Review: Save the Date

Save the Date by Morgan Matson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Charlie's sister is getting married and the whole family will be together, all five siblings and their parents. What could possibly go wrong? Everything--starting when the wedding planner vanishes after accusations of embezzlement. Charlie's parents are selling the house everyone grew up in, the comic strip based on her family is ending, and Charlie, the baby, will be going to college in the fall. Everything is ending, and Charlie doesn't handle change well. She just wants everything to be like it was at least one last time. Charlie is a fixer, the one who smooths things over, and a peacemaker. She also hasn't been seeing things as they really are, in part because of her age, and in part because she just didn't want to. Watching her grow into her adulthood is a pleasure.

Ms. Matson does a great job getting into the head of Charlie and depicting a chaotic wedding weekend made worse by the insertion of a retirement, and a national TV appearance. This is a heartfelt and touching depiction of a family that loves each other. I loved seeing Charlie's growth from family baby to more adult sibling, as she saw siblings and parents as themselves and not the heroes she'd made them in her mind.

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