" respecto a los cierres de las historias románticas y creo que puedo acostumbrarme, me agradan. Voy a seguir leyendo sus libros porque prometen.

Lauren Tabor

*4.5

This was such a fun and outlandish book! I loved all the craziness and drama. I could've done with a little more romance and cutesy scenes.

Shan

As always, a beautiful, original, and one of a kind book from Morgan Matson. I have cousins who are from a family of five as well as my mother was the youngest of five. Being around these families always made me wish I had more siblings. The stories and craziness just make life that much more memorable and Matson did amazing job of showing that through Charlie.

Emi Gilmore 

Only two years until the next Morgan Matson book

Jessica Guht

This book was so good! I loved the absolute craziness of the plot and the Grant Family, the dynamic between Charlie and Bill, and J.J. is absolutely one of my favorite characters ever, and the fact that he isn't a main character or the love interest speaks volumes about how much I loved every interaction he had.

mia ¿

** spoiler alert **
           please ignore this review cuz its just gonna be me ranting about really stupid stuff but anyway...

i really should've read this book when i was gifted a copy of it but no i decided to wait two and a half years which was dumb. i'm not even sure if i would have liked it back then but i know for sure i have aged out of morgan matson's books. they're not bad. i didn't even hate this one. it got a lot better in the second half. but still, it took me too long to get through so i know it's just not my thing anymore.

i had some problems with this book but they're really just kinda nitpicky. first, i didn't really like charlie cuz she seemed really naive but then she realized a ton of stuff over the course of the weekend and then became a lot more likeable. i think the main issue was this book tried to tackle a lot of issues all in one weekend. which, i like the ambition. and it made the book more interesting than the unexpected everything because there were only two main conflicts in that book (father and friend drama). this book had a sort of love triangle, an estranged family member, friendship issues, college decisions, finally realizing that your brother isn't an actual god, hating said brother's girlfriend for no reason, divorce, and then all the wedding mishaps. it was a lot. i think most of it was ultimately handled well but i think it should have stuck to the family conflict aspect because the boy drama was so stupid in my opinion and dealt with too fast. i also think it was weird that charlie needed to be defensive over going to her local college cuz she felt judged for it, but then ended up changing her decision anyway. i know she changed her decision for other reasons, but it was just weird to call attention to the judgement she faced and then just resolve that plot by going to a more elite college.

those were really my main problems with the book. this other stuff is truly stupid, sorry...
i thought the comic idea was cute but very old fashioned. i doubt any comic that started in the late 90s would have much cultural impact and be read by practically the whole country. but whatever, the comics included were very cute and contributed to the book's amazing branding.
and just one last thing, i can't remember the last time a ya book called me poor like this book did. constantly. this family could really afford a huge house to raise five children off comic strip money? and they paid for them all to go to private schools? the whole thing just felt very neoliberal (sorry) cuz all the older siblings had stupid jobs like venture capitalist and i hated that. personal preference tho. there was just no economic discussion which was unfortunate. also, how did their house have a large enough backyard to fit a whole wedding tent, but the neighbor was close enough that he called in a noise complaint? are they living in sprawled suburbs or not?

final thoughts: fine, but more for a younger audience. a very loss of innocence story about learning that your family is not perfect. simply not my thing.

Kaley Catron

Well damn. I finally did it 😂 this definitely was not my favorite Morgan Matson book. I did still enjoy it, I just...I don’t think it was her best work and I was honestly slightly disappointed with it.

Kiera McQueen

** spoiler alert **
           I really enjoyed the book but not as much as Morgan Matson's other books. I loved the plot line following the family as a whole but wished there was a stronger love story. The Jesse love interest could have ended sooner and I wanted her feelings for bill to develop a little more before the end. Enjoyed the book and would recommend.

always, annej 〄

"Look at it all," he said softly. He shook his head. 

"It's really something, isn't it?"

"Yeah," I said. "It really is."


