First time reading this author and won’t be the last! This was such a beautiful, touching, hilarious and heartwarming story about a young girls realization that she may have been seeing her family through rose coloured glasses! The dynamic and banter between the siblings was perfection and I really enjoyed seeing Charlie come into her own. The shenanigans throughout the wedding weekend had me laughing out loud. I truly enjoyed this family and felt like they were the family we all wished we had growing up, so I definitely identified with Charlie’s feelings. This was an awesome, quirky, funny story with some real depth to it and I definitely recommend it!
* I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review *

What makes this a good book is also the thing that makes it frustrating to read.

Charlie, our POV character, is a high school senior trying to keep her family together. Unfortunately, since she’s the youngest of five, it's a lost cause. The other siblings are pretty much grown and gone and the only reason they're together this weekend is because the eldest sister is getting married, so Charlie's doing a lot of really stupid things for an understandable, though ultimately futile, reason.

On top of it all, her parents just sold the house she grew up in. So while she's trying to micromanage her sister's wedding weekend she's determined to go to the local college even though she was accepted to Northwestern’s prestigious school of journalism, imagining that this will make things stay the same. (I, for one, wanted to reach into the narrative and shake a little sense into her.)

But all the adults around her are not just allowing, but relying on her to manage things. Every time something goes wrong they all turn to Charlie. It's kind of understandable when her sister, the bride, does it, but what about the rest of them? Her parents, her other siblings, adults all, are dumping on her shoulders. And she feels responsible for everything.

I had some difficulty getting into this book, because it started with a really uncomfortable (to me) seduction scene. It goes like this: Charlie has had a crush on her older brother's best friend [name] forever, and suddenly they're all alone, after a party, both having had a few beers. To me, it feels like he's hitting on her because she's THERE, not because he cares about her.


Just for the record, I'm on Mike's (the estranged brother) side of the dispute, and don't understand why no one else is. This is definitely a case of effect being greater than intent. Mom caused quite a bit of damage, intentionally, or not. (Want to know what I'm talking about? Read the book.)

Also, as a Canadian, I'm a little miffed at the outright theft of one of our icons. Eleanor Grant, the family matriarch, is very obviously a knock-off of our very own Lynn Johnston, creator of the comic strip For Better or For Worse!

I don't know why but I could not get into this novel. I started reading and put it down then tried to go back another time but still could not get into it.

Twinkle lonely at school. Her ex-best friend, Maddie has left her to hang out with the popular kids. Twinkle longs to become one of them so that she and Maddie can be friends again. Twinkle think that the best way to do this would be to date Neil Roy, a popular pre-Olympic athlete. Twinkle is an aspiring film director, so when Neil's twin brother Sahil approaches her to collaborate for a movie project, she thinks this is her chance. Twinkle spends more time with Sahil, working on the movie and begins to see him in a new light. She also meets his friends and begins spending time with them. To complicate matters further, Twinkle gets an anonymous admirer sending her emails, only signing the name 'N'.

Charlie Grant's parents have decided to sell Charlie's childhood home, and she wants just one perfect weekend with all her siblings. Charlie's sister Linnie is getting married at the house, so it's the perfect opportunity for all her older siblings to come home for one last chance to relive memories. Charlie's mother is also a famous cartoonist for a syndicated comic strip and she decides to have an interview with national television while all the kids are in the house. No pressure! Unfortunately Linnie's wedding planner has skipped town and EVERYTHING goes wrong.

This book was a bit more serious than some of the other YA contemporary, such as Kasie West. There are feuds, antagonistic neighbors, estranged family and failed relationships. It was the definition of a messy family relationship and I was into it. I loved the writing, combining humor and keeping the content relatively lighthearted. It was the definition of dysfunctional family relationships in a total sitcom way.

I felt that the book was a little light on the romance. I loved the Charlie and the guy she winds up with, but there just was not enough screen time for them with all of the family hijinks. Don't mistake me, they had some adorable scenes...but it just wasn't quite enough for me.

This was a very charming, light read about a family wedding and a teen struggling to find her place in her changing family and world. The characters were relatable, as were the interactions between them—especially the five siblings. The plot was well-paced, with a cascading list of wedding-related disasters that kept the pace nice and brisk. A great pick for fans of Sarah Dessen.

***I received a free e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this title.***

I feel very lucky that I was given the chance to read Save the Date, by author Morgan Matson, early. It was much more of a coming of age story than a romance, which surprised me.

Charlie’s older sister is getting married the same weekend that her mother’s famous comic strip—based on their family—is coming to an end. It will be the first time in a long time that her 4 siblings will be under one roof and she’s looking forward to things being like old times. Her whole life feels like it’s in transition, and she wants a break from thinking about which college to choose and why. Plus, she’s looking forward to seeing her long-time crush Jesse. If only the weekend wasn’t morphing into a giant fiasco. From a howling dog to a broken alarm, cheapskates and feuding exs, ornery neighbours and mis-booked vendors, not to mention a missing tuxedo. Charlie’s scrambling to make the weekend perfect for Linnie, and along the way, she learns a lot about her family and herself.

