Take Me Home Tonight by Morgan Matson Book Review
“‘Gosh.’ Beckett shook his head, his eyes wide. ‘You’ve been having quite a night.’
‘You can say that again.'”
(pg. 264)
About
Author: Morgan Matson
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary
Click for Morgan Matson’s website
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Synopsis
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.
Review
Spoilers Contained Below
To the night of your life,
Take Me Home tonight was an endlessly fun reel of laughter, family, friendship, and discovery. I loved every second of it! 💙 I literally couldn’t stop reading because one thing happened after another after another and the story was just too fun to put down. I can see the movie now 😄. Also, I just have to say how much I love Morgan Matson’s writing because she mixed humor with a well-thought out plot that kept me surprised. I also love how all her stories follow such an epic adventure in the best way. Take Me Home Tonight gave me Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour level of fun and Since You’ve Been Gone level of storyline. Take Me Home Tonight was obviously a different story, but still amazing vibes!
With that said, let’s get into more spoilery things 😆.
I’ve never been part of the theatre or drama department of my school. However, I have watched multiple plays, and I remembered always thinking how dedicated and talented the actors and actresses in my school’s play’s were. They could sing and dance and act and give all these emotions, and they were just soooo cool. I never thought I could be as cool as them to join theatre or drama because I’m not the outgoing type, but I appreciated the theatre. So, I could not completely relate to Stevie and Kat’s love of acting, but I did understand what they felt by being part of something. Being in theatre gave Stevie and Kat a community and an unbreakable bond with the people they spent countless hours with. It’s hard not to have a bond with people you spend a lot of time with. In general, I had a good bond with people in my high school’s academy. We had academy’s for different professions like Human Services or Health Academy. I spent everyday with my academy and being with them felt like I was part of the family. I also grew up as a dancer like Kat. I will talk about this more when I talk about Kat, but being a dancer, I also had a community. When I quit dancing, it was more than just me stopping dancing, it was me losing part of the community I was in. I barely saw the girls I used to dance with and we naturally drifted. My dance mom and dad lost some of their close friends because they didn’t see them everyday. Sometimes I would see the people from dance, but it was weird because I wasn’t part of their group anymore—they moved on without me. I still see them today, and I think of all the times we shared. It’s hard to leave something you loved and the people you loved.
But relationships are valuable.
Kat and Stevie had a beautifully intricate relationship.
I didn’t read the synopsis of the book because this was Morgan Matson we’re talking about! I just buy her book when she says I have a new one 🤪. Dedicated fan over here! 😉 I thought this book was going to be about two girls who had an epic night in New York without a phone, but they would have an epic night together. So I was pleasantly surprised to see the girls split up and take on their own journey’s and then reconvene at the end. I thought that was a wonderful idea. I also wondered at the beginning why we didn’t have Stevie’s perspective because the opening chapters sounded like Kat’s perspective. Then part two begins with both perspectives and I was here for it!
I enjoyed the detailed build-up to Kat and Stevie’s girl’s night out. They really said GNO! Gosh, remember that Miley Cyrus song 😆. I also liked how detailed each scene was from the plan to sneak out to New York to the description of Grand Central Station. I have never been to Grand Central Station, let alone New York, so I appreciated being transported to New York and learning more about the city. I also used my Gossip Girl knowledge to envision Grand Central Station. You know? The opening scene with Serena 😉.
The fight between Stevie and Kat was built on tension and fear. I mean, they were just two young teens with a random dog, no phones, and barely any money. Heck, just writing that makes me panicked and stressed! I understood why they were angry at each other—they blamed one another and they were scared. They said some really mean, but truthful things to each other. You know what they say, the truth hurts. But I don’t like it when people use your insecurities or deep secrets as ammunition against you in a fight. Obviously they know doing so will hurt.
