Welcome to the FFBC: Save the Date by Morgan Matson-- Interview & Giveaway!!

Save the Date

by Morgan Matson
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Release Date: June 5, 2018

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Synopsis:

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.

Hi Morgan!!  We’re so excited to have your book in our FFBC Tours, and can’t wait to ask you a couple of questions about your new book,  SAVE THE DATE!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Favorite Book?

SO hard to pick one! My top four are 

-The Blue Castle, LM Montgomery

-Run, Ann Patchett

-Attachments, Rainbow Rowell

-The Code of the Woosters, P.G. Wodehouse

Favorite TV show?

Again, I can’t pick just one! Right now I’m loving Superstore and Killing Eve.

Favorite movie?

A tie between It Happened One Night and Oceans 11.

Favorite Song?

All Too Well, Taylor Swift

Favorite Food?

My favorite meal is tacos with chips, salsa and guac. Favorite food is pineapple-pepperoni pizza

Name 3 fictional places you would move to in a heartbeat.

Hogwarts, Stars Hollow, Narnia.

What were your favorite books growing up?

I loved the Emily series by LM Montgomery, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, the Babysitters Club series, and the Wayside School books.

Favorite Quote?

“Unseen, in the background, Fate was quietly slipping the lead into the boxing-glove.” – PG Wodehouse

What do you find yourself “Fangirling” over?

SO many things! I actually love being a fan of things. It’s so much better to be excited about something than above it and dismissive, I’ve found. I love Marvel movies, Taylor Swift, Harry Potter/ J.K. Rowling, Star Wars….so many things.

What recent book would you recommend to our YA fans?

Maurene Goo’s newest release, The Way You Make Me Feel, is AMAZING. It’s a great summer story about love and friendship and food trucks. I adored it.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Could you tell our Book Addicts a little bit about SAVE THE DATE?

Save the Date takes place over three wildly chaotic days in the life of Charlie Grant. She’s the youngest of five siblings, and the only one still living at home.  And everything in Charlie’s life is about to change. She’s going to college in the fall, her parents are selling the house, and her mother’s long-running comic strip, Grant Central Station, is coming to an end.  So in the midst of all this change, Charlie wants to make sure that everything does perfectly with her older sister’s wedding, which is being held at the house. Unfortunately, Charlie’s perfect weekend soon starts to fall apart, with wedding disasters, unexpected guests, surprise dogs, and the return of Charlie’s longtime crush. Over the course of three days, Charlie will learn more than she ever expected about the family she thought she knew by heart – and that sometimes, you have to let go of the past so you don’t miss out on the future.

What 3 hashtags would you most associate with your book? (Could be a word or phrase or anything that would instantly make you think of SAVE THE DATE.)

#ididntjustgethere

#everythingisfine

#grantcentralstation

Besides reading, writing, and blogging, I love fashion!!  What would Charlie wear on a typical summer day?

Charlie’s style is pretty laid back – she’d rather be comfortable than on trend! I could see her wearing jean short cutoffs, flip flops, and a soft vintage T-shirt that she stole from her older sister.

If you had to pick a favorite book boyfriend from your YA books, which guy would steal your teenage heart?

Oh, this is hard because I love them all! But teenage me probably would have fallen hard for Frank Porter! He’s definitely swoon-worthy.

Tell us your favorite quote from SAVE THE DATE.

“I wondered if, on top of everything else, we now also had a ghost.”

Do you have any funny/special moments from a wedding you’ve been to?

Luckily, no wedding I’ve been to has gone as crazily off the rails as the wedding in the book does! But I feel like every wedding has its share of drama. I was at one wedding on an island off of Cancun, and there was a ferry that ran very intermittently. As the wedding was gearing up, there were definitely some panicked texts from people who were still on the ferry. But it all worked out in the end!

If you had to pick one song to be the Theme Song for SAVE THE DATE– Which one would you pick?

Either Sleep on the Floor by the Lumineers, or Any Way You Want It by Journey.

Are there any recommendations you could give your readers to be in the “perfect mood” to read SAVE THE DATE (specific music, snacks…)? 

Yes! So I would recommend curling up with an iced latte and a strawberry frosted donut, putting a mix of danceable pop songs on in the background, and having a cute puppy sleep on your feet. Those are the ideal Save the Date-reading conditions. 

What’s next for you? 

I have a new book coming out in 2020! Not saying too much about it yet…hopefully I can reveal some details soon!

Thanks so much for chatting with us!!

☺️

Morgan Matson was born in New York City and grew up there and in Greenwich, Connecticut. She attended Occidental College in Los Angeles, but halfway through a theater degree, she started working in the children’s department of Vroman’s Bookstore and fell in love with YA literature.

Following college graduation (and the proud bearer of an incredibly useful theater/English degree) she received her M.F.A. in Writing for Children from The New school and worked as an editor for YA novels. She received a second M.F.A. (for reasons that made sense at the time) in Screenwriting from the University of Southern California.

Her novels have been translated into dozens of languages, and published all over the world.

Morgan’s first novel, Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour, was inspired by her love of road trips, snacks, and the quest for the perfect playlist. It was named an ALA Top Ten Best Book, a Publisher’s Weekly Flying Start book, and was shortlisted for the Waterstone’s Book Prize.

Her second novel, Second Chance Summer, was inspired by her experiences spending summers in the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania. It was the winner of the California Book Award (YA category) and was named to the ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults List, selected for the Oklahoma Sequoya List, and selected as a School Library Journal Best Book.

Her third novel, Since You’ve Been Gone, was published in 2014, and was a Publisher’s Weekly and international bestseller. It was named to the YALSA Teens Top Ten list, and the Eliot Rosewater Indiana High School Book Award List.

Morgan’s fourth novel, The Unexpected Everything, was published May 3rd, 2016.

She currently lives in Los Angeles with her dog, Murphy.

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