About the author: “Morgan Matson was born in New York City and grew up there and in Greenwich, Connecticut. She attended Occidental College as a theater major, but halfway through, switched her focus to writing and never looked back. She received an MFA in Writing for Children from the New School, and then a second MFA in Screenwriting from USC. She currently lives in Los Angeles with her rescue terrier, Murphy, in a house with blue floors that’s overflowing with books” (Bio from author’s website).
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After the passing of her father, Amy’s mom decides the family must move from California to Connecticut. Not wanting to make the trip alone, Amy asks Roger, the son of an old family friend, to join her on the drive to her new home. This was the first book Matson wrote and the first of hers I ever read. It was also one of the first books I remember reading about grief and trauma, and everything was handled with so much care.
When her dad gets some bad news, Taylor’s family spends the summer together in their cramped lake house. She hasn’t been back to the lake house since she was twelve and last saw her ex-best friend, Lucy, and her first crush, Henry. Continuing her complex explorations of love, loss, and friendship, Matson highlights just what can happen if you face the memories that haunt your past and hinder your future.
When her best friend, Sloane, leaves without a trace, Emily is left with a to-do list that might lead to Sloane and the best summer of her life. Filled with thirteen items and tasks that Sloane would’ve gotten Emily to do to get her out of her shell, Emily slowly begins checking things off the list before finding romance, closure, and friendship to last her a lifetime. If there’s one book on this list I think everyone should read, it’s this one. Since You’ve Been Gone is the perfect summer read that makes me want to pause and stop to enjoy life and reflect on my friendship with my best friend.
As a politician’s daughter, Andie has always been the picture of Type A: organized, motivated, and running on a schedule. The last thing Andie expects is her life to end up in shambles. However, due to a scandal, she loses her internship and ends up working as a dog walker for the summer. Following Andie as she learns to let life take its course and relinquish control of plans that she can’t always stick to, this book highlights the struggles of growing up while still featuring a fun and sweet romance.
Charlie’s sister is getting married at their family home over the weekend and Charlie desperately clings to creating one last, perfect memory before everything changes. She’s motivated to keep the house filled with laughter and happiness when all four of her older siblings return to their childhood home together for the first time in years. Despite all of her efforts, though, life has a way of throwing a wrench in her plans, and what were supposed to be three of the happiest days of her life turn into the most stressful days of her life. Save the Date is the perfect read to remind us to not take life too seriously and adds on to the messaging of The Unexpected Everything.
Best friends Kat and Stevie spend one night in New York City. They have a plan: watch a play, eat at a restaurant, and, most importantly, have the best night of their lives. In true Morgan Matson fashion, nothing goes right. In fact, everything goes wrong, and the two girls end up separated and spending the night finding each other and themselves—all before the Grand Central Station clock strikes midnight.
A short novella with the characters from Save the Date, We Grant You A Merry Christmas once again grapples with themes of perfection and decisions about Charlie’s future, all while dealing with every disaster headed her way.
Only available as an audiobook, A Night to Remember follows Poppy, who wakes up the morning after an interview with a Stanford alumni with no recollection of the night before. With the help of her friends in a race against the clock, Poppy works to unravel the mystery of her night. As she uncovers more, she realizes that she might have had more fun in the past day than in the last eighteen years.
Matson’s middle grade debut, this story follows a young girl staying at an old summer camp following her mom’s death. Ryanna wants to learn about her mom, so when she gets a letter from her grandparents inviting her to stay with them at the camp, she accepts and learns about her family and what her mom was like when she was Ryanna’s age.
Enemies Stella and Reece are thrown into the world of Sleeping Beauty with the mission to ensure Aurora and Phillip fall in love so they can get back home. The two were thrust into a hidden door and out of Anaheim, where Stella was supposed to spend time before prom with her best friend, Nisha.
A chronic believer in “love at first sight,” Darcy has been waiting to meet her dream guy. When everything seems to be going wrong on her way home from a music festival, Darcy is forced to take a bus where she meets Russell, and it seems like fate. As the two spend the night together, talking for hours, Darcy is left wondering if she truly believes in “love at first sight” or if love is even worth the risk if they’ll never see each other again.
Grad night at Disney seems like the perfect way to celebrate with friends for Cass, who is graduating high school. With a groundhog day type situation, Cass is forced to relive the same day on a loop with Freddie Patel and her best friend Bryony. This is Matson’s upcoming release, and is slated for publication on March 4th, 2025.
Morgan Matson is the queen of books featuring complex friendships and reminders that life always works out the way it needs to. Her books provided younger-me with so much reassurance regarding my uncertain future and made me feel more secure in the relationships I had. Her commentary and stories are the perfect combination of heartwarming and heart wrenching. Matson perfectly explains what it feels like to grow up and embrace change, which is one of the main reasons you’re never too old to read and enjoy her books.
Vanshikha Vij, Pine Reads Review Writer