I'm a huge fan of Morgan Matson and I typically ALWAYS love her books. They have the heart of family, friendship, and love, and her stories are very heartwarming. 'Take Me Home Tonight' definitely had all of the elements her stories always do but for some reason, it felt like it was missing that certain charm her past stories have had. I liked the characters and the story but did I fall in love? No. And would I read it again? Probably not. But for fans of Morgan Matson, I would say definitely give this one a shot because you may enjoy it more than I did.

Morgan Matson doesn't disappoint! What I loved about this was it took a closer look at friendship and the love we have for our families and friends rather than strictly romance. I enjoyed this story a lot.!

I am such a big Morgan Matson and was so excited to be given an ARC copy. I had mixed feelings about this book.

Starting with the good, I really loved the scenes set in NYC and exploring the city. This book would
be perfect for any reader who dreams of one day moving to NYC. The main focus of this book was the friendship between the two main characters and that was really refreshing to see. The book is also set over the course of one night which I personally love because it allows more detail and understanding in each moment.

The bad for me was the b plot, I really was not interested in a side story with a side character and found myself skipping over those sections. It took me out of the story and it was distracting. Secondly, there was a re-examination of an authority figure and power abuse. I thought this storyline had so much potential to be an amazingly powerful storyline. However, it felt bungled and rushed near the end. I would have liked more space and time to be dedicated to thinking and reflecting on actions earlier in the book. This side plot had so much potential but in the end, didn't stick the landing.

It's not her best book, but also not her worst, and is an enjoyable read

This was my fourth Morgan Matson and I really enjoyed this one! It was a lot of fun! Think of the movie New York Minute starring the Olsen twins and this is the book. Stevie and Kat are best friends who get separated in New York after a huge fight and both without phones. They both go on separate adventures and grow as people and learn to be a better friend. Also it’s always nice to be back in Stanwich and see characters from past books show up. Looking for a fun adventure? This one is for you.

Cute book. It became a little too far-fetched at times, but I liked the characters.
It's a fun, whimsical in a way summer read.

“Take Me Home Tonight” is by Morgan Matson, one of my favorite YA authors! Two best friends sneak out to NYC to experience a wild night! It’s friendship, adventure, and super cute! There is some romance, and some cutesy scenes but it’s totally appropriate for teenagers and focuses on the relationships instead of over-dramatizing the romance part. It is a YA after all and that’s what I like to see in these books! It’s light enough for a beach read! A teenage girl would like this for sure!
🌟🌟🌟🌟

I’ll be honest, it took me a while to get into this book. I don’t really know why. I hate that it was like that for me, but I really had a hard time connecting with both MCs and connecting with the story itself. Maybe because I am not into the theater and never was, but it wasn’t until about halfway through the book, maybe a little more, until I started enjoying this book. I started to finally like the story and what was happening to the girls and once all the crazy started happening it got really interesting.

The love interest was okay, and some of the subplots were fun, but that’s about as far as it got for me. I did get emotional a few times towards the end and even cried a little. I loved the ending and really loved how much both characters grew over the entire book. That was the best part for me.

Kat and Stevie are best friends through and through. There is nothing that can tear these two apart...or is there? Sometimes no matter how GOOD our intentions, things can go sour. It comes down to this...are we willing to accept the parts, of both us and them, that have changed and grow forward, or are we willing to sacrifice all that we've shared and simply go our own way? Tick tock, tick tock...and you best have an answer before 11:11PM strikes on the Grand Central Station clock!

Watching these two besties go through the inevitable growing pains that most friendships experience wasn't disheartening, but refreshing. While yes, it seemed that one thing led to another and to another and so, life does in fact happen that way sometimes, and there's no magic wand to wave, or clock to turn back to set it all to right. Experiencing Kat's frustration with the lack of casting list, her age old argument of where she wants to go to college and to study what all thrown off balance because this is her lynchpin. This is her moment that shows her she's doing something right and her dreams were meant to come true. Learning Stevie's relationship with not only her step-siblings, but her father was much more tedious than imagined, and how badly his sidestepping his "dates" with her almost every time hurt her so. This is her chance to do something on her terms, and yet so many obstacles are thrown into the mix, she's not even sure if she'll have a best friend by night's end. Add in an unexpected furry companion, surprisingly cute male assistance, meetings that shouldn't have been, and visits that they certainly had no time for, not to mention the adventures that others are having on their behalf as they try to babysit while escaping a potential madman, and yeah...you're in for a stellar night to remember!

