Yay or Nay?: The Unexpected Everything (Novel)

This book is going to be my summer read for the summer! Yes that was repetitive! I have a whole new stack of books I've gotten from Olga's bookshelf and this is the first of the next 3 reviews of reading off of Olga's bookshelf! 

The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson is one of those interesting ones. It's a story that's both interesting, yet slow in some places, light-hearted as a summer read should be, yet deals with such heavy and relatable material! In short, I find this book a good one to read on a nice summer day, out in the backyard on a quilted blanket looking at a clear blue sky. I swear Olga will get me into Morgan Matson because after reading another book of hers, Since You've Been Gone, I really have taken a liking to her stories and style of writing, akin to Sarah Dessen novels (but in my opinion much more richer). I just finished the book last night, I know, a little late for me as normally I'm a fast reader, but your girl is getting ready to defend her master's thesis next week!! So, having a pretty fresh perspective, let's jump right into the review. 

This is my review of The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson. 

The Story 

Andie (Alexandra) Walker had her whole summer planned out. As the daughter of a prominent congressman, everything in her life has been meticulously planned, polished, and kept her in the background so as to not ruin her father's position. Andie plans on attending the Young Scholar's Program, a pre-pre-med program shadowing at a hospital. She won't have to see her father or tip-toe around him and his campaigning for the entire summer. 

That is until the scandal. Now, suddenly kicked out from her program, Andie finds herself stuck at home for 3 months with her father, whom she hasn't really related to in 5 years, walking dogs until college starts, and finding herself interested in a mysterious guy named Clark. 

A simple, yet enjoyable story. Don't let the simplicity of this plot fool you. Matson transforms it into so much more than just this. The story has a lot of rich depth led primarily by the characters themselves. 

My Thoughts 

Not gonna lie, this book made me tear up a couple times, and has made me screenshot some pages so that I can make some bullet journal quote spreads later on (shameless plug here, but that's another blog article you guys can look forward to! I've started bullet journalling since May and loving it! Once the year in my journal ends, or until I feel I've tried enough things, I'll write a post on how anyone, even those who've tried journalling but can't can do this). 

But back to the relatability, which I want to spend some time discussing as this novel has been one of the few that nails growing up, developing friendships, and balancing healthy friendships and relationships well. I don't think there's enough Y/A that does this, but I loved that. Especially dealing with healthy/unhealthy friendships which young people should get to see. I keep saying young people like I'm old, I'm not. I'm like, 22 but I wish I had this type of literature when I was in high school. This book also deals with family dysfunction and developing a better family relationship, which was appreciated. I was very surprised and happy to see that Andie's father Congressman Alexander Walker was not a complete and total dick, but a guy who had lost his wife, got swept away with work and wasn't sure how to relate with his child, didn't know how to single-parent, and forgot to take the time to spend with his daughter. It's easy enough to make a parent like this the bad guy in books, but harder more so to make him dimensional and human. While Congressman Walker isn't the focus of the story and towards the end shows up less and less- he still is someone I don't hate, and can understand why his and Andie's situation intially was the way it was. 

The same goes with Andie. Now, oddly I wasn't totally into Andie's situation-- I loved the dynamics of her best friends way more. That said, I appreciated Andie's biggest struggles-- opening up and trusting people and not having a plan were something that I could relate to greatly, and something that I feel Matson as the author nailed right on the head. I could feel the pain she felt when she didn't want to open up- or didn't know how to Clark (who I'll discuss in a minute) about her mother or herself. She didn't know how, and wasn't comfortable, and I could understand that. Same goes with her relationship with her father, whom she had to be pushed a little more to express. Albeit I will say I feel these specific struggles to her were grazed over. They were covered more in the beginning of the novel but seemed to fade out until they were non-existent by the end of the book...rather easily. One outburst, or one fateful second meeting and these issues are resolved, more or less. I felt this hardship expressing herself with Clark especially (considering her mother, past, etc) could've been dragged out a little more. That said, Matson still does a good job with it. 

I also appreciated the underlying message of the book, that even if you think it's impossible for you to change, you always can, in one way or another. It may take you some time, or no time at all, but it is possible regardless. Anyone is capable of change. I really liked this coupled with the idea of opening up, trusting other, and reaching out. Every single character has their own flaw or problem, and by the end, are capable of making a change (for better or for worse). 

So for a summary, as I said this book deals with some heavy material, but also that light and nice summer romance material that we all crave. In terms of negatives, my list is pretty small. One thing that perhaps all summer romance novels can be faulted for (although to be fair not a big fault) is their use of either stereotypes, or just super perfect characters. And this is where I bring up Clark. I loved Clark, as Clark is me, if me had a six-pack and were published, of which I am not. Clark is a published fantasy writer, a 19-year old George .R.R.Martin. He's nerdy with the glasses, but also hot as hell with his muscles and pretty face. Never mind, I take that back, he is me without the muscles (haha). So while I loved Clark, and I do, as he was my favourite character besides Palmer (Andie's friend), and her boyfriend Tom, one thing kinda stood out to me. He lives in his publisher's house by himself taking care of her dog, Bertie, and this house is like a mansion, with an awesome pool and everything where Andie and her friends end up spending a lot of their summer at. It's the ultimate party place for them, and convieniently, one where Clark lives alone (as I've said). 

So the reason I mention this is because he's both hot and nerdy, successful and young, and lives in a super ultra-rich and is super rich (but unrealistic let's be honest) situation. He's the perfect guy too both physically and emotionally. He does no wrong throughout the book, he is only done wrong to by others. This is nice, and does not go unappreciated (trust me there). Yet, it does stand out. Clark is a little...too perfect in everything, and that perfection is noticeable to the point of it almost being slightly unrealistic that when you read it you notice it in the story since most of the other characters are pretty realistic in the story. He makes for a nice fantasy boyfriend to have, but in reality I don't think you'd find many Clarks. I suppose that's okay because it's fiction, but it does stand-out against the backdrop of the narrative and other characters in the story. That said, this is not a big issue as you have a whole other entire cast of characters as well as Clark that fill up the story. 

My Rating 

So, I would definitely recommend giving this a buy or a borrow! Support this book with all you have! And no matter your age, give it a read, I think you'll find it relatable either way! 

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

~Meghan