When Stevie’s phone made the fall of doom on the Subway tracks, I literally held my breath. I was like, “Oh, NO!” Gosh. I thought her phone would run out of battery and that’s how it would die. Gosh, not the fatal fall and the smashing of the phone! That’s like a nightmare! 😆 Honestly, if I didn’t have my phone in a random city, I would go BONKERS. I would probably cower in a corner and curl up in a fetal position until someone found me.
What really had me was when Stevie and Kat split up because they pretty much lost everything and had nothing and they just had a huge fight, AND now they were being split up?! It was not their night.
But like Grady would say:
“‘The timing is crazy . . . Have you noticed that, how everything seems to land on the same day?'”
(pg. 27
I quite liked Grady. He was quirky and cool. I would have liked more Grady moments.
But now this review will be split up between Kat, Stevie, and Teri’s journey and then I will talk about them in all. Gosh, do I have a lot to say about Teri 😂.
🎭 🛵 Kat 🥜 🩰
Kat is spunky, passionate, and determined.
When she has her mind set on something she goes after it, which is understandable with how she is an all or nothing person. I think it would have been nicer of her to tell Stevie what the actual plan was rather than holding out on her and thinking Stevie was too fragile to handle what Kat actually wanted to do in New York. I am more a Stevie type and I would rather just be told the plan even if it scares me because then I know what is going on. But I kind of didn’t like how Kat was so adamant to go see Mr. Campbell’s play because 1) he obviously wouldn’t want his students to go to his play and 2) I didn’t think her plan sounded all that smart 🙈.
Kat really wanted acting to be her thing after she quit dancing. She quit dancing because she was told she wasn’t good enough to make it to a dance academy compared to other dancers. I mean, when people compare you to other people, it freaking sucks. Of course, Kat would naturally want to quit because she felt she didn’t want to waste time on something she—loved—wasn’t good enough for. Being told you’re also not good enough for something you love is like that feeling of when you’re told you’re too young or short to ride the rides—it’s defeating and crushing because you can’t help how old or tall you are. I quit dancing when I was thirteen or twelve (after a good six or more years of dancing) because I was told I wasn’t good enough. More so, I felt like I wasn’t good enough. In my dance company we had different levels—kids, juniors, teens, and seniors. I was in the junior division as a twelve (maybe thirteen) year old and I wanted to be in teen jazz. Teen jazz was for twelve and up. So, there I was trying out for teen jazz. Guess who didn’t get in?! 🤪 This girl! I will admit, my addition wasn’t good, but I was dancing next to the best dancer in the company in our audition—like it was literally me and this other girl. So of course I didn’t get in because the judges portably compared my lack of skill to hers. I could have kept dancing, but honestly, I didn’t want to be a twelve or thirteen year old dancing with eight year olds 😂. I just felt that would be weird because I was already in puberty doing these kiddie dances. It was a no from me . . . and apparently the judges. So I quit. When I quit, I felt exactly how Kat—-we felt like we lost a big part of something we loved and we wanted to find what the next thing would be for us.
For Kat, it was theatre because she found a new community and purpose there. I felt Kat liked being part of something, which was a wonderful sentiment. I also felt like Kat’s insatiable desire to play Cordelia in King Lear was because she found her next thing and she didn’t want it to be another dance moment where she wasn’t good enough. She wanted to be good enough to pursue acting in college and go all the way. Her parents wanted her to keep her options open, which I understood, but the other part of me felt like if you know your passion, follow it. But I understood the parents. Kat’s idea was to go to Mr. Campbell’s secret play to show him how devoted she was to the theatre, thinking he would certainly cast her as Cordelia, thus proving to her parents and herself that acting was for her. Honestly, no amount of groveling or proving your worth was going to help. I thought she shouldn’t go to the play because it would be weird.
And it was weird.
Gosh, I felt terrible that Kat had to sit through that gosh AWFUL play by Mr. Campbell. Talk about your Aka-awkard 🤪. When Kat ran into him when she was leaving . . . gosh, I felt for her.
