“Would You Rather?” with Author Morgan Matson

Morgan Matson is very special because she is the first author who gave me my resurgence for reading Young Adult then back in 2016! I remember I was going through a lot of anxiety during that time in my life, and one day I just stopped everything and took a trip to visit my friends…the bookstore! When my eyes landed on Morgan Matson’s book Since You’ve Been Gone, it was like a spot of sunshine to my soul. Take Me Home Tonight is a new favorite because it’s a book about the changes that a friendship goes through and how traumatic it is, especially in high school. This is a book where the characters go on a wild ride around New York, and it’s the kind of story that depicts one of those monumental times of your life that throughout the craziness you have the best time of your life, and that becomes that one life-altering moment where you find yourself in the end. These are the kinds of stories that you always remember because they are the kind of stories that remind you what life is about. This book reminds you about the thrill of being young and how every decision feels so monumental. Take Me Home Tonight will remind you to never let go of the things you have always loved because it’s what makes the chaos of life really beautiful. 

I love comparing books to my pop culture favorites, and I can’t help but compare it to Adventures in Baby-sitting and Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist! If you could choose one world to live in for one day, would it be Nick and Norah or Adventures in Baby-sitting?

Morgan Matson: Those are great comps for the book! I’d have to say Adventures in Babysitting, just because it seems like such a wild ride! As long as you knew everything would work out okay in the end, that’s my pick.

As a fellow Swiftie fan like myself, if you had to describe Take Me Home Tonight using one Taylor Swift album, would you rather choose one of her older classics like Red or one of my new favorites, Folklore? 

Ooh interesting! I think maybe one of the middle albums – like Lover or 1989 or even bits of Reputation. I feel like those albums