Books to fall for

Save the Date by Morgan Matson (Book Review)

Kat Impossible42 Comments

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children Books
Page Count: 417

I can’t believe this is the first book review this month, but at least it is a good one! I read Save the Date as part of a buddy read with Marie @Drizzle and Hurricane Books. We always have a great time reading books together and it was no different time time around. Keep an eye out for a review on her blog as well!

There is something about Morgan Matson books that just always works for me. She somehow manages to give her books a similar, summery vibe with adorable and relatable characters, while also giving each story its own spin and different focus. This time she added little comic strips between the main parts of the book and they didn’t just add a really fun element, but also are way more crucial to the plot than you might think. Despite the setting of a wedding, I was very happy to see that Save the Date was barely about romance but far more about family. I will never get tired of reading about messy sibling-dynamics, inside jokes and complicated family relationships. Add a dog to that (and Morgan Matson did) and you’ve captured my heart as a reader.

Charlie is the youngest of the bunch and I feel it shows in some of her reactions, while she was simultaneously mature and great at helping out whenever things went south during the wedding. I am not sure I would have stayed as cool as her or found a solution as quickly. Hands down, that family would have been screwed without her and Bill intervening at every bad turn. While I didn’t always agree with her behaviour, I could relate to her a lot. She adores her family and thinks that they have something special, which I think is great. Nobody is perfect and maybe she had a bit of a hard time seeing that when it came to her family, but she still loves them and cherishes their bond. I know that families can be complicated and tricky, but I really loved reading about a family that makes it work despite the struggles.

The only reason I am not giving this a full 5 stars is that I felt like a couple conflicts were resolved too easily. The fighting parties made good points, at least some of them, and it was barely addressed afterwards. I know that sibling fights can be blown out of proportion when they happen and then everyone just acts like nothing happened afterwards, but this was something that had gone on for longer and I felt like it deserved more time.

Overall Save the Date was a really fun read! It never had a dull moment, even if I could predict a lot of the developments. I liked this family and wouldn’t mind hearing more about them in future books, just like there were a couple references to The Unexpected Everything here. There are few things I love more than seemingly unconnected books being connected.

Fazit: 4/5 stars! Morgan Matson just proved once more that she doesn’t disappoint.

What did you think of my review? Have you read the book? Do you want to? Also, I haven’t read much this month, but I did read a couple comics, how would you feel about a mini-review post for them? Any interest in that?

42 thoughts on “Save the Date by Morgan Matson (Book Review)”

  2. I loved the book! I read it as part of a readathon (and had to finish it in a few hours) but even without the readathon, I would have read it in no time. I love books about family and the amount of family focus in this made my heart weep. I gave it 5 stars but I do agree with you on the longer issue thing being sorted pretty fast.

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  3. Oh great review for this book Kat, and I’m really glad to see you enjoyed it as well. I read Save the Date and really loved it, like you one of the things I enjoyed was that the focus was more on the family side of things than the romance (I feel like it’s rare to have a YA contemporary book that puts the romance in the backseat). Also I loved the dynamic between Charlie and her family, that scene at the end with the TV crew nearly had me in tears laughing. 😀
    Again great review. 🙂

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  4. I really enjoyed this one and I’m glad you did too! That gif of the beagle just made my heart so happy as well, I absolutely loved the dog in this story. I do agree with you that the conflicts were resolved too quickly as well.

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  5. Lovely review, Kat – and thank you for mentioning me, I had such a fun time buddy-reading that one with you, as always ❤ Also, I will try not to make my review come in a thousand years haha.
    I agree with, well, everything you have been saying in this review, I love the fact that the family was so predominant in that one and the romance just a little bit on the background, that was great. And Waffles, I LOVED HIM so very much haha. ❤
    Oh, and to answer your question: YES for mini reviews of comics! 🙂

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    • Thanks, Marie! I wrote this review in like half an hour before I had to leave home to visit my gran, so I am glad the review made sense hahaha
      Also, thanks for answering that final question haha I don’t think anyone saw it or paid attention to it.

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      • You’re so welcome and don’t worry about it, it made perfect sense to me 😀
        Aww well I paid attention haha – and I would really love to, I don’t read a whole lot of comics, but I’m always curious to hear your thoughts about them and who knows, maybe discover some I might want to try out? 😀

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  6. Save the Date was my first Matson book and I loved it! I can’t wait to read her other books. I loved the comic strips so much! Especially the one at the end. The family dynamic was just so good. Great review!

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  7. I’ve still not treated myself to a copy of this book, but it sounds like it has everything I love in a Morgan Matson book. I love how there’s always an emphasis on family in her books because there are so many interesting dynamics within families that it makes the messy and complicated all the more interesting. It’s a shame this conflict wasn’t as developed as it could have been, but I’m glad to see this book is still an enjoyable read overall. 😀

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  8. This was my first Morgan Matson book and I really enjoyed it; it was so delightful! I thought that the Jesse romance could have used more resolution, though it wasn’t really a huge part of the story I suppose.

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  10. I’ve had Morgan Matson’s books on my TBR for what feels like actual ages and yet I still didn’t get to reading any of them… I’m mighty disappointed in myself :’) I’m glad you enjoyed this (apart from the dispute thing), it’s just been added to the TBR!! Sidenote, love the cover.

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  11. Very nice review! I’ve similarly heard that Save the Date is surprisingly more about family than romance, and that really intrigues me. And I can imagine what you’re saying about certain things being resolved too easily (I’ve strangely found that common in some contemporaries for some reason, or at least the few I’ve read), so that’s fair I think. 🙂

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    • Thank you! I like Matson’s books a lot and many of them focus on family or friendship aside from romance, but this one really went more towards the family aspect and I loved that. I always get a little frustrated when I see conflicts resolved too easily or when people bring up genuinely good points as to why they are hurt and then it’s just never addressed again. It’s as if people were saying “get over it” behind the scenes but that isn’t always good enough haha

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  13. Yes I definitely need to make Save The Date a priority this year! I loved Second Chance Summer and I liked Since You’ve Been Gone! And I’m all for family dynamics and mishaps so I can’t wait for this one! Great review! Also yes for mini comics reviews! I love seeing your opinion!

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  14. Lovely review! ❤ I understand your reason for not giving it five stars, it still sounds like an amazing book, I have to check it out myself soon 👀👀👀
    I actually only read Since You’ve Been Gone by Morgan Matson and I’m wondering what to read next from her. Any suggestions about what book should be next? ❤

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    • Thank you! I am glad you could see where I am coming from. Now, in terms of your next Matson book, it kind of depends what you are in the mood for.
      Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour – if you want a cutesy road trip book
      Second Chance Summer – this book is the right one if you want to cry like a baby. It’s very emotional on the family aspect, but underdeveloped in terms of the romance and friendship. You can see it was one of her earlier works.
      Save the Date – if you want more family drama and chaos than romance (because the latter really isn’t a big part of this at all)
      The Unexpected Everything – has one of my favourite love interests! It’s a bit lengthy, which wasn’t necessary in my opinion, but still very enjoyable. Has romance, friendship and family aspects. It also has very fascinating excerpts of a fake Fantasy novel.

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  15. I was already excited for this one, but you’ve made me even more excited! More focus on family instead of romance? Yes please! And a dog??? I also had no idea there were comic strips in this. I’m a sucker for books that add that kind of stuff haha. Can’t wait to read this one!

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