Take Me Home Tonight begins with the three main characters anxiously awaiting the King Lear castlist to be posted for the next high school play and Stevie’s Dad abruptly cancelling her special birthday dinner at a fancy New York restaurant. Stevie and Kat travel into the city (without their parents’ knowledge) in the hopes of enjoying Stevie’s dinner reservation and sucking up to their drama teacher by attending his secret production. However, their plans are foiled when they end up getting locked out of an apartment with a Pomeranian, losing their only cellphone, and getting separated on the subway. Meanwhile, their friend Teri has remained in Stanwich Connecticut to cover for Kat and Stevie; she ends up babysitting and going on a spontaneous road trip with a man who claims to be a CIA agent.
In this novel, Morgan Matson truly highlights the power of friendship and family (including stepfamilies) as well as the importance of being true to yourself and choosing to do what makes you happy. This book would be ideally suited for those who enjoy fast-paced novels filled with adventure, drama, and romance. It would also be an awesome read for people who have travelled to or want to travel to New York City; Stevie and Kat end up (unintentionally) doing a lot of exploring in the city!
I have read and enjoyed some of Matson’s previous novels and Take Me Home Tonight was written in a similar style, so it lived up to my high expectations. Firstly, I thought it was neat that some of the characters from Matson’s other YA novels (e.g. Amy from Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour, Gelsey from Second Chance Summer, and Beckett from Since You’ve Been Gone) made appearances in this novel! In a way, Take Me Home Tonight is almost like a sequel for these characters as we get some much-desired insight into what happened to these characters after their stories ended. Although, it is not necessary to have read Matson’s “Detours, Do-Overs, and Dares” collection before you read Take Me Home Tonight. I also liked how, even though Stevie and Kat are separated for most of the book, their individual adventures continue to (subtly) connect back to each other’s storylines and other events happening in the book.
To be honest, I didn’t really like Teri’s portion of the story and I could have done without it as the dangerous CIA mission wasn’t as fun to read about and it didn’t fit in well with Kat and Stevie’s exciting New York adventure. Another downside for me was the fact that things were sometimes repeated since the story was told from three different perspectives. Lastly, since the novel switched between three different storylines, I was frustrated by having to wait several chapters before finding out what happened next in certain storylines; for example, the chapters from Teri’s perspective are suspenseful, while also being few and far between.
Overall, Take Me Home Tonight was an enjoyable book to read with it being a fun tale set in New York City that is adventurous, easy to read, and focused on friendship!
Take Me Home Tonight is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of May 4th 2021.
Will you be picking up Take Me Home Tonight? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | 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.
