ARC Review: The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson
10:00
Series: None
Author: Morgan Matson
Published May 5th 2016 by Simon & Schuster Children's
Goodreads Synopsis
From Morgan Matson, the bestselling author of Since You’ve Been Gone comes a feel-good story of friendship, finding yourself, and all the joys in life that happen while you’re busy making other plans.
Andie has a plan. And she always sticks to her plan.
Future? A top-tier medical school.
Dad? Avoid him as much as possible (which isn’t that hard considering he’s a Congressman and he’s never around).
Friends? Palmer, Bri, and Toby—pretty much the most awesome people on the planet, who needs anyone else?
Relationships? No one’s worth more than three weeks.
So it’s no surprise that Andie’s got her summer all planned out too.
Until a political scandal costs Andie her summer pre-med internship, and lands both she and Dad back in the same house together for the first time in years. Suddenly she’s doing things that aren’t Andie at all—working as a dog walker, doing an epic scavenger hunt with her dad, and maybe, just maybe, letting the super cute Clark get closer than she expected. Palmer, Bri, and Toby tell her to embrace all the chaos, but can she really let go of her control?
Goodreads
Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher. This in no way impacted on my view.
After a scandal rips apart the political career of Andie's dad, she is faced with a summer of unknowns.
She had been organised to complete a summer pre-med internship at the prestigious Johns Hopkins, setting her up for her future degree and career, until the scandal involving her dad and some missing funds came to light. Soon, her place has been rescinded, and everything else has been taken. Her summer plan of avoiding her father, and learning something in the process, is no more, and she soon takes up a summer job of walking dogs, even though Andie has never been around a dog before. She takes to it as easy as pie, and when she meets Clark, her summer appears to be back on track.
Even her relationship with her estranged father gets better. After the death of her mother a whole ago, they hadn’t got on, especially with him spending the majority of the year in Washington as a Congressman. Now that they’re forced to spend time together, they realise just how much they have in common, and the value of family.
I loved Andie - Alexandra may be her full name, but no one calls her that. She is faced with a situation that would make most people break apart, but she takes it all on the nose, and turns it in her advantage. She was a strong, and extremely smart, character, who values her friendships above everything else, and when stuff happens that threatens those very relationships, she does as much as possible to lessen the fall out.
The relationship between Andie and Clark was the cutest. It started off a little rocky, but once they got over their nerves and really got to know each other, I practically swooned. And, to make it even better, Andie didn’t ignore her friends in favour of her new boyfriend; instead, she introduced them all, and they got along really well. Even so, when she had to choose between her boyfriend or her besties, the besties won, every time – something that you don’t seem to find often in YA books.
I've only ever read one book by Matson before, Amy & Roger's Epic Detour, and wasn't really a fan, but The Unexpected Everything, has changed that view completely. I adored the way she constructed all the various characters, and developed the plot, and will definitely be trying more of her work, starting with Since You've Been Gone, which I have a copy of at home.
If you're a fan of cute contemporary fiction, perfect for summertime, this is a book for you! I definitely recommend it. (Side note, I've recently fallen in love with pugs, and the fact that the cover has a pug on it, made it even more of a must have for me ;)).
Dates Read:
March 29-31, 2016
Rating
5 Stars
Rating
5 Stars
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