The teacher in me felt it was sketchy and weird how Mr. Campbell asked her to stay after the play to give her honest review. No teacher—especially a male teacher—should be with a student outside of school, in a private area no less, and communicating in an unprofessional manner. That was red flag number one. Red flag number two was how he never gave her a moment to speak/finish her thoughts. Teachers can be whoever they want to be outside of school, but when around a student, I think he should have been more respectful. Heck, Kat could report him if she wanted to. But the fact that Mr. Campbell was so tense, impolite, and demeaning was a HUGE red flag. This guy SUCKED BUTT!!! I mean, if he wanted someone to stroke his ego, he could go elsewhere because asking a student to do so was WRONG. He sounded like the type of person was a try-hard actor-director who was bitter because he knew he wasn’t good enough.
I liked the conversation Stevie has with Amy Curry, whom she met at this party place Kat’s parents were at. Amy Curry was a big name star who went to Stanwich and acted there. Amy was someone everyone held on a pedestal because it felt like if she could make it big, they all could. Talking to Amy, Kat realized how Mr. Campbell lied about knowing her and how he was always a douche canoe. Learning who Mr. Campbell was was such an interesting plot idea because it explored toxic men of power. When thinking about Mr. Campbell, I couldn’t help but think of Billie Ellish’s new song, Power. Sometimes people have power and they abuse it because they know what they hold. It was beyond toxic for Mr. Campbell to play all these mind games and manipulations with his students because he should know better as a GROWN adult. They never do. I didn’t like how he made every student feel like they had to earn their place, and if not, he would demote them. What was he five? GROW UP. He should be fired. Honestly, I don’t know why the administration didn’t fire him when he got riled up about Kat having the festival. The man was shouting and petty, that should be enough cause for concern for him being an educator. I also didn’t like how he treated her at the King Lear play. No teacher should act like that ever.
But don’t even get me started on his PETTINESS with giving Stevie the “please see me about assistant directing” dumb shiz. That was his power move to keep people in place and to ensure that people were strung along in his dumb little mind game. Again, I have never been part of the theatre or drama, but do some drama theatre or drama teachers actually do this? My sister was in cheer in high school and there was some drama with teachers too. Just curious though.
But Mr.Campbell gave Kat the gosh forsaken assistant directing role just because she didn’t like his play she watched. I felt terrible for Kat because she wanted the lead, but now she was at the bottom. However, I LOVED how she cackled at Mr. Campbell’s ridiculous request and was like, “No, thank you.” All the power to her! 👏🏼 She didn’t need to play mind games with a petty 30-year-old, she would do something better. I liked how she walked away because it meant she was done trying to prove herself to all these adults who told her she wasn’t good enough—-all these adults who had power over her. To them, she would never be good enough. I think of the song Enough 4 You by Olivia Rodrigo and how she said at the end of the song that ‘No, nothing’s enough for you.’ I loved that lyric because to people they will always want more from you, and if you respect that person, you will try everything you can to be “enough.” But it will never be.
Kat had enough self-respect to walk away.
I loved that for her 💙. I loved how she started the festival, which would give people opportunities to create and act on their own terms. But what I loved most was how she tried new things and had her options opened.
Carey was to thank for that.
Let’s talk about Kat’s wild night before it turned to poop by her petty teacher 🤪. Woo hoo!
I thought Kat’s night was fun . . . but not as fun as Stevie’s 🙈. Maybe, fun’s not the right word . . . Kat’s night was more romantic and Stevie’s night was more bold and healing. But I had fun reading Kat’s POV’s. I loved how Cary became part of her journey. He was such a sweet-hardworking guy. I respected that he had multiple jobs to pay for college. I appreciated how Kat became aware of her privilege when seeing how hard Cary had to work for his education. Sometimes we don’t think about things like that—how some people have a more complex situation than ours and we take for granted things that do not come easy for others. I loved their bodega moment and how Cary went back and grabbed all the snacks Kat put down because no one would break a $100. Does no one really break a $100 in New York? If that’s the case, I learned something valuable if I ever go to New York 😄.
What I appreciated most about Carey was how he reminded Kat to do things she loved.
