Sunday, May 29, 2016

Book Review Train! 1st Stop: The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson

Welcome aboard the review train! I'm Genni, and welcome to my blog! Today I'll be participating in the 2016 Review Train, hosted by Brittany at Space Between the Spines. Every day there will be one stop from the train reviewing a summery read. If you want to know more about the train, check out this page here! Today I will be reviewing Morgan Matson's most recent release, The Unexpected Everything.

The Unexpected Everything was amazing. 

Morgan Matson's novel is full of life and I couldn't put it down.The one thing I was worried about was that the novel wouldn't live up to my expectations. I had high ones, given that Since You've Been Gone is one of my favorite contemporary novels. Let's just say that this book didn't just meet my expectations, but exceeded them. 

If you don't know, the Unexpected Everything is a YA contemporary about Andie, the daughter of a politician recently in scandal. Her summer plans fall through, and now she is faced with uncertainty, which certainly isn't Andie's normal pace. She likes things planned and routine, and her summer is the opposite of that. 

I loved Andie's character and her group of friends. They all had distinct personalities, and I really connected to them. Matson isn't afraid to give her characters flaws, and it makes them that much more real. Every single character is complex and none are used to just move the story along. If I looked at all the characters though, the two that spoke to me the most were Andie and her father, Alexander. The development of their relationship was one of my favorite aspects of the novel. They start off as ships passing in the night with the same familiarity that strangers have. I had so much fun seeing them rebuild the bridges they burned after the death of Andie's mother five years ago. 

The Unexpected Everything had the perfect balance between fun and heavy. There were times when I was laughing out loud, and there were times that I was crying. This book put me through an emotional ringer, and I wouldn't ask anything less of it. Andie's character development is one for the books. She's initially this controlled girl who never lets his guard down and seeing her open up was great to experience. It was for sure one of my favorite parts of the novel.

To be honest, I have no qualms about this book at all. I loved every aspect of it. All of the relationships (familial, romantic, and friend-wise) were all fleshed out. They were realistic and I felt as if I went to Stanwich right now, I would see Andie and the crew hanging out.

There is a lot more that I can talk about (the book within the book, that ending, the dogs, etc.), but then this review would go on forever. To put it in short, I adored everything about this book. This has been just the second book that I have loved this year and I loved every second of it. 

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good YA contemporary. This is a chunky book (519 pages!) but it is worth every page. The novel has great character development and relationships, and they have dogs to boot! This was the perfect book to kickstart my summer.

With that, I give this book 
5 out of 5 Stars!






Be sure to check out the other participants of the train! Here they are along with the schedule: 


May 30th - Genni at Ready, Set, Read is reviewing The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson

 

May 31st - Lauren at Always Me is reviewing Future Shock by Elizabeth Briggs

 

June 1st - Laura at Blue Eye Books is reviewing The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

 

June 2nd - Sam at Tsundoku Books is reviewing Even if the Sky Falls by Mia Garcia

 

June 3rd - Czai at The Blacksheep Project is reviewing Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver

 

June 4th - Alicia at A Kernel of Nonsense is reviewing The Distance Between Us by Kasie West

 

June 5th - Ashley at [Insert Title Here] is reviewing Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton

 

June 6th - Sinead at Less Reality, More Books is reviewing The Square Root of Summer by Harriet Reuter Hapgood

 

June 7th - Ashley at What's She Reading? is reviewing Open Road Summer by Emery Lord

 

June 8th - Brittany at Space Between the Spines is reviewing Summer Days and Summer Nights by Stephanie Perkins et al + GIVEAWAY! =D
Once again, thanks for Brittany for letting me take part in this great experience. I'm looking forward to the other reviews!
Thanks so much for stopping by and I'll see you soon with another post!
Happy Reading!
Genni @ Ready, Set, Read!

14 comments:

  1. Yay! The Review Train is off to a fantastic start! =D

    I'm so glad you loved this book! While I've never read any of the Matson books, I've read one under the author's other name, Katie Finn and it was a cute, summery read, too, that I really enjoyed. I've been meaning to get back to it forever, but alas - time is an elusive thing. Lol.

    I've heard really good things about Since You've Been Gone and your review for this makes me want to pick up her contemporaries all the more. I guess I know who I should look into for more summer fun. ^-^

    Thanks so much for being a part of the Review Train and for giving it an awesome kickstart! <333

    Brittany

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    1. Aww thanks so much Brittany! You had no idea how anxious I was about this!! :D

      It seems like we're the opposite then. I haven't read anything under her other name, but I keep hearing good things! I've heard that they are more fun and light in comparison to the ones written under Morgan Matson, which sounds perfect for this summer!

      I would love to hear your thoughts on it, whenever that will be. And no pressure either! There are some many books that I should've read by now. :D

      Thanks for hosting Brittany! This has already been a great experience. :)

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  2. You're right, 500+ pages for a contemporary read is quite chunky, but I love what you have to say about this one. I think it's really important that contemporaries focus on more than romance and family relationships are so important. I've been looking for books to add to my summer TBR and this one sounds perfect. Thanks for the wonderful review to jump start this awesome blogger project. Do you have a Twitter account? I'd like to follow everyone participating.

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    1. Thank you Alicia! Contemporaries that have focuses other than just romance turn out to be my favorite. They speak to me more and seem more well-rounded and realistic. I actually don't! I know it's weird, but I have no social media at all. However, I'm thinking of getting one this summer for the blog. You can always follow by email. I'm sorry!!

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    2. You know, it isn't that weird at all. I only joined Twitter last year because of the blog and probably wouldn't have at all if it wasn't for the book blogging community. It's probably one of the best decisions I've made when it comes to blogging because I've met so many great people and it's an awesome way to stay in contact with other bloggers. No need to apologize!

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    3. Thanks Alicia! I'm playing with the idea of joining Teotter because it would be great to be more involved with the community! :)

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  3. I'm not a huge contemporary fan, but I've been hearing such good things about Matson's work that I think I have to check it out! Where do you recommend I start? With this one or with Since You've Been Gone? Great review!

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    1. Thanks so much Sam! I've only read three of her four novels: Since You've Been Gone, Amy & Roger's Epic Detour, and The Unexpected Everything. I personally would read Amy & Roger's Epic Detour first. It's the first one I read, and it was a great intro into Matson's writing style. :D

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  4. Great way to start us off, Genni! I've never read this author but I've heard so many great things about her books. I've added this to my tbr. Great review!

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    1. Thanks so much Lauren! :D I'm glad I convinced you. I can't wait for your review tomorrow!

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  5. Yay the review train is starting!! This'll be so much fun :) I haven't read this book yet but I was thinking about picking it up this summer (as it is such a cute contemporary) so I'm really glad you loved it! I'm so glad you thought it has the perfect balance between fun and serious (too much of either isn't my style). I'm so excited to read this! Great review, Genni!

    Laura @BlueEyeBooks

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    1. I really hope you like it!! Thank goodness it had a good balance or else I don't think I would have liked it. :D Thanks Laura. :) I'm excited for your stop!

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  6. Oh I'm so glad you loved this book! I'm definitely going to have to read it this summer :D Great review!

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    1. I hope you love it!! Tell me about it once you read it. Thanks :D

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