The Unexpected Everything, Morgan Matson

Pages: 519

Publisher: S&S

Release Date: 5^th May 2016

Edition: UK proof, review copy

Other Titles from this Author: Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour, Second Chance Summer, Since You’ve Been Gone

Before the scandal, Andie had important plans. And zero of them involved walking an insane amount of dogs, being in the same house as her dad or hanging out with Clark. Now there’s a whole summer stretching out ahead of Andie without a plan. And Andie always sticks to the plan.

But here’s the thing – if everything’s always mapped out, you can never find the unexpected. And where’s the fun in that?

I’m a big fan of Morgan Matson’s so I always get excited for a new books from her. Enjoying The Unexpected Everything definitely wasn’t unexpected!

Morgan Matson has a way with writing friendships. As much as The Unexpected Everything is about Andie falling for Clark and Andie and her dad rediscovering their relationship, there is a lot of focus on friendship. The dynamic between Andie, Toby, Bri, Palmer and Tom is amazing. The in-jokes, the bets, the challenges, the traditions and the surety of them all being there – it’s the kind of friendship you can only hope you’ll get one day. But I also loved that it wasn’t impervious to fracturing and changing as they all grew and changed. It just felt so real and tangible and I 100% want to be a part of their group.

During the summer of The Unexpected Everything, Andie changed just as much as her friendship group did. As the daughter of a congressman her everything is strictly controlled and she always errs on the side of caution. I loved seeing her let it all go and crawl her back to opening herself up to new experiences and to the adorable Clark. They were just so cute together! SPOILER! Having Clark be a famous fantasy novelist who published young and now has writer’s block was so brilliant and it made me laugh out loud. It was a really cool thread to have running through the story and I loved how the excerpts from Clark’s books related to the main story. Very clever and a lot of fun! SPOILER OVER!

I actually think that the most interesting dynamic of the novel is Andie’s relationship with her dad, though. Since her mother’s death five years ago and her dad’s career as a congressman, they barely know each other. Watching them close the gaps, talk about Andie’s mum and share their lives with each other again was so lovely. Andie’s fear of losing him to his work again made my heart ache.

I loved The Unexpected Everything and it's made me so eager to go back and devour Since You’ve Been Gone!

Thanks to S&S for the review copy.

Sophie