“‘Things don’t stop being fun just because you get older.'”
(pg. 166)
That’s such an underrated sentiment. When we get older, we naturally grow out of things that are “funner” or more suitable for kids, but honestly, we should do more of the things we loved when we were younger. Because growing up doesn’t mean we have to stop being the inner kid in us. When I read this quote, I started thinking of all the fun things I loved doing as a kid that I don’t do much anymore like playing outside, bouncing on a trampoline, eating Gushers and Fruit Roll-up and tying the leftover Roll-up wrapper on my head, singing Hannah Montana songs. All these things I can still do—I should do.
I also liked when Cary said:
“‘The way I figure, you wait around for permission, you never stop waiting, right?'”
(pg. 204)
Because we should do whatever the heck we want to do. We should be creative, try new things, rediscover old things. We shouldn’t keep waiting around, but just go for the things we want to do. Also, I felt it was this quote that inspired Kat to do the festival program.
I liked how Kat followed Cary around his cleaner’s job and they explored different types of people—arguing parents, rich underground poker people, humble families. It must be interestingly crazy the amount of people Cary sees and knows. I loved when Cary opened up to Kat about his family. I loved the detail of Cary’s sketch of his dad—the sketch was described beautifully.
I also LIVED for the whole Nutcracker dance moment. I loved the whole scene and what it meant for Kat 💙. A few years ago, I got back into ballet through a college course, and I remember feeling this weightlessness, excitement, and fear to get back into ballet. I felt so happy to move my body in a familiar way, but also scared that I wasn’t good enough or my body wouldn’t move the same way it did when I was younger. But I had to talk myself down because of course my body was different and I would perform differently. But I enjoyed getting back into ballet, and I could feel that with Kat. What I loved most was when Cary stepped up for the pas de deux, and how natural it was for him to be her dance partner. I could just imagine the scene and it was wonderful—a dancer’s dream 😌. I loved how at the end, Kat mentioned she started taking dance classes again and how she was having fun with it.
Kat really should have chosen to stay with him instead of choosing the play!!! 😫
I could tell he wanted her to choose him. But I liked how they didn’t say goodbye, but he left it very open for them to see each other again. We see Cary at the end when he goes to Grand Central Station because he knew she would be there. They shared their little goodbye/see you later-later kiss. It wasn’t until the party we figured out what Cary’s sixth job was. I was starting to question what the tux meant? I thought he must work for the CSI or something because he evaded the question for so long 😂. And given Teri’s plot, I didn’t put it past Cary to be in the CSI. Glad he was just a normal waiter at a party.
I loved how Kat and Cary kept a long distance relationship. I loved how Cary and Grady got along, and how Kat’s parents took Cary under their wing to help him figure things out. I also appreciated how go-with-the-flow it was. Kat was really keeping her life more open, and I loved that for her. I enjoyed Kat’s arc and seeing how mature she was about still figuring things out and doing things she was passionate about. There’s just something authentic about teenagers not knowing what they want to do yet because gosh knows it’s perfectly okay not to know what to do at such a young age.
“I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do yet. . . But mostly, I wanted to try a lot of things. I wanted to see what there was to see.”
(pg. 402)
🖼 🐶 Stevie 🦖 👨👦
I quite loved Stevie. I related to her the most—divorced parents, being more of an introvert.
Having divorced parents is tough. You might feel like your family is not “normal” or you feel like something broke. It feels weird because your whole home life changes and you have to figure out a new normal, whether that be where you live, who’s in your immediate family now, or extended families. It’s complicated. Kids get caught in the middle, sometimes thinking it’s their fault, always worrying when things will detonate, retreating. It’s also hard when you have all these memories with your parents and now you have to start thinking of them as two separate people who used to love each other, but don’t anymore.
“All they could do, it seemed, was have the same argument over and over again, sometimes dressed up in different clothes, but always the same thing underneath. Until, finally, they’d decided that they’d rather not have it all anymore. And they’d both walked away.”
