Title: The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson

Pages: 519

Genres: Contemporary, YA, Romance, Fiction, Family

Published by: Simon and Schuster (May 3rd, 2016)

Summary

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?

– Goodreads

What I Thought

When I found out Morgan Matson was coming out with a new book, I just knew that I was going to read it.  I had read Since You’ve Been Gone when it first came out, and I absolutely loved it, and so I just knew I was going to love The Unexpected Everything, and it did not disappoint!

The characters in this novel were absolutely phenomenal!  Everyone was so well-rounded and realistic – even the supporting characters.  I really felt like I watched Andie grow up in this book.  Her character growth and development from the beginning of the novel, to the end, was so, so good.  It had been a while since I’d read a book where the main character grew so significantly and realistically.  Clark grew so much throughout this novel, too, and I absolutely loved that.  Also, Andie and Clark’s relationship was so perfectly paced and realistic.

Something in particular that I really liked about this novel was that even though there is romance in this book, and it does play a significant role, this book is also just as much about Andie and her relationships with her friends and her father.  I loved reading about Andie and her group of friends.  Their interactions were so realistic and fun.  Being able to see Andie and her dad struggle to know each other and grow in a very honest way was also really touching.

The Unexpected Everything is a bit of a larger book, especially for a contemporary novel, but it never drags.  It is much more of a character-driven story, and so even though this book isn’t filled with nonstop action, it is perfectly paced, and very relaxing to read.  Because it is a character-driven novel, however, the book gets better the more you get to know the characters.  So, in the very beginning, I didn’t love the novel quite as much, but once I got to know everyone, I absolutely loved it.

Also, this book made me want to be a dog walker.  I absolutely loved all the animal descriptions in this novel.  It was so much fun reading about all the cute dogs!

Overall, this was a very fun, very enjoyable novel.  It’s one of those books that has that perfect, relaxed, summer vibe.  You will fall in love with Clark.  You will become friends with Andie and her best friends. You will want to adopt 5oo dogs, or at least, become a dog walker.  I would recommend this book to anyone who has read and loved Morgan Matson’s previous novels, as well as anyone who loves YA contemporary, and, of course, anyone who loves dogs!