Review: The Unexpected Everything

The Unexpected Everything

By Morgan Matson

Published: May 3, 2016

From Morgan Matson, the bestselling author of Since You’ve Been Gone comes a feel-good story of friendship, finding yourself, and all the joys in life that happen while you’re busy making other plans.

Andie has a plan. And she always sticks to her plan.

Future? A top-tier medical school.
Dad? Avoid him as much as possible (which isn’t that hard considering he’s a Congressman and he’s never around).
Friends? Palmer, Bri, and Toby—pretty much the most awesome people on the planet, who needs anyone else?
Relationships? No one’s worth more than three weeks.

So it’s no surprise that Andie’s got her summer all planned out too.

Until a political scandal costs Andie her summer pre-med internship, and lands both she and Dad back in the same house together for the first time in years. Suddenly she’s doing things that aren’t Andie at all—working as a dog walker, doing an epic scavenger hunt with her dad, and maybe, just maybe, letting the super cute Clark get closer than she expected. Palmer, Bri, and Toby tell her to embrace all the chaos, but can she really let go of her control?

My review:

What do you do when your plans fall apart? Andie is an organized and driven teen so missing out on the chance to participate in an internship is a heavy blow. On top of that she has to interact with her dad daily now that he is home all the time. Since her mom died of cancer five years previously she and her dad pretty much just orbit each other without really connecting so this is a challenge. Thankfully she has some great friends like Palmer, Bri and Toby to cheer her up. When Andie gets a job as a dog walker and meets nerdy but sweet Clark, things start to look up.

I liked how this novel was about more than a summer romance (though there is nothing wrong with that!) There is friendship, drama, humor and relationship issues. I thought the novel did a good job of building the relationship between Andie and her dad. I loved seeing them work through their issues and start to bond and get to really know each other. The novel also realistically portrays the ups and downs of teenage friendship and the fallout of betrayal.  The romance is nicely developed as well. Clark is a great love interest for Andie and I enjoyed their relationship as well as the friendship that developed between Clark and Andie's dad. I also can't fail to mention Bertie and the other adorable dogs that made this book so much fun to read.

Morgan Matson proves again that she has a talent for writing YA contemporary novels. I have definitely become a big fan of her work. I think this would be a great beach/summer break read.


Note: I received an ARC for review purposes courtesy of the publisher and Edelweiss