(pg. 273)
I understood how Stevie felt like with her parent’s arguing and wanting to listen in to understand why. I felt for Stevie’s parents’ story because they gave up on their relationship. Love ends when two people stop fighting for the relationship. It’s hard to watch love end. It’s hard to be there when a relationship ends.
It was clear why Stevie was so adamant in wanting a relationship with her dad. It was also clear why she put up with his neglect. I mean, if the dad really wanted to have a relationship with his daughter he would have tried harder to make time and follow through with that. Kat and Beckett were right in being worried and made for Stevie because the dad did blow her off for everything and that wasn’t okay. It wasn’t fine. It was a really shizzy move that he cancelled at the last minute for his daughter’s birthday—-a birthday he promised to spend time with her. I teared up for Stevie when she got the inevitable call. That sucked butt. She just wanted her dad.
Kat, Beckett, and Matty were also right in knowing that Stevie didn’t want to be a lawyer. She just wanted her dad to notice her. I’m happy she had the sense to realize that being a lawyer wasn’t her passion, but something she thought would bring her closer to her dad; Stevie liked the nostalgia more than the actual profession. If it wasn’t for this insane journey, Stevie would not have grown the courage to talk to her dad and be more confident in what she felt.
This night was everything Stevie needed from the minute she saw Mallory.
I liked have the tour-de-Stevie with Brad, her three step sibilings, her dad, and the grand finale, Kat.
We all know the star of the book was Brad 🤪. I loved the dog! Honestly, I was like, we’re going to make a dog lover out of Stevie by the end of the night! Glad to see it!
I enjoyed the random mugging! I couldn’t stop laughing because her night sucked and now she was getting mugged 🤪. I CACKLED when she threw the mugger through a loop with her whole sob story, and how the mugger was so nice to her. It was so funny and perfect. I loved how Brad was also there to protect her. I loved Stevie doing the whole acting scene to the Raptor. A girl could cry on command, which was so cool! She really popped off there and I thought that was so cool!
I also liked their Brad chase around Central Park. Gosh, Kat and Stevie literally almost saw each other, but didn’t. I was sooo upset 🤪 Probably not as upset by how Stevie want EVERYWHERE for those darn keys 😂. That sucked. I would have been annoyed, but Stevie had the dog and she needed her tickets that were inside her purse, locked in Mallory’s apartment. The whole situation was so tricky, but well thought out. I see you Morgan Matson.
I appreciated how Matty was there to help her. He stepped up as the good big stepbrother even if Stevie and him didn’t have the best relationship. But I loved how over the course of the night she created relationships with her step-siblings. I don’t have step siblings, but it must be a weird, difficult transition. Stevie suddenly had these new people in her life who symbolized that her dad moved on. She didn’t want to accept them because she didn’t want to accept that her dad’s life and her life changed. So she made them out as the bad guys to Kat because it was easier to justify why she didn’t like them. But I understood her emotions. I don’t blame her. That was a lot to process and experience.
I liked how cool Matty was about it, though, and never made her feel awful for not reaching out sooner. I loved how much he cared about her by asking her if she was okay.
“Because I’d rather walk on bleeding feet than tell someone I’m in pain.”
(pg. 297)
I never thought of Stevie’s bleeding feet as a metaphor until Morgan Matson pointed it out.
But I LOVED that. Because Stevie really doesn’t say what she feels because she wants to please people or she wants other people to be comfortable. If she pleases people, she thinks they’ll still be in her life and after everything with her dad, she just wanted people to stay in her life even if that meant she was in pain—-if she was uncomfortable. I am like Stevie where I don’t like being confrontational and I tend to say yes to things or brush things off when I know it’s not okay. It’s people like Stevie who have big hearts because they have been hurt before and would endure that pain rather than see other people with bleeding feet. I admired Stevie, but felt bad because she was giving so much of her love and care to someone who didn’t care about her. This reminds me of the sentiment of how we shouldn’t waste our time on people who don’t give us the time of day.
