Morgan Matson

Stevie and Kat, two high school seniors heavily involved in theater, leave Connecticut for a night of fun in New York City, but soon they find themselves without their phones or each other.

Take Me Home Tonight

Ian Brakspear

Denaiir

brianna

“the way i figure, you wait around for permission, you never stop waiting, right?”


every time i read a morgan matson book, im reminded at how shocking it is that none of her books have been adapted yet. she has such a way of writing that makes it feel like you’re watching a movie play before your eyes. i could perfectly visualize every part of kat and stevie’s adventure and how well it’d translate on screen. take me home tonight gave me serious booksmart vibes and i was OBSESSED the whole time. matson has a way of prioritizing friendship and family over romantic relationships in her book, and she definitely delivered with this one. kat and stevie’s dynamic just.. made sense and felt so realistic. def already cant wait for matson’s next book!

Chloe Searles

Entertaining but was very slow. The setting of New York was portrayed very accurately and precisely. I wouldn’t recommend to be honest, could be way better.

Emi Gilmore 

Of course this book was super cute and fun to read because it's Morgan Matson and I'll never not love a Morgan Matson book but no one is talking about how this book (view spoiler)[ had a Kidnapping/Belgian Mafia/Undercover CIA subplot that I was not expecting at all and had absolutely nothing to do with the main storyline and I'm still kind of confused by it but I'm still living for it  (hide spoiler)]

Caitlyn DeRouin

Liv Rockwell

A coming-of-age exploration of New York City, friendships, and dreams. Comedy with commentary about the whims of growing up with open eyes and minds. also- BRAD. 

All-in-all, just plain fun. At this moment, cannot decide whether TMHT or Save the Date is better. I need to go watch "Big" and pet a Pomeranian now.

laura

I really loved this read. I found the unique structure of this book to be so fun. I also loved this book was set in NYC and really focused on friendship but also theater life and. I also liked that we got several POV and the back in "sandwich" parts were so fun. I really also liked all the tie backs to the previous books in her world. I really enjoyed this read and loved the focus on friendship so much. Def A new fav for me from this author!

Ferris Bueller meets Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist in this fun-filled romp through the city that never sleeps, from the New York Times-bestselling author of Since You've Been Gone. Two girls. One night. ZERO PHONES. Kat and Stevie - best friends, theatre kids, polar opposites - have snuck away from the suburbs to spend a night in New York City. The plan is simple: see a play, eat at NYC's hottest restaurant and have the best night ever! What isn't in the plan: Lost phones. A massive fight. A Pomeranian named Brad. Losing each other. Now, alone in New York City without money or phones, Kat and Stevie have to figure out what to do next. But there's a dog to return, a reservation to make, a party to crash and a very cute boy to kiss. And if they manage to do all that, they might just find their way back to each other before the clock in Grand Central strikes midnight . . . Also by Morgan Matson: Amy & Roger's Epic Detour Second Chance Summer Since You've Been Gone Unexpected Everything Save the Date

Paige Green

Disclaimer: I received an arc of this book from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Take Me Home Tonight

Author: Morgan Matson

Book Series: Standalone

Diversity: 2 background characters mentioned were in f/f and m/m relationships

Rating: 3/5

Recommended For...: ya readers, contemporary fans

Genre: YA Contemporary

Publication Date: May 4, 2021

Publisher: Simon and Schuster Children's

Pages: 403

Recommended Age: 14+ (TW jokes about emotional support animals, underage alcohol usage, language, gun violence, slight gore)

Synopsis: Two girls. One night. Zero phones.

Kat and Stevie—best friends, theater kids, polar opposites—have snuck away from the suburbs to spend a night in New York City. They have it all planned out. They’ll see a play, eat at the city’s hottest restaurant, and have the best. Night. Ever. What could go wrong?

Well. Kind of a lot?

They’re barely off the train before they’re dealing with destroyed phones, family drama, and unexpected Pomeranians. Over the next few hours, they’ll have to grapple with old flames, terrible theater, and unhelpful cab drivers. But there are also cute boys to kiss, parties to crash, dry cleaning to deliver (don’t ask), and the world’s best museum to explore.

