Andie has planned her whole summer perfectly months beforehand, but right at the beginning of the holidays all her arrangements get destroyed because of her father's scandal. Suddenly Andie finds herself completely unprepared and has to make the best out of her pretty limited situation. Andie soon realizes that it's impossible to find the unexpected when everything's always mapped out and, for the first time in her life, dares to take risks instead of taking the safe route.
"I could do this. If whole galaxies could change, so could I."
I had really high expectations for this book since I've only heard very good things about this novel, but it still managed to surprise me with how amazing it actually is. It's everything you can ask for in a good contemporary read and even more. Due to the fact that a lot of the story is told through text messages and also due to the writing, which is really good, the book is very fast-paced and quick to read and you barely notice it's actually pretty long for a contemporary novel with a bit more than 500 pages. I liked how the story doesn't only focus on just the romance part but is also about friendship and family and even manages to connect these three aspects by having the main character's romantic interest interact a lot with her friends as well as her father. It's also quite nice that the main character is only kind of involved in a love triangle and the reader doesn't have to deal with the pathetic and constant struggle of the main character whether she should choose the first or second boy. Another thing I liked is that it's quite realistic in the way it portrays friendship and also shows that not every friendship is meant to last and if you've lost someone as a close friend, it can be better for both of you and there's most of the time a positive way to see the loss of a friend. I personally quite liked the plot because it wasn't too extraordinary, but still eventful enough for the book to not be dull. Especially interesting and unique is the political aspect that the main character's father brings to the story, as well as the excerpts out of a fantasy novel written by a certain character in the book. Now to be honest, I don't know exactly if the "plot twist" is meant to be shocking or at least suprising or not, because it is just that predictable. On the one side, the many (and quite obvious) hints make the whole thing seem pretty realistic, but on the other side, it just makes the other characters look so incredibly stupid for not figuring it out or at any rate suspecting anything. Also, I believe the main character Andie deserves a trophy for giving the dumbest advice in regard to the "plot twist". Anyway, the message of the book to be more spontaneous, to embrace the unexpected and to try new things is in my opinion great and the story definitely managed to motivate me to try to be a bit more adventurous this summer and to stop being scared of new stuff and it shows that sometimes not being in control isn't the worst thing.
For the most part I really liked the characters and they are, except for the annoying times (like I mentioned before) when they seem so stupid, pretty likeable. I'm not gonna go into any detail about the characters because even though there are quite a lot of them, which I enjoyed, none of them really stands out as a very special character or a new favorite of mine. However, all of them are relatable and they do create a nice mix of different personalities and interests. I especially liked the dynamics between Andie and her best friends Palmer, Bri and Toby and the development of the relationship between Andie and her father. I'm not gonna lie, the romance is quite sweet in this book, but not something special or outstanding.
Anyway, this is the second book by Morgan Matson I've read so far and after finishing The unexpected everything I bought her other two books instantly because I loved everything I've read by her so far. I have to say that I prefer her other novel Since you've been gone a bit over The unexpected everything because I personally just like the storyline and the characters a little bit more, so if you've enjoyed The unexpected everything I can't recommend it enough to pick up Since you've been gone and obviously the other way round.
Rating: 4.5/5 ✹
I hope you enjoyed this review. Have a lovely day!
Leah
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