But Matty, Margaux, and (somewhat) Mallory did care about her. They always had.
“‘I have a theory . . . that love was about paying attention. It was saying, I see you. I know you.”
(pg. 251-2)
I absolutely loved this quote 💙.
When I think about people in my life, it means a lot when I don’t say something and yet they recognize what I like and dislike. Because that shows that they cared enough to see me. In a world where we are glued to our phones or married to our jobs, we may not notice things. But if someone loves you, one of the ways it shows is by the acts they do that speak volumes. It’s in the way they make you feel seen when you don’t realize they are watching.
I mean, Matty chased Brad all over Central Park with her. Gosh, that was my favorite part! I loved when they went to Belvedere Castle and interrupted that ruined proposal 🤪. Oh, Brad. I laughed when they were calling Brad’s name and someone from the roller team was like, “I am Brad.” 😂 Also, Margaux noticed how Stevie liked certain types of chips. That was love. I loved getting to go to the MET and have a cool photo shoot. Sad that we left Brad behind, but it made things less complicated for Stevie on her journey.
I loved how Stevie started this night with her best friend and she was going to leave with a family and build her relationship with them.
A big part of Stevie’s budding relationships was coming to terms with her dad.
Stevie and Matty had to go to Margaux because she supposedly had the keys, but they were the wrong keys. So Matty called the mom, Joy, and she actually had Mallory’s spare keys. Matty and Stevie then headed to where Joy and the dad worked. When Stevie said she was going to visit the dad’s office while Matty got the keys, I was like, “I bet he’s not there.” He was probably not working. I mean, if the mom wasn’t working, the dad had to not be working too.
I LITERALLY SCREAMED when Stevie’s face fell the second she realized her dad wasn’t there. She got to her dad’s floor, walking towards his office, buoyed by joy that her dad was there. . . and he wasn’t. That was like a sucker punch to the gut and I was LIVID for Stevie. He lied to her, showed her up, and chose his new wife over her. How was that supposed to look? It really broke my heart that she didn’t tell Matty what was wrong—-she held it in again. Obviously, she wasn’t okay. It also made me so sad when she started to chastise herself for knowing all along her dad didn’t care. It wasn’t her fault her dad sucked and she hoped he could do the bare FREAKING minimum and be there for her.
“And I had just let it, happy to take crumbs, never asking for what I wanted or telling my dad how I felt.”
(pg. 276)
Crumbs! CRuMBS! I was in crumbs 🥺.
She deserved someone who wanted to make time for her.
I loved that Stevie went to the high-end, expensive restaurant the dad booked for them. What surprised me was how Beckett, her ex, was there. We saw him earlier in the night with Kat. I wondered what he told his parents because he had pizza and was on his way to see them, but now he was with her. He was full of suprises, that Beckett.
I quite liked Beckett because he was there for her and loved her like a friend. The reason they broke up was because Beckett told her he loved her, but Stevie couldn’t say it to him. My heart wanted to hug Stevie because it’s not easy to be open to love when you don’t know what love is—-never had a model of love. As someone who has divorced parents, sometimes I question what a healthy relationship looks like or what love looks like because I never grew up seeing it. And I have never been in a relationship to know what that would feel like. But I could understand why Stevie wasn’t ready to say she loved him. I liked how Beckett never pressured her or made her feel bad for not saying it back. He was a true gentleman. I also appreciated how they were going to be just friends. Most books would write that Beckett and Stevie were trying to rekindle the spark, and I mean, I wouldn’t be mad at that. However, there’s something powerful about two people who loved each other who could still be friends. Stevie needed to work on other relationships in her life first.
Honestly, I thought Stevie should have bought everything on the menu as pay back to her dad!!! 😂 That’s what I would have done. . . not for attention, but for the heck of it. You mess with me, I mess with you 🤪. I’m terrible, I know. When their meal got comped, I was like, “FREAK NO!!!” The dad is supposed to rue the day! Rue it, I tell you! But it must be nice to get treated wonderfully at a high-end restaurant. Loved that for them. I couldn’t believe it when Stevie was so ready to talk to her dad and was going to pass on the meal. Honey, eat up, you just don’t get a five star meal for free! I mean, yes, talk to your dad, but fuel up!