So dress to impress...YOURSELF...and bring a comfy pair of shoes, because this time will be unlike anything you could have imagined, and will change both girls in ways they couldn't have dreamed.

I have read a lot of contemporaries, but every time I pick up a Morgan Matson book, I am never disappointed, and Take Me Home Tonight is no exception! It had everything: humor, romance, hijinks, drama, and crime. Sucks you right in, and keeps it coming until the end!

The book starts off normal enough, with two friends, Stevie and Kat, awaiting the casting announcement for their Fall play, King Lear. But, alas, the norm is disrupted when their Theater teacher says he "needs more time" on it. This sends panic through the group, but none more than Kat, who has played up this role as the most important thing for her Senior year. And of course, she expects her best friend, Stevie, to feel the same. But Stevie doesn't, and is focused on her own drama in the form of her Dad canceling on her for her 18th birthday dinner.

Typical high school drama, and Matson could've just kept it that way. But nope, Kat and Stevie are off to magical New York City (being from Connecticut) to try and salvage both Stevie's birthday night and (secretly) Kat's chances at her "once-in-a-senior-year" role.
What could go wrong?

Matson focuses on the relationship between Stevie and Kat in such a realistic and beautiful way. My best friends in high school were my everything, and that is what Kat and Stevie have, as well. But growing up sometimes means growing apart, and the girls realize this in a very inconvenient, stuck in NYC kind of way. They have to fall apart to come back together, and the events that plague the girls (some good, some bad, and some outrageous) all add up to develop a deeper friendship than they had before.

The supporting cast in this book is a delight, and if you're a Matson fan, you will see some returning characters from her previous books, so keep a sharp eye out for that. Within these supporting roles, both Kat and Stevie have some really great friends and family, and Matson takes the opportunity to explore, albeit lightly, how love works romantically and familiarly. But the love one has for their friends is the overarching focus, and each encounter leads, in a way, to Kat and Stevie's relationship.

Now, all that makes this book sound very serious, and it is in some parts, but this is a plot filled with crazy, the kind that you always read about happening in NYC, but even more crazy (at least to me) then I think actually happens. I loved it though; I think that the over-the-top escapades helped highlight the realistic, more grounded instances within the book. Also, they were just so fun to read about. And live yourself (I can't be the only person who dreams of the fantasy of NYC, no?).

Fast-paced, twisty, and turney - Kat and Stevie's adventure through one New York night will keep you entertained and glued to the page (oh and their friend Teri has some very crazy stuff happen to her that takes place simultaneously - all I'm going to say). Take Me Home Tonight by Morgan Matson is a real winner, and might just be one of my favorite of her books so far.

This was such a fun book! I expected nothing less from Morgan matson! I loved how it took place in one night and we followed several different characters and the fun journeys they each went on. This was a mash up of Nick & Norah, Adventures in Babysitting and so many more fun movies.
This isn't my favorite Morgan matson book but I really enjoyed it!

A new Morgan Matson book is such a treat. This one was filled with adventure! I love how all her books connect back to Stanwich, Connecticut. It has all the books tie together in one way or another without them being a series. Even though I do wish she would revisit some characters as they are all so likable and I’d love a continuing story. I’m really looking forward to her next one which will be a middle grade. I can’t wait to see how she writes for a semi younger crowd.

I absolutely love Morgan Matson’s books. She always delivers when it comes to YA contemporary. This is a perfect summer read!

This was my first venture into the “YA” genre. I am more of a “MAA” (middle-aged adult), so I wasn’t sure how I would like it. Well, wow. It ignited my inner teenage self. I mean, a New York adventure? Yes, please. It was all my dreams at that age. Not to mention, at times I got a little Adventures in Babysitting vibe with a little Home Alone thrown in. Cant get better than that. Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read this book. I found it to be a thoroughly enjoyable and refreshing escape.