Over the course of a wild night in the city that never sleeps, both Kat and Stevie will get a wake-up call about their friendship, their choices…and finally discover what they really want for their future. 

That is, assuming they can make it to Grand Central before the clock strikes midnight.

Review: For the most part I enjoyed this book. It was a classic take on getting lost in New York and trying to get home. The characters were well developed, the world building was fairly good, and the majority of the book is character led instead of plot led.

However, I did have some issues with the book. I thought it was a bit of a simple book and there weren't any real twists or turns. It was fairly predictable. The book pacing was a little too slow for me. My biggest issue with the book is how the characters lie about how a dog is their emotional support animal. The book makes this thing into a joke but there are real people out there that need those and people, real or fictional, who lie to just get around with a dog or other pet for the sake of it are horrible people. The other issue I had with the book is that most of the main characters are 18 (one of them is confirmed 18 while the others ages aren't confirmed but they're all very close in age). My main concern with this is that their all old enough to do what they want to legally without a parent stopping them, so why is this such a big deal throughout the book? Even when one of them gets caught it's made to be this big deal, but 18 is legally an adult and you can do whatever you want at that age without parental consent. I get that for the majority of the book the characters couldn't have been aged down but it just didn't make sense to me why the parents would be this big issue.

Verdict: it was good, just not anything special.

Kymberly L McNabb

Lucy

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off meets Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist in this romp through the city that never sleeps from the New York Times bestselling author of Since You’ve Been Gone. Two girls. One night. Zero phones. Kat and Stevie—best friends, theater kids, polar opposites—have snuck away from the suburbs to spend a night in New York City. They have it all planned out. They’ll see a play, eat at the city’s hottest restaurant, and have the best. Night. Ever. What could go wrong? Well. Kind of a lot? They’re barely off the train before they’re dealing with destroyed phones, family drama, and unexpected Pomeranians. Over the next few hours, they’ll have to grapple with old flames, terrible theater, and unhelpful cab drivers. But there are also cute boys to kiss, parties to crash, dry cleaning to deliver (don’t ask), and the world’s best museum to explore. Over the course of a wild night in the city that never sleeps, both Kat and Stevie will get a wake-up call about their friendship, their choices…and finally discover what they really want for their future. That is, assuming they can make it to Grand Central before the clock strikes midnight.

Nikki Sojkowski

**An ARC of this book was provided to me by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.**

Morgan Matson’s Take Me Home Tonight was utterly charming. I absolutely loved the book’s message about expanding your horizons and trying new things. I think it’s a really common storyline for high school seniors to freak out about not knowing what they want to do and then “find” themselves, and it was refreshing to see the exact opposite happen in this book. 

Stevie and Kat start out so sure of themselves and their world until it shatters around them. These two best friends realize how big the world truly is and how many opportunities they truly have available to them. This is such an important message to be sending, and it’s what I would go back and tell my younger self if I could. Maybe you love something you haven’t even considered yet. Before one thing becomes THE THING that pays all of your bills, try as many things as you can and find out what makes you happy. What makes you happy doesn’t have to be one thing, it can be lots of things, and just because you don’t think you can “make it” professionally doesn’t mean that you should cut whatever that is out of your life. You don’t have to be the best, you don’t have to do everything professionally, you just have to enjoy your hobbies and your free time.

Another component that made Take Me Home Tonight so special, was that it centered Stevie and Kat’s friendship and highlighted important platonic and familial relationships that they have and/or struggle with. It was especially endearing to watch Stevie navigate interacting with her step-siblings. Whether ‘traditional’ or ‘blended,’ families are complicated. Suddenly having three older siblings can be daunting and there are good and bad ways to cope with that change. Stevie isn’t perfect, well, really none of the characters are perfect, but their faults don’t define them. Their faults show them where they need to grow.

Lastly, The Teri Timeline, as I like to call it, was such an unexpected and fantastic twist and I can’t wait to be able to talk about it with others!

Take Me Home Tonight

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