“I made things easier for people. I scooted things over . . . I was just tired of this—of not even letting myself feel what I was feeling, needing to push everything away. . . I needed to say what I felt. I needed to take up some space.
It was time.”
(pg. 317)
The conversation with the dad was needed. It was healing.
It’s healing when you finally open yourself up—when you allow someone to bandage your bleeding feet.
I liked how Stevie used “I” statements and how mature she was about how the dad made her feel. I didn’t believe the dad’s story of getting the call and then being told to stop working. . . I don’t know the man could lie pretty good through his teeth. But then he started crying and I didn’t think those were fake, so maybe his story checked out. I liked how later, Stevie talked about how her dad and her sat down to clear out their schedules and make time for each other. I liked seeing the dad being good on his word. He just better keep his word or I’ll whoop up some can of whoop butt. He better not hurt her again.
But something that made me CACKLE throughout this WHOLE book was this FREAKING whale metaphor 😂!!!! I’m soooooo sorryyyyyy it was just the most poetically hilarious thing.
“‘How do you eat a whale, pumpkin?’ he’d ask me, looking over his glasses.
‘One bite at time,’ I’d always reply.”
(pg. 136-7)
Whale lovers are going livid 🤪.
I get the metaphor—don’t bite off more than you can chew, take it day by day, and don’t expect to do something all in one go, but bit by bit. BUT GOSH????!! How do you eat a whale?! I don’t know why that was so oddly funny to me 😆. It’s just not poetic. I mean, I’m not going to (probably going to, now) say “how do you eat a whale?” when people ask me for advice.
I also couldn’t get Mr. Mosby’s voice out of my head. You know the scene where he’s like, “How do you lose a woman!?” I think that’s what I just kept laughing.
Stevie and her dad still had a long way to go to mend their relationship, but I do feel like talking and trying was a good start. I hope Stevie knows that communication and letting other people in is how to connect with others, and that she allows herself to do that more often.
What I loved most was how Stevie and Kat reunited 💙.
“My best friend. I was never going to stop being happy to see her.”
(pg. 379)
I loved how cinematic the scene was with Kat waiting by the clock, her back to Stevie. Stevie called her name and they embraced. Perfect 🥺. It was also very unspoken how they forgave each other because sisters and friends fight, but they love each other. Also, their separate journeys allowed them to confront the harsh truth of their words, which allowed them to forgive each other for what was said. Maybe I would have enjoyed more of a conversation where they hashed out their apologies and what happened to them, but I liked how to the point and spot on their brief conversation was. I liked how their journeys and time apart made their relationship stronger. They also grew tremendously in one night, too.
“It was a little crazy just how much could change over the course of a night.”
(pg. 373)
Got that right.
But it was very sweet and wholesome how they grew and where it led them.
I enjoyed going to that secret party where Amy, Cary, Margaux, and Cary were at. What a great way to end the night. I loved how Brad was also there and how Stevie and him were bonded for life now! The moment also brought everyone they met (except Beckett) together.
I highly enjoyed Stevie’s arc and to see her find her voice and stay true to who she was.
🕵🏼♂️ 🎥 Teri 👨👨👧👦 🍁
Teri’s plotline was FREAKING BONKERS 🤪!!
The whole time, I kept asking myself, “WHAt the FREAK is Going ON?!!!!”
First it was the guy with the gun in the back of the car. Then it was claiming the guy was in the CSI and then the whole spy plot. But then the gunner was actually part of some mafia and was going to kill Teri and the kids because they knew about him and the diamonds. Where the heck did this guy get the diamonds? Then we meet the real Gilroy who’s really in the CSI and they escape to Canada with Dustin. All the while Teri’s current boyfriend, Ryan, broke up with her because she couldn’t Netflix and chill. I’m so sorry this girl was literally in Canada on some crazy spy plot?! I legit thought everything was a dream or some story Teri made up and then we would cut to how this was just a story Teri wrote. But it wasn’t. Gosh, I was thrown for a loop. Teri’s story was CRAZY and made absolutely no sense in the story, but I enjoyed it 🤪!
