Generally speaking, Morgan Matson can do no wrong. She always writes amazing friendships and cute romances surrounded by fun plotlines. And, best of all for me, they usually take place in Connecticut! TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT is no exception to that rule.

This is a classic “one night in New York City” kind of story. Kat and Stevie are secretly off to the city to have a fancy birthday dinner for Stevie after her dad bails. They’ve been best friends forever even though they’re complete opposites. Kat was… very annoying to me in the first third of the book. She absolutely steamrolled over everyone else and didn’t seem to care (or notice) that Stevie had different opinions than her. She just went for whatever she wanted and assumed Stevie would always go along for the ride. To be fair, Stevie didn’t always stick up for herself or let Kat know when something wasn’t working for her. I think their friendship got into a comfortable routine of Kat deciding and Stevie following… until they finally had the inevitable fight about it all.

As the synopsis suggests, there are a ton of shenanigans involving cute boys, dry cleaning, bad plays, and an adorable pomeranian. I enjoyed the journey both of the girls went on, especially when they weren’t together. Kat without Stevie was WAY less insufferable. I liked following along with multiple people as the night progressed because everyone was having a very different kind of evening – Kat begins a budding romance and Stevie gets to know her stepsiblings better… while their friend (and alibi for the night) Teri is at home…. dealing with a lot of stuff. That plotline didn’t need to be in the book at all IMO – I kind of see how it fit based on how they described Teri and her wild stories about how she meets/dates new people, but it wasn’t necessary to the story at all. It didn’t really fit. Honestly, that didn’t affect my feelings on the book itself, but still worth mentioning how out-of-place it kind of was.

There was an underlying “theater kid” element to the story – Kat wants to go into the city to show their teacher she supports his new play, they’re both trying to take their minds off the fact that the casting list will be up after the weekend, and they’re both also deciding if theater/acting is in their futures/college plans. I definitely can’t relate to this but it was really fun to learn more about that high school life.

I did really like this one in the end. Around the 40% mark, I was half “I hate Kat and don’t want to read about her” and half “why is this happening to Teri right now” – this didn’t feel like it would be a winner for me. I ended up sitting there and finishing the final 60% of the book in one sitting, staying up way too late. That’s always a good sign. I grew to like Kat and appreciate what she brought out in Stevie, and saw some genuine character growth and realizations from everyone involved. It was pretty heartwarming.

Overall, this is definitely another solid story from Matson. It won’t be at the top of my favorites list but it’s so enjoyable if you like her books and/or fancy a night out in NYC.

This book is exactly what i needed right now. Perfect read during lockdown when all I want to do is travel! This is a story centering around friendships. It's a giant love letter to NY and I couldn't have been more pleasantly surprised. It's got all the Morgan Matson staples including loveable characters, adorable dogs and of course....starbucks.

thank you so much to simon & schuster children’s uk for this ARC!

3/5 stars for me!

first and foremost, i would like to start off by saying that this book contains everything that i love, it had romance but not too overbearing. but i feel that the book was a little hard to follow in some parts and some parts almost felt unnecessary like teri’s storyline. kat is an overbearing friend who means well, and stevie is the calmer friend of the duo and a little more reserved, they remind me a lot of the sun in the moon, and they’re the blonde and brunette clique duo! i will say i adore the spontaneous aspect of this book, you really never knew where it was going and little pieces that were mentioned in the beginning made sense in the end. cary was honestly my favorite character, he was so authentic and his storyline with cat was really a highlight of this book. stevie made sense to me i related it to her, but it was hard to really connect with her in some parts because she is a bit of a push out and i tend not to connect well with those characters. i did really appreciate her relationship with mateo, it was refreshing and really a highlight of the story as well. overall the book was cute, and a nice read!

DNF at 25%. I could totally see this book doing well as a movie, unfortunately just not something I could get into reading.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC.

'Think where man's glory most begins and ends,
And say my glory was I had such friends.'
- William Butler Yeats

While YA isn't my genre of choice, I always make time for Morgan Matson. She has been a consistent and solid author for me for years now.

Like all of her books, Take Me Home Tonight was cute, fun, and quirky. She is so good at characterization and writes characters readers can easily love and identify with. This book reminded me so much of the movies Adventures in Babysitting and Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

My only grumble was Teri's storyline. It was...well...it was ridiculous. While I enjoyed Teri and the three children she was babysitting, I still found myself skimming that entire thread. It just didn't work, and honestly messed terribly with the flow of the story.

