Pages - 432 pages
My Rating - 5/5
**received from the publisher for an honest review**
Charlie Grant’s older sister is getting married this weekend at their family home, and Charlie can’t wait—for the first time in years, all four of her older siblings will be under one roof. Charlie is desperate for one last perfect weekend, before the house is sold and everything changes. The house will be filled with jokes and games and laughs again. Making decisions about things like what college to attend and reuniting with longstanding crush Jesse Foster—all that can wait. She wants to focus on making the weekend perfect.There are a few things that will happen after finishing Save The Date. You'll immediately want to call your family, blast Make Me Lose Control by Eric Carmen, and eat some donuts. You'll also probably want to instantly start reading it again. This cute, wedding season read about a girl discovering that the saying about life being what happens when your busy making other plans is absolutely true.
The only problem? The weekend is shaping up to be an absolute disaster.
There’s the unexpected dog with a penchant for howling, house alarm that won’t stop going off, and a papergirl with a grudge.
There are the relatives who aren’t speaking, the (awful) girl her favorite brother brought home unannounced, and a missing tuxedo.
Not to mention the neighbor who seems to be bent on sabotage and a storm that is bent on drenching everything. The justice of the peace is missing. The band will only play covers. The guests are all crazy. And the wedding planner’s nephew is unexpectedly, distractingly…cute.
Over the course of three ridiculously chaotic days, Charlie will learn more than she ever expected about the family she thought she knew by heart. And she’ll realize that sometimes, trying to keep everything like it was in the past means missing out on the future.
Morgan Matson's novels always feel like a warm hug. They have a nostalgia factor built into them. They are synonyms with summer for me. This feels especially true in this novel. Anyone who has read and loved the For Better Or For Worse cartoon strip will see the inspiration for Grant Central Station (the comic that exists in this novel). It invokes a particular feeling, even if you're not familiar with the comic strip, that weaves itself into the other elements of the story. You connect with the characters because it is so easy to. The way the story unfolds through memories, comic strip sections, and input from those outside of the family all come together to create a real sense of not just the characters but of the tone of the story.
The family relationships, instead of the romance, are what will cause you to have a ton of feelings while reading this one. The romance typically shine brightly in Morgan's books, but it takes a backseat to the family dynamics for this one. The time frame doesn't lend itself to a properly fleshed out romance, and Charlie is dealing with so much family drama that it feels really natural to have it be only a minor subplot. The Grants are a family you will love, and probably wish to be part of, even if they don't always get along. I appreciated how developed all of the family members felt. They each had their own distinct personalities. There were relationships that existed between certain members that existed outside of the one that existed between the whole family.
There is romance within the story for those looking for it. The theme of this one would definitely be potential. There is a spark that could ignite into something more. There are plenty of great moments between her and the two potential boys who have caught her attention. For those needing those romance swoon I promise that you'll find them in here. Some of my favourites include the spontaneity of dancing in grocery story, and the dizzying feeling of a boy you like finally noticing you back. The romance is framed more in reference of Charlie, and I think that fits really well with the rest of the story.
A large part of the story revolves around Charlie wanting everything to be perfect for the wedding. It, of course, goes comically wrong at every opportunity. Her expectations are so high that there is no way that the reality could ever live up to it. Part of her story arc is learning that those moments you don't expect can be the ones that are most rewarding. They can be the ones that sear themselves into the fabric of who you are and be exactly what you needed. She also has to struggle with the reality that everything is not necessarily as she perceives it to be. She has to grow a lot as she discovers things about her family and reconcile the fact that she may have seen things how she thought they were instead of how they really are.
If you're a fan of Morgan's previous novels you'll delight in a few cameos that are within these pages. I was so charmed by one in particular. It is basically the example for why I love novels that are set within the same world like these are. These cameos also added to the nostalgia factor and immediately made it feel like something included for the fans. It's nice to check in on these characters we already love and just hammers home that family feeling.
Morgan Matson, once again, nails that summer book feeling with this feel good contemporary read. It is one I think people will want to read multiple times because of how connected they'll feel to the characters. I highly recommend saving a spot in your summer reading schedule for this one and it is the perfect accessory for the upcoming wedding season.
I just finished reading the book and I was wondering what the cameos were??
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