I am back with another book review, The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson! Thanks so much to Simon and Schuster Canada for sending me this book for and honest review. All opinions are my own.
Well, I think Morgan Matson has redeemed herself from Since You've Been Gone. I really, really enjoyed this book. Like a lot.
From the synopsis, I was afraid this was going to be a book similar to Matson's writing as Katie Finn with Broken Hearts, Fences, and Other Things to Mend because it was another book about politics and a politicians daughter. I am happy to report this book was VERY different from that one.
As a character, I really enjoyed the main protagonist, Andie. She was a bit of a goody-two-shoes at the beginning of the book, but loosened up as things went along. I really feel like she and her father, and especially their relationship had grown from the beginning of the book to the end. Her father seems kind of like a jerk at the beginning, but as the book progresses, you feel more for him and everything he and Andie have been through.
The other characters, the three other female friends, and their respective man-friends were also great. There was a lot of humour in this book, a lot of deep conversations, and I just felt like their relationship was very natural and easygoing.
This is a long book, but there is a whole summer packed in here. Andie having to completely redo her summer plans, a GREAT scavenger hunt, and just a lot of fun moments. It makes me feel nostalgic for summers when you just hang out with your friends all the time. The dynamic of all the friends was just so well done. You really felt like you were in the book with them.
I also really loved Clark and Andie's relationship. I won't spoil anything but I just loved how well they clicked and got along. And I was so sure that the major conflict in the book was going to revolve around their relationship, I was almost glad at the conflict because it wasn't.
That brings me to my next point. Without saying too much, I really loved the conflict. And I feel like I shouldn't be saying that, because it is not a great event for any of the characters. But I was just so sure that it was going to be a romantic issue, and then it wasn't, I was so relieved. I feel like the issue, while it could have been avoided if ANDIE HADN'T COME UP WITH THAT "GENIUS" IDEA, was well planned and thought out. The girls relationship with one another is so crucial to this book and their lives, that it only made sense for the conflict to be about something that impacted that. And honestly, even though it sucks and wrecked things, hindsight is always 20/20 and I almost think they are better off because of it. I think that [spoilers] makes a good point, that [spoilers] and [spoilers] were so used to being together, they didn't know who they were as people. They had always been [spoilers] and they needed to be their own people for once in their lives.
Anyways, the ONLY reason I am dropping a star from this book is because I felt like the major issue could have been avoided if, you guessed it, my biggest pet peeve, THEY HAD TALKED TO EACH OTHER. I do realize that if things didn't go like that, this would be a totally different, probably very boring, anti-climatic story, but COMMUNICATION PEOPLE.
Overall, a hilarious, heartwarming and heartbreaking read, perfect for summer. I highly recommend!