The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson Published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers on May 3rd 2016
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult, YA
Goodreads
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?
I received a copy of this book for review, this does not influence my thoughts on the book or this review.
I’ve loved Morgan Matson’s previous novel, Since You’ve Been Gone and I knew I’d have to read whatever Matson wrote next. Despite the intimidating 500 pages, The Unexpected Everything is a perfect summer read that flew by.
Andie had everything planned out, she was going to spend her summer avoiding her politician dad and working towards her dream of becoming a doctor. When a political scandal derails her plans, she ends up becoming a dog-walker. What she doesn’t expect is her job to introduce her to Clark, a cute author facing writer’s block. The Unexpected Everything was wonderful and I loved Andie’s story.
My favourite part about The Unexpected Everything is Andie’s characterization. Over the course of the novel, Andie grows and changes from the girl who wanted no long-term commitments and concerned herself only with working towards her career goals. I loved Andie’s growth and I found her to be easily relatable.
Friends and family were super important to The Unexpected Everything as well. Despite an unexpected romance, Andie’s relationship with her best friends was super important. Their friendship was put to the test many times and I loved reading about the friendship as well. I also loved that the novel focused on Andie’s relationship with her distant father, and how that relationship changed over the course of the summer.
Also, Clark was an amazing love interest. The idea of a writer who peaked way too young & now needed inspiration to write was super swoony. I was worried about the set-up for the romance as it happened early on but I loved every minute of it.
Overall, The Unexpected Everything was a wonderful summer novel that I can’t recommend enough. While it is long, the novel hooks you in and doesn’t let go!