Oh, and Brad was the star of the show, but you'll just have to read this to find out who Brad is. :)

I can (and will) happily recommend Take Me Home Tonight.

Available May 4, 2021.

My heartfelt thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing.

This is a fast-paced ride through New York City with Kat and Stevie. And then tack on their friend Teri's babysitting adventures. I read this book in one sitting. I was sucked in and had to know how it all was going to turn out.
I really liked that being separated during the night and trying to figure things out on their own to get back to one another really brought Kat & Stevie's friendship closer.
A good, wild-ride of a read. I know a lot of my library teens will love this one.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC!

I love Morgan Matson books, but this only felt like 3/4 of a strong Matson book. The babysitting subplot was so unnecessary and continued to pull me out of the book every time it popped up. I understand that it was based on other 80s movies, similar to how the main plot was inspired, but it was such a timesuck and detracted from the strong themes found elsewhere.

Light-hearted and cute. I liked the two friends' relationship. Morgan Matson never fails, and my middle school students really love her books!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book! I am a sucker for solid stories of female friendship where the central complication isn't about a boy, and this book did not disappoint in that regard. I also love all-in-one-night/day stories, and again, I was not disappointed. While there were some things that were perhaps too convenient, and at times I couldn't figure out why neither Stevie nor Kat was worried that something really bad had happened to the other, there was more than enough to love about the book to make up for it. The Teri scenes could have been cut, as far as I'm concerned, but I would absolutely have enjoyed them as a short story homage to Adventures in Babysitting separate from the events of Take Me Home Tonight. Another definite purchase for my library, and this one will more than likely make it onto a Battle of the Books list in the future!

I love Morgan Matson’s books. Sometimes they veer off in silly ways and this one took the cake. I hated Teri’s storyline. It was so ridiculous. Four stars to Kat and Stevie’s stories though.

This book was cute and all about life changes and friendships. I enjoyed seeing Stevie and Kat develop and grow throughout the story. Each person they come across had an effect on them which is what life is about. I enjoyed this story, the only issue I had was some confusion on Teri and her night, it was fun to read but left me slightly confused.

If you need a lift, this book is just the ticket.

This is Nick and Nora’s for a slightly younger crowd, but it’s an enjoyable and delightful romp no matter your age.

I love Matson’s ability to write high school aged characters who actually act like high school kids. Kat and Stevie are both so relatable, so flawed but lovable, that you can’t help but see something of your younger self (for better or worse) in each of them.

Adventure stories with multiple destinations are among my favorite subjects for a novel, whether they hit multiple cities or countries or just multiple locations in New York City like this one does. The book is a wonderful love letter to the city as well, and though many of the girls’ stops are on the more trite side of must-do NYC, it’s still a joy to see where their adventure will take them next.

Matson adds a bundle of fantastic “only in NYC” creative touches (the Top Gun-themed dry cleaner!) and loads of other hilarious details. Teri’s side plot (though absurd) was also loads of fun.

I loved that this was primarily a story about friendship, and about navigating relationships at this age aside from just romantic ones. My heart buzzed a little when Stevie notes that “love is paying attention.”

But the real hero of the story is undoubtedly Brad, who is...Well, you’ll just have to meet him yourself and find out.

Morgan Matson is the author of many well-known and beloved YA novels. I usually enjoy her books, but just couldn't get into this one. I was really looking forward to reading it, but was sadly disappointed. Based on the story of two best friends, Stevie and Kat, and their decision to escape the stresses of high school during a night out in New York City. Adventure, criminal activity, and some romance ensues. There were portions of this book that were enjoyable, but overall, I wasn't able to connect with the main characters.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

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!

This was exactly what I love to read in a Morgan Matson book! Adventure, strong friendships/relationships, a little romance, all while teaching the reader about the value of the relationships in our lives and speaking up about your feelings. I read this quickly and I can't wait for it to come out so I can share it with my students. An adventure in NYC with some great characters who learn that it is possible to make it through a night without a cell phone! I will always pick up books by Morgan Matson and I thank netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

I'm definitely outside of the typical target audience for YA fiction, but I have taught the target audience for longer than they've been alive. My students aren't going to read this and sub in Elisabeth Shue for Teri, but I sure did. Maybe the title of the book sent me down that nostalgic path or maybe the similarities were just that strong. I am always suspect of YA books that are too heavily tied up in technology or trends. By making everything (hello, Top Gun) a throwback, I think Matson managed to avoid making her book so cemented in a particular moment in time. Somehow something so clearly tied to time is also going to be more ageless than the typical YA text. As for the story... well... all of those plot lines and the narration shifts and the sheer number of characters seemed frenetic at times. I think that all worked fairly well considering just how many characters the reader is supposed to be engaged with. I will definitely recommend this for a good summer read. it'd be good on a car trip & the suspenseful nature of the storyline will certainly help propel the reader through the less dynamic moments. #NetGalley