Thank you so much @SimonandSchuster & @NetGalley for giving me this physical ARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review (Release Date | 11 May 2021)

SYNOPSIS | Kate & Stevie are the best of friends (although they are kind of polar opposites) & they decide to sneak out of the suburbs to spend the evening in New York City. They have it all planned out. They'll see their theatre teachers new play, eat at one of the city's hottest restaurants & just have the best night ever. However they end up breaking their only phone, having one of their biggest arguments & get separated.

WHAT I LIKED:
- I liked the conversation around having multiple hobbies & interests during high school & its okay to try things out

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
- I didn't really enjoy their friendship as I thought Kat was a crutch for Stevie and vice versa
- this story is a series of awfully convenient coincidences (you have to really suspend your disbelief)
- I am not really sure why Teri's storyline even existed
- quite alarmed by the portrayal of the theatre teacher
- I didn't understand the significance of the cameos as this is my first Morgan Matson book (that is totally on me though)

I am a fan of Morgan Matson. Her books hit that sweet spot of light-hearted but also poignant coming of age feelings. They are akin to Sarah Dessen's works and that's always been my favorite YA genre.

Take Me Home Tonight isn't Matson's strongest, but it still hits those notes. Two best friends go into the city for a night of fun, get separated, and must figure their way back to each other (this is a very basic summary). The strength in the book is the girl's friendship. Kat and Stevie stand on their own as characters, but you also see how they work together and you can see the cracks that eventually create their fight and separation. I liked watching them figure themselves out and grow over the course of a night -- and still fit together as best friends.

There was slight romance and cameos from previous Matson books (although one cameo was a little disappointing...). Teri's subplot was fun, but the book would have been the exact same without it. I almost think Matson should have left it out and used it for an entirely separate book.

Ultimately, this was a fun read. I was entertained and that's mostly what I want out of a book right now.

TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT is an incredibly fun YA read, filled with shenanigans and budding romance and self-discovery. taking place over the course of one evening, two best friends have the most epic adventure in the city that ultimately helps them decide life after high school.

There were a couple things that I wished would have happened (Beckett + Stevie endgame, for one), but overall, the writing was easy to get into. And I appreciated the format of this book, broken into different timeframes throughout the night. It made reading this book incredibly fun to binge.

It is classic Morgan Matson - with Easter eggs around every corner, quick wit, and the best female friendships!

reading vibes...
💜books based in NYC, female friendships, ‘what else could go wrong?’ trope
📚the unexpected everything, 10 blind dates
📺nick + nora’s infinite playlist, dash + lily
🎧 ‘welcome to new york’ by taylor swift

I missed the emotional aspect that Matson usually has in her books. I’d recommend this to a teen who has big dreams of NYC. Otherwise the antics and storyline were nothing new or unique.

I wasn't able to finish the book before it was published. Take Me Home Tonight, follows best friends Kat and Stevie around 24 hours from their hometown waiting for casting in the new play, to New York City, and figuring out who they really are.

I decided to come back to this after all because it’s Morgan Matson.

So the good- I actually really ended up liking both Kat and Stevie in the end but it took over half the book to get there. I also really liked Cary and his character arc as well.

The bad- this is her second book of Murphy’s Law and it just does nothing for me. Also, everything was super unrealistic and I get it, it’s fiction but normally matson writes such good YA contemporary and this just wasn’t it. Everything was too convenient how it all ended up.

Also this is a spoiler for Amy and Rogers epic detour

I cannot believe she brought back Amy and she’s broken up with Roger and we never find out what happened. Like ugh!

I skipped all of Teri’s parts because once again, unrealistic and didn’t care.

Finally- does anyone say “fronds” or “frands” instead of friends or am I just old?

While Take Me Home Tonight wasn't really a book that I enjoyed but I still saw all the good qualities about it. I think this book is perfect for teenagers dealing with school, family and friends. The story takes place in a single night and the two main characters, Kat and Stevie go to NYC and have many adventures and make a lot of memories in this one night. It was a cute story. I would definitely recommend it to my students!