Review: Take Me Home Tonight, Morgan Matson

Morgan Matson is a must-buy author for me, as she is one of my favorite young adult contemporary writers… ever. I was eager to see whether or not her brand new release, Take Me Home Tonight, would do the trick as well. Check out my full review below!

Take Me Home Tonight by Morgan Matson
Published by Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers on May 4, 2021
Genres: contemporary, young adult
Format: Paperback
Buy on Book Depository, Bookshop, Blackwell's
Goodreads

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
meets Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist in this romp through the city that never sleeps from the New York Times bestselling author of Since You’ve Been Gone, Morgan Matson.
Two girls. One night. Zero phones.
Kat and Stevie—best friends, theater kids, polar opposites—have snuck away from the suburbs to spend a night in New York City. They have it all planned out. They’ll see a play, eat at the city’s hottest restaurant, and have the best. Night. Ever. What could go wrong?
Well. Kind of a lot?
They’re barely off the train before they’re dealing with destroyed phones, family drama, and unexpected Pomeranians. Over the next few hours, they’ll have to grapple with old flames, terrible theater, and unhelpful cab drivers. But there are also cute boys to kiss, parties to crash, dry cleaning to deliver (don’t ask), and the world’s best museum to explore.
Over the course of a wild night in the city that never sleeps, both Kat and Stevie will get a wake-up call about their friendship, their choices…and finally discover what they really want for their future.
That is, assuming they can make it to Grand Central before the clock strikes midnight.

☂️ TRIGGER WARNINGS:

alcohol consumption, divorced parents, gun violence, absentee parent, attempted mugging, mention of the death of a parent.

There are no spoilers in this review.

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I ENJOYED…

☂️

• I love a good contemporary where characters go on an adventure and it ends up being filled with unexpected moments, both great and just plain wrong. Take Me Home Tonight is about Stevie and Kat, two best friends sneaking out for a fun, wild night in New York City. Obviously, nothing goes as planned and I thought it was SO much fun to read. Despite its length, a little big for your usual young adult contemporary read (over 400 pages), I wasn’t bored once while reading and loved the whirlwind of emotions and adventures this book took me on.
• Told between three different point of views, we get to know Stevie, Kat and a little bit of Teri every now and then. I ended up enjoying the three characters and storylines so much and, most of it all, each point of view felt unique to me, something I appreciated a lot.
  • Kat is your loud, enthusiastic, adventurous and way too obstinated, while Stevie is the quiet, calm and reasonable person between the two best friends. I loved how they balanced each other out. While I appreciated Stevie a little more, as she felt a bit more relatable to me, Kat was such a great character to follow, too. If she seemed a bit selfish and self-centered at times, I ended up liking her by the end of the book, too!
  • Stevie is struggling with some family issues, finding her place with her father and his new family, while Kat is hyper-focused on her theater dreams and goals, sometimes leaving others behind to get what she wants. I found both characters’ growth wonderful and, by the end of the book, grew so fond of each of them.
  • Every now and then, we get Teri’s point of view. Teri’s the third friend, covering for the two others while they’re off on their night in New York. She has quite an adventure of her own back in New Jersey (and some other places, too) and… while it might have seemed a bit unbelievable, I found it highly entertaining and fun to read!

• I really enjoyed the focus on friendship in this story. We might feel like, with their different personalities, Kat and Stevie aren’t a good match and they sometimes don’t understand each other, at all. I loved seeing their friendship grow as they each go their own way, too and it was so wonderful to see how strong they were together, too.
• Obviously, there’s a little hint of romance in this story. Can most contemporaries do without it? Apparently, not, aerm. Anyway! I wasn’t too mad about it, because the blooming romance here was soft and sweet and kind and it made me smile a lot, too. 200% here for soft, slow burning romance.

OVERALL

☂️

As always, Morgan Matson won my heart with Take Me Home Tonight. If you’re looking for a fun contemporary read filled with adventures, friends, an adorable pomeranian and a hint of soft romance, you’ll love this one!

FINAL RATING : 4,5 stars!

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📚 Books similar to Take Me Home Tonight that I’d recommend:

• For some excellent road trip and travel fun, try some books on our recommendations’ list of ya books about road trips.
• For more stories about friendships, check out our recommendations’ list of ya books about friendships.

Did you read Take Me Home Tonight or do you want to? Do you have any recommendations of great stories with friendships? Let me know in comments!

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