Morgan Matson's Take Me Home Tonight is a wild ride that I just loved. Best friends Kat and Stevie decided to go to New York City for the night, which takes them on a crazy adventure. When the two besties get separated in the subway they find they have to navigate the city alone. The girls have no phones and hardly any money which makes things even harder. Meanwhile, Terri (their other friend) is back at home and is dealing with her own problems. She's having an Adventure in Babysitting moment which takes on a whole different journey. Another great well-written book by Morgan Matson with an interesting story and well-defined characters.

Is there anything so wonderful as a long anticipated book by a favorite author, a book that actually delivers on all your expectations? Take Me Home Tonight by Morgan Matson is a book that I was RAVENOUS to read. Yes, ravenous. No hyperbole here. I love Matson’s books, so much so that I am saving Second Chance Summer for when I desperately need it. Clearly the eARC gods were shining upon me and I was approved for Take Me Home Tonight via Netgalley and I did something unprecedented. I actually READ this book immediately upon finishing my other current read. Y’all, it was absolutely worth breaking my protocol. I LOVED this book and am so glad I picked it right up.

Aside from me singing the Eddie Money Take Me Home Tonight, I don’t wanna let you go until we see the light lyrics every time I would pick this book up or see the title, turns out this book inspired some feelings in me. Matson’s latest book is about what happens when two senior girls – Kat and Stevie – end up in New York City for the night without their cell phones. The two are best friends and members of the school’s theater department. They go to Stanwich High in Connecticut (yes this does connect to other Matson books).

Sneaking away from the suburbs means they’re going to have the best night ever – seeing a play, eating at a famous restaurant and then coming home and not getting caught. Of course, everything that can go wrong does go wrong. Starting with being saddled with a Pomeranian named Brad who is one of my favorite characters from this book. It just keeps getting worse – culminating in the girls splitting up. Will they find their way back to each other?

Meanwhile, back in Connecticut, the two girls have their friend Teri to provide them with an alibi. They plan to stay the night at Teri’s when they get back from the City. So, because Teri lives in a guest house, this should be airtight. Only, as it turns out, we readers see that Teri is having her own adventure too. I know that some people weren’t big fans of the Teri side quest. However, I loved it. Her bits are a little whacky and definitely not believable, but add a fun flavor to the story.

My verdict is that I really loved Take Me Home Tonight. After finishing this book, I did not immediately pick up my next book. Instead I just wanted to sit with and absorb all that I had read. The friendship between Kat and Stevie is so special. I loved that it was really tested in this book. After all, the two get in a fight and say some pretty awful but true things. However, as a result there’s growth and it is beautiful. Also, I loved how even though they were apart, their journeys were kind of similar.

This book has New York City, friendships, romance, parent issues, and even a little bit of a thriller. It is the kind of book that makes me just love reading. I am so glad this book lived up to and exceeded my expectations. Seriously, I cannot wait for you to read this book so that we can talk about it on twitter.

I really loved this fun, fast paced, YA book. Morgan Matson has a way of keeping the plot fun and exciting while having her characters grow and change significantly. Both Stevie and Kat were incredibly relatable especially in their flaws (I’m pretty sure I’m Kat….). Between the rogue dogs, estranged family members, cute boys, and celebrities, both girls showed incredibly depth and growth throughout the book which is unique in YA books.

My only complaint was Teri’s story. I feel like it just didn’t fit and didn’t add anything to the story. I wasn’t invested in Teri and she didn’t seem like a fully developed character so I’m not sure why she had her own parts in the book. I think it would have been better to cut those parts and spend even more time with Kat and Stevie.

Overall, I recommend this (and pretty much all of Morgan Matson’s work) to anyone who loves fun YA novels with amazingly relatable characters!

Thank you to NetGally and Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing for the ARC of this book.

This book is great for early high school students. Anyone that loves the drama club or New York City will enjoy reading this book. Morgan Matson has done it again, you won’t be sorry if you decide to pick up this book. Any of her books are great, but during a pandemic, I got to live through the characters and roam New York City when I wasn’t able to myself.