I was sad that Teri couldn’t tell anymore about her wild night because it was CSI business, but gosh, Kat and Stevie wouldn’t have believed her anyway! But I would! I guess, that was the point. I wonder if Teri had nights like this all the time and that’s how she met her boyfriends. I give her props for being bold with Dustin 😆. When Kat and Stevie got back to her house, I was kind of convinced it was a dream based on the Netflix movie selections, but the dirt on Teri’s face said everything was real. I really loved the scene with Stevie where she looked at the screen with the panorama of New York and had a reminiscent thought. It is crazy though how much can change in a night, a day, a week, a month, or year. It’s crazy how right now someone can be having the best night of their life, or heart-breaking, the worst night of their life. Everyone is going through something right now that is changing them and their lives.
I also enjoyed what was said about living in the moment. I do find that when I am concerned with filming or taking pictures of something, it takes away from the present—from just enjoying what’s going on.
“We hadn’t been comparing experiences, watching someone else’s night. We’d been too busy living our own.”
(pg. 380)
I grew up with social media, and it’s hard to remember a time where I wasn’t comparing what I do with what others are doing. It’s hard to remember what I did before social media. I mean, not that hard . . . I guess, different. But this was my reminder to be present and stop comparing everybody’s highlight reel with my lack of one. Just because I’m not jet setting everywhere or doing many things, doesn’t mean I am not living my life and shouldn’t be enjoying it because it’s not as perfect as other’s. Honestly, social media is sometimes a big flex for people to show others that they are perfect when sometimes they’re not. I do not hate social media, I just think like everything, it has it’s pros and cons. Comparison is a big con and it’s tough.
I loved how the ending wrapped everything up nicely. Most of the burning questions or issues were somewhat resolved, but of course, I have more questions. I loved how assured Kat was in not taking the assistant directing role and doing her own thing. But I felt like if she didn’t have that night to grow, it would have been harder for her to walk away from the theatre. I did appreciate how Kat walking away showed everyone that they could also try other things. Mr. Campbell’s power is going down! I also thought Stevie was doing the right thing by acting and keeping her options open. I liked how her and Beckett had a healthy friendship going for them. Sad, no one believed that Teri had a Canadian boyfriend, but we all know she’s being honest 🤪. I also LOVED that Cary became the millionaire he deserved to be. Gosh, knows his uncle was probably happy to stop being a superintendent and he now had a nice house. It’s so cool, though, that he had the LaSelle painting all this time. What a small, but cool world. I hope he still works one job or at least focuses on making his movies. I think Cary deserves utter happiness.
I also loved how everyone—including, finally, Stevie’s dad—-was there to support her big role. I loved that for her.
“‘So, same thing next Friday?’
Stevie laughed, and then without looking at me, bumped me with her hip. I bumped her back, and then, like we’d discussed it ahead of time, we both walked forward to rejoin the party.”
(pg. 373)
I had to laugh at that 💙.
Take Me Home Tonight was truly a wholesome adventurous journey.
Anyway, what was your favorite part of the book? Least favorite part? Anything I mentioned that you want to discuss more about? If you could get lost somewhere without a phone for one night, where would you go? Let me know below in the comments as I love hearing from you all 💕
I hope you have a beautiful day whenever and wherever you might be reading this 😊.
And as always, with love,
Rating
4.93 Full Bloom Flowers
Characters: I enjoyed our two protagonists and both their journey’s. I feel like there is something about Kat and Stevie we can all relate to.
Writing: Never a dull moment with a Morgan Matson read.
Plot: So creative, fun, well-thought out, and healing.
Adventure: Enough to make your heart full 💙