This book is about a wedding and a comic strip starring The Grant 's family of seven - Eleanor the cartoonist and Jeffrey the teacher as parents, Danny is the eldest son followed by Linnie the bride then J.J. the football enthusiast. Mike is the youngest son while Charlie is the second daughter and is also the last child who told the story in her point of view. This family is weird, I'm telling you, but in a hilarious way. 
I kind of have mixed emotions throughout the book. But this is certainly a light read. I honestly think this book is funny because I was laughing so hard while reading the funny scenes. I mean, not all books which are meant to be funny turns out to be funny, right? Some will make you cringe. I felt sad too when the downside had happened, really. 
In terms of the plot, there are so many things that are happening inside the book in just a day. I keep on steadying my breathing because I felt suffocated by so much chaos in a day. But it's a good thing that the author can make a reader feel what the book was really about. 
Though most parts of the book were cliche', it was still good for me. The romance, even if there were only bits of it, I enjoyed that too. The beginning of the story is fine because the first parts were told in the present tense then the middle was a series of flashbacks that got me engaged more in the story. 
I could've given it a 5 star because I love how the story goes and how it was told. The only thing I noticed is, there is so much clatter in the book. I mean, it feels like I'm going to have a headache each time there is a trouble. The other reason I didn't rated it 5 was because, I am still hoping that that thing in the end didn't happen. That it was all a dream. The ending had stopped my world -I don't know why. Maybe because part of me wishes there is more to happen. Luckily, the copy I bought is an exclusive edition with short stories of their before and after the wedding life.
It is true that

  You have to have people outside the family too,



like Linnie said. But for this family, once 



  You mess with one Grant, you mess with all,



because there will always be



  No Grants left behind.



Yes, they're attached that way. However, some things always have to change. Some things that you'll find out once you've read this book too. Like always, part of me still hopes that the story hadn't ended but Charlie said (and I know she's right) that

But I was trying to accept this was just a new thing.

Aroosa Qureshi

Morgan Matson has officially become one of my top favourite authors because this book was so funny and just had me in a giddy mood through my stressful revision/exam period. This book was funny at times and frustrating especially for the character Charlie who I in fact sympathise with so much because that level of stress is just 😵😵😵 But honestly this book had me turning pages and laughing my head off and at some point let a tear of frustration, sadness and happiness out because this book was EVERYTHING! The whole wedding atmosphere had such a warm feeling and the different relationship with each sibling was one of favourite aspects about this book!
I 100% recommend this as a chill, fun and cute summer read ❤️

From the author of Since You've Been Gone and The Unexpected Everything comes a dreamy story of summer romance and finding yourself, perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Sarah Dessen Charlie Grant tries to keep her life as normal as possible. Hanging out with her best friend, pining for Jesse Foster - who she's loved since she was twelve - and generally flying under the radar as much as she can. But sometimes normal is just another word for stuck, and this weekend that's all going to change. Not only will everyone be back home for her sister's wedding, but she's also juggling: - a rented dog that just won't stop howling - an unexpectedly hot wedding-coordinator's nephew - her favourite brother bringing home his HORRIBLE new girlfriend - fear that her parents' marriage is falling apart - and the return to town of the boy she's loved practically all her life... Over the course of four days Charlie will learn there's so much more to each member of her family than she imagined, even herself, and that maybe letting go of the things she's been holding on tightest to can help her find what really keeps them together. Praise for Morgan Matson: Amy & Roger's Epic Detour "Funny and heartwarming, we love Amy & Roger's Epic Detour" - Bliss "Strong literary romance, this is an ideal summer read choice" - The Bookseller "A near perfect summer read" - Publisher's Weekly, starred review And Second Chance Summer... "Absolutely huge recommendation. Matson has become my favourite contemporary author." The Bookbag "Heart-wrenching and beautifully portrayed" Prettybooks And Since You've Been Gone... "A heartwarming story of loss, taking risks, new beginnings and self-discovery along the journey" - The Guardian

Becky

This was such a nice book about family and it was so much fun seeing this large group of siblings all gathered together for their sister's wedding. It was told over just a few days, but I felt like I'd known them my whole life.

Charlie was the youngest, and the only child in the Grant family left at home. She is heading to college at the end of the year and hasn't had all of her siblings gathered together in one house for a long while so it's safe to say she was excited.

Over the course of the book, you get to know her siblings, Danny, JJ, Mike and Linnie, and the rest of her family too. It was a chaotic weekend of endings and new beginnings and over the course of the book, Charlie opens her eyes to her family. It's so easy to not see your family as they truly are, especially as the youngest sibling. When you're younger sometimes family feels like they need to protect you and then you have rose coloured glasses on when it comes to your family. Finally, Charlie begins to truly see some of her family and not all of the revelations are welcomed.

