Take Me Home Tonight by Morgan Matson Published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Published: May 4, 2021
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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.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
I’m not even going to sugarcoat it. Before you read this review you need to know I am a Morgan Matson fangirl. She literally has never written anything that I haven’t loved. (I even reread Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour and upped my rating!!) There is just something about her books that I click with. And that was even more the case with Take Me Home Tonight. And the more I am removed from reading it the more I find myself loving it. It was utter perfection!
Take Me Home Tonight is about best friends Kat and Stevie, both theater kids, but both with different personalities. When their plans change on a Friday Kat convinces Stevie they should go to NYC for the night. They’ll hang out and laugh and enjoy a dinner to celebrate Stevie’s birthday. Sure Kat had an ulterior motive for going but Stevie doesn’t need to know that. The most important thing is that they get back to Grand Central by midnight. Too bad the universe is working against them. Not only do they end up without their phones, they end up without each other. But a night apart may be just what they need to understand more about themselves and their friendship.
What a journey Matson takes you on in Take Me Home Tonight. On the surface it appears to be a story about two friends spending the night in New York without their parents knowledge. But the book is so much more than that. Stevie learns to standup for herself and to say how she feels. She learns that she is capable to be on her own without Kat. She can handle situations and not stand in the shadows. And Kat learns that not everything has to be about her. She doesn’t need to be in charge or front and center. She needs to think about others and how her choices impacts them. It is about 2 girls standing on their own away from each other and staring life in the face. Kat let’s go some of her control and finds magic in a boy she never expected. And Stevie finally says what she needs in her life. Each girl grows in the span of a night and it is magical to experience and it leaves you wanting more and more and more.
I don’t know if it is because I haven’t been able to go to New York in almost 2 years, or if it is the friendship aspect of the story, or the Morgan Matson character cameos, it is cameo heavy and I love it. Whatever it was, Take Me Home Tonight is right up there on the top of my Matson love list. It is a book that gets better and better the more you think about it…even the weird, whacky part (especially if you are a fan of 80s movies and you can recognize which one the whacky part is based off of). No matter what though, you need this book in your life. Actually you need all of Morgan’s books in your life.
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