REVIEW: the unexpected everything, by morgan matson

I received this book for free from Publisher, Simon and Schuster in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson
on May 3rd 2016
Pages: 519
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Andie had it all planned out.
When you are a politician’s daughter who’s pretty much raised yourself, you learn everything can be planned or spun, or both. Especially your future.
Important internship? Check.
Amazing friends? Check.
Guys? Check (as long as we’re talking no more than three weeks)
But that was before the scandal. Before having to be in the same house with her dad. Before walking an insane number of dogs. That was before Clark and those few months that might change her whole life.
Because here’s the thing - if everything's planned out, you can never find the unexpected.
And where’s the fun in that?

THE UNEXPECTED EVERYTHING was, unexpectedly, everything i could ask for in a novel.

i wasn’t entirely sure what the story was about when i first started; the summary was a little vague and it simply seemed like a fun, summer read — which it was, but it was also more than that. unlike the other two Morgan Matson novels i read (SYBG and A&RED), the plot wasn’t very clear. we know from the start of SYBG that there’s a list and the main character needs to complete. TUE was much more… unexpected because we didn’t know where it was going. it was like a REAL summer when days blur together and all that’s left are the moments.

“…as I looked up, I wondered which of these stars – the ones that seemed so permanent and fixed – weren’t actually done changing quite yet.” (pg. 462)

a big part of this novel revolves around the relationships between people — friendship, family(!!), and romantic. at first, it was a bit difficult to differentiate our cast of friends, but eventually, i grew to learn their quirks and personalities. i love how accurate everything was to real life. some relationships started off rocky and awkward and i LOVED that because it made it much more natural. the way the story plays out makes me realize and appreciate how important all the relationships in our lives are.

i love love love our characters. for one, the main character’s real name is ALEXANDRA and i immediately felt a kinship with her because i’ve never read a book with an MC that has my name. even though she couldn’t be any more different me, i still understood her. andie’s character arc is so pronounced and kind of empowering. a big reason why MM is one of my fave authors: her character arcs are FANTASTIC. another big reason: the male leads are SO SWOONY… in an awkwardly nerdy and adorable way. clark is probably my favorite of her male leads (yes, more than frank porter) because HE’S SO WONDERFUL. i’m just going to leave that that because i can’t elaborate without going on for another 5,000 words. (and also, the two of them together are SO ADORABLE.)

“If whole galaxies could change, so could I.” (pg. 505)

my favorite aspect of this novel was the honesty of each character and situation. i keep repeat myself saying it’s SO REAL, but it’s true; it really is so real. like yes, there are some situations that are tropes or clichés or “not realistic” (like being the senator’s daughter? REALLY??), but looking beyond and past those things you see the honesty of it all. the reactions and interactions of these people. the growth and concept. (sounds sentimental, i know) i could see myself having these conversations in my real life, and it made me feel as if i were truly part of the story.

“Life is so short, my darling. And there’s no day like today.” (pg. 474)

as you can clearly tell, THE UNEXPECTED EVERYTHING is fantastic. i was initially worried i’d be disappointed by my high hopes but nope, i truly enjoyed it! it was, i suppose you could say, less interesting than MM’s other works because there wasn’t thaaaat much going on in the plot and instead focused on characters, but in many ways, it made me like it more. all in all, TUE didn’t disappoint and i’m really happy with how things wrapped up.

story soundtrack: summertime, by the mowgli’s

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