This book is all about growing up really and it was nice to see that even though Charlie's siblings were older than her, they also needed to do some growing up... but also were young at heart. From late night capture the flag to giggling fits (which we all know are catching) on live TV. They all were still young at heart and being in the family home brought at the side that Charlie can still remember from when she was young. I liked that they all of them they had growing up to do and some of them did it in the book, and others you know had that growth to come.

I won't reveal all as they are some surprises (which aren't all that surprising) but it was such a good book all about family and how family changes with time... but always is there. I really enjoyed it and it reminded me that Morgan Matson always writes books which touch you.

Francesca G

Okay, so, Save the Date had a great premise. I think the story is great and it was a good laugh at points but, man, over half of this book was just useless exposition. I felt like it was just constantly yapping about things that really didn't need to be said, and ultimately it read like a manuscript that needed awful amounts of editing. I wish I liked this more than I did, but I was quite underwhelmed.

Aleena Korell

Hilarious. A bit indulgent and non-realistic on the humor side, but only in the way that movies are, and we're all willing to suspend belief for the big screen. It's just loads of family fun, with one thing after another after another going wrong and Charlie, our main character, running in circles trying to fix everything at once-- getting so stressful that you just have to know what will go wrong next. 
I personally wasn't 100% satisfied with the ending, but I appreciated the message that families aren't perfect, people we idolize aren't perfect, and things change-- but sometimes painful change is ultimately for the better. Worth the read just to get to know this wild family and laugh out loud/cringe at all the antics! 4 1/2 stars.

Caitlyn DeRouin

This book has been at the top of my tbr since the synopsis came out and let me tell you, it did not disappoint.

My favorite thing about Morgan's books has always been the way that she writes relationships, romantic and platonic, the dynamics have always been my favorite thing to read about. The Grant family is hands down my favorite family unit that she has written about. I think that nowadays there are so many books where the characters have rocky relationships with their families and it was so nice to read a book about a family that really is so close. I loved the bond that Charlie had with her siblings and how important her family was to her, even though at times she could lose sight of other important things. It was nice to see a character that was so family oriented, I feel like that isn't something we see a lot in YA lit. I loved so many of the characters, though J.J. could've been my favorite, he was super hilarious and I loved the bond that he had with all of his siblings. I thought the different dynamics that each sibling had with one another was great and very realistic considering the age gap between each of them. 

Another thing that really made me love this book was that the romance for Charlie wasn't the main focus. Sure, she had her crush on Jesse and that occupied some of the time, and there was the growing bond between she and Bill, but it wasn't the focus. Not that there's anything wrong with a book focused on romance obviously, but it was nice that while the romantic prospects were there, that wasn't actually Charlie's main focus.

This book was hilarious. Morgan knows how to write comedy and I've always found all of her books really funny, but this is hands down the funniest of all her books. I honestly got a lot of flashbacks to helping to plan my sisters wedding, and it made me laugh about the things that happened for us, though none of it was as bad as the Grant's wedding planning experience. Everything that could've possibly gone wrong did and then seeing how Charlie and Bill would spin their wheels to try to solve the issue without worrying Linnie or Rodney. There were some parts that had me laughing hysterically, but there was so much heart to this book. Honestly, the second it ended I wanted to read it again.

If you've liked Morgan's previous works, pick this one up. And if you haven't read her previous works, pick this one up. You won't be disappointed.

Liv Rockwell

Morgan Matson's newest novel "Save the Date" was everything I expected it to be, plus some. As a Morgan Matson fan, I have been eagerly awaiting this book since she posted that she had finished the rough drafts. I say this to put it out there that I might be slightly biased. 

As far as young adult novels go, this book is a 5/5. The writing is clean, the storyline easy to follow with enough going on to where you are not bored yet still engaged. Charlie, our main character, was lovely and relatable as a character who just wanted everything to be perfect. I found myself relating to her in the way she was willing to do anything for her family. 

Overall, I would definitely recommend this to a friend. It's a light, easy summer read that gives you happy vibes, even when events don't go as planned. If you're looking for a novel that will kick-off your summer, this one is perfect. 

A big thank you to Morgan Matson for her witty writing and lovable characters. Her books never disappoint and this one certainly didn't.

Save the Date

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