“The cinema-worthy rom-com of your summer reading dreams.” —Bustle “A sparkling summer story ideal for teens who are on that bittersweet cusp of change.” —Booklist “[A] romantic comedy of errors.” —Publishers Weekly Father of the Bride meets Sixteen Candles in the latest novel from New York Times bestselling author Morgan Matson.Charlie Grant’s older sister is getting married this weekend at … author Morgan Matson.
Charlie Grant’s older sister is getting married this weekend at their family home, and Charlie can’t wait—for the first time in years, all four of her older siblings will be under one roof. Charlie is desperate for one last perfect weekend, before the house is sold and everything changes. The house will be filled with jokes and games and laughs again. Making decisions about things like what college to attend and reuniting with longstanding crush Jesse Foster—all that can wait. She wants to focus on making the weekend perfect.
The only problem? The weekend is shaping up to be an absolute disaster.
There’s the unexpected dog with a penchant for howling, house alarm that won’t stop going off, and a papergirl with a grudge.
There are the relatives who aren’t speaking, the (awful) girl her favorite brother brought home unannounced, and a missing tuxedo.
Not to mention the neighbor who seems to be bent on sabotage and a storm that is bent on drenching everything. The justice of the peace is missing. The band will only play covers. The guests are all crazy. And the wedding planner’s nephew is unexpectedly, distractingly…cute.
Over the course of three ridiculously chaotic days, Charlie will learn more than she ever expected about the family she thought she knew by heart. And she’ll realize that sometimes, trying to keep everything like it was in the past means missing out on the future.
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This is a really great book that had me teary eyed for most of it. I love it and I love the author. I definitely recommend this book.
I picked this book up not expecting much, but it was wonderful! The characters were great and well-defined, even the dog, I found myself laughing out loud and wondering what else could possibly go wrong.
This was my first experience reading Morgan Matson and it did not disappoint!
Reading this book has made me want to dive into the rest of her books pronto!
The thing I loved most about this book was that it felt like I was watching a really excellent family dramedy movie. I laughed out loud several times, snort laughed even more (mainly whenever J.J. was in a scene, he was such a riot!) and I cried more times than I’d like to admit.
Every character leapt off the page and I felt like I was being welcomed into this family’s lives.
The story is told by 17 year old Charlie, the youngest sibling, and I loved living in her head while reading. She was an excellent narrator and I wish I could read more books from her POV if I’m being completely honest. She was clever and funny and loves her family so much.
Most of the story takes place over a three day period for her older sister’s wedding. Reading this really makes me never want to have a wedding! So many things going wrong, I’d loose my mind.
It was highly entertaining to read and I felt myself gasping and saying “oh no!” out loud.
It’s a very talented author who can make you feel everything these characters are feeling. And I’ll definitely be diving into more of Matson’s books because of how much I enjoyed this one.
Super cute book that reminds me a lot of the movie Father of the Bride.
Loved this book! Thought it would take longer to read but the story kept me reading to see what happens next. I have suggested the book to several people. I don’t think my 16 and 14 year old boys would enjoy this book, but girls would definitely like this book.
Taking place over one weekend, Save the Date explores the relationships of the Grant family as seen through the eyes of the youngest daughter, Charlie. As one of five children, Charlie has really looked forward to her oldest sister Linnea’s wedding at their family home this weekend. It will be the first time her whole family has been together in the last year and a half and she misses them horribly. Of course, nothing goes as planned and Charlie’s envisioned family reunion does not go as planned. Charlie’s mother is being honored for the retirement of the comic strip she has created and written through Charlie’s entire life. The antics of the kids in the comic strip mirrored the antics of her own children. This weekend wedding opens up Charlie’s eyes to the fact that some of her own memories are actually memories of things that happened in the comic strip and not exactly as it happened in real life. This awareness of what actually had been changes Charlie’s visions of what her future could be helping her make some decisions that she had been postponing.
I found this novel so refreshing because it was about a whole family. There was such a huge cast of characters to keep track of, but in the center of it all was Charlie, who seemed to be the one that grounded everyone. I don’t mean to give her more importance than her older siblings, but they all had flaws and Charlie’s only flaw seemed to be that she had glorified their family but in my own experience I think seeing everyone for who they are is actually a part of growing up. Even though this novel took place over a weekend, Charlie grew up a lot.
I enjoyed this novel a lot. It was an easy read with a lot of humor. This families antics actually reminded me a bit of my own family and I wonder if everyone who reads it won’t see a bit of themselves in one of these characters. There are a lot to choose from, after all!
This book was such a cute read. Love Morgan’s writing style.Totally reminded me of all the drama of weddings. If you like The Wedding Boyfriend or movies like 27 dresses this is perfect for you.
I went into Save the Date totally blind, expecting a fluffy and funny romance. Now I got *some* of that, but there was so much more to this book. It was about family and the realization that they’re not perfect. It was about finding oneself and moving forward in life. And it was about not allowing fear of the unknown to keep you from pursuing your path, about not getting complacent in the comfortable.
Save the Date was a great book once I adjusted my expectations a little. I kept expecting to find this fun and swoony romance, but that never fully happened. In the end, I was ok with it. Would I have liked a little more romance? Of course. Am I happy with how Charlie’s story played out? Yes. Full disclosure: this book did start off a little on the slow side. I’m not sure if it was my mood or the book, though. I was also rather intimidated by the big, loud and often chaotic Grant family for awhile. I got past that pretty quickly once I finally figured out who everyone was and I embraced each of their quirks.
I’d say I hit my stride with Save the Date about 1/4 of the way in. I loved Charlie and most of the rest of the Grants. The comic strip part of the storyline was so very well done — and I appreciated the strips in the hardcover a lot. I’m glad I chose to read it this way because I can imagine they might’ve lost some of their impact in an ebook. But, I digress. Charlie and her family, their struggles and successes, made for a fantastic read. The comedy of errors surrounding the wedding made me laugh. The more emotional aspects of the storyline definitely got to me a couple times, so yes, tears were shed. I have to say, the last 1/4(ish) of the book was AMAZING. So many feels. There were also a few swoons along the way, I just wanted more.
Speaking of more — I’d love to see more from the Grant family. I mean, I can totally make up my own stories about where everyone ends up and how all the things play out, but I’m also a totally greedy reader and I want Morgan to tell me.
FAVORITE QUOTES
“It seemed like the second you tried to tell someone why you loved someone else, it took the luster off it, like pinning a butterfly down in a case—it never quite captured it.”
Okay, I know what you’re thinking: is this woman insane for giving such a laid back and silly book five stars?
Let me tell you: yes. Yes I am.
I. Absolutely. ADORED this.
It was hilarious and heartwarming, and it just had a sort of charm to it that made it so compulsively readable. I had other books I was reading and needed to be read, but honestly, I’m happy I got the chance to read something to sweet.
From personal experience, I know how difficult it is to truly write a laugh-out-loud Murphy’s Law story, in which everything that can go wrong WILL go wrong. This book seemed so natural in its writing without trying to hard. Although some of the things that happened were outlandish and, quite frankly, unrealistic, boy, was it FUN.
First time reading this author and won’t be the last! This was such a beautiful, touching, hilarious and heartwarming story about a young girls realization that she may have been seeing her family through rose coloured glasses! The dynamic and banter between the siblings was perfection and I really enjoyed seeing Charlie come into her own. The shenanigans throughout the wedding weekend had me laughing out loud. I truly enjoyed this family and felt like they were the family we all wished we had growing up, so I definitely identified with Charlie’s feelings. This was an awesome, quirky, funny story with some real depth to it and I definitely recommend it!