I liked Charlie. She was level-headed and kind. She tried very hard to keep everyone happy with a few exceptions. This story had lots of laughs because of all the problems. Though I admit they got to be a bit much because almost nothing went right. I loved the relationship Charlie had with Linnie and her oldest brother Danny. JJ and Mike were a different story. I felt like I didn’t really get to know JJ, more that he was there for comic relief. Mike was aloof and I struggled with how he’d treated the family as a whole. Rodney, Linnie’s fiancé, seemed like a very nice man, the sort of guy you’d want your daughter to marry. The parents are there, but they’re not. Charlie really was the one who picked up the slack and I found myself asking why her mother and father didn’t do more. I liked the touches of the comics, though they brought a darker element to the plot than I was expecting. I really liked Bill. Though he was in the story often enough, he remained on the fringe, much to my disappointment. I felt terrible for Brooke. I agreed with Charlie that what happened to Brooke was unfair.

The problems that arose regarding the wedding were difficult to predict and well done. It was the emotions and relationships that were easier to predict. I realized the problems early on and surmised how they would play out. I think this left me feeling like the plot was somewhat shallow. The weight of the story surrounded the wedding problems, not character development, save for Charlie. She showed a lot of growth.

The writing was great. I think anyone who’s read Matson’s other books will agree. For me, this fell in the middle of the other 2 in terms of stars. I just needed a little more emotional balance, a little more ‘feel good’ to round out the stress and angst. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves a coming of age story or enjoys lots of laughs and appreciates some absurd things happening.

Morgan Matson has been one of my favourite authors since I first read her debut novel, Amy & Roger's Epic Detour, and she has not disappointed me since. Save the Date is no exception. The story follows Charlie Grant, a 17-year-old senior who is caught up in trying to make sure her sister's wedding goes perfectly, while also trying to spend time with her large family whenever she can. The wedding poses as a hilarious backdrop for all of the mishaps that occurs within the novel. Some of the situations seemed a little ridiculous and unrealistic, but they were funny and led to some heartwarming moments. I really enjoyed the broad cast of characters and the Grant family dynamics. 

I also appreciated how this story wasn't too romance based and it tended to focus more on family. There were still some cute and romantic moments, but it didn't detract from the main plot. One of my favourite things about Matson's books is that she often incorporates little extras in between chapters. The comic strips in Save the Date added a wonderful touch to emphasize the family.

All in all, Save the Date was a really cute and fun read that highlighted the importance of family (and to not trust people named after fruit).

An interesting change of pace that this book focuses more on personal growth, and the relationship between siblings. more than on a romantic plot line. The sibling dynamic feels very realistic, but I find the wedding day disasters to be very predictable. I find all of Morgan Matson's books to be consistently engaging and heartwarming.

*Disclaimer: An ARC of Save the Date by Morgan Matson was provided to me by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not effect my opinion in any way.

I really enjoyed this book. It was longer than I thought it would be, but in the end I was glad to have those extra pages to savor. I agree with the other reviewers who believe this would translate well to film. In fact while I was reading it, I honestly forgot at some points that I was reading and not watching a big budget Hollywood comedy. The Grants were an amazing family, and I could relate to the main character Charlie a lot throughout. I loved how the author gave each sibling their distinct personality and “thing” – it made it easier to navigate through the family dialogue.

The wedding… everything went wrong. Things that I thought couldn’t go wrong… went wrong. It was giving me some serious anxiety. I was able to push through and I’m glad I did, this was such a feel-good book. The main character Charlie essentially grew up over that one weekend. Her eyes were opened to the world and she finally saw things as they were and not in the fantasy world she lived in. Being the youngest myself, I related to that feeling she experienced seeing her older sibling as a flawed individual rather than the glowing “big brother” she had once known. Charlie struggled with change and many changes happened throughout the story, which showed how she dealt with them and the personal developments that happened within her.

This book was chaotic, entertaining and surprisingly heartfelt. I loved it. It was the first novel I’ve read from Morgan Matson, I will definitely be reading her others.

This was my first experience reading Morgan Matson and it did not disappoint!

Reading this book has made me want to dive into the rest of her books pronto!

The thing I loved most about this book was that it felt like I was watching a really excellent family dramedy movie.
I laughed out loud several times, snort laughed even more (mainly whenever J.J. was in a scene, he was such a riot!) and I cried more times than I'd like to admit.

Every character leapt off the page and I felt like I was being welcomed into this family's lives.

The story is told by 17 year old Charlie, the youngest sibling, and I loved living in her head while reading. She was an excellent narrator and I wish I could read more books from her POV if I'm being completely honest. She was clever and funny and loves her family so much.

Most of the story takes place over a three day period for her older sister's wedding. Reading this really makes me never want to have a wedding! So many things going wrong, I'd loose my mind.
It was highly entertaining to read and I felt myself gasping and saying "oh no!" out loud.

It's a very talented author who can make you feel everything these characters are feeling. And I'll definitely be diving into more of Matson's books because of how much I enjoyed this one.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
I'm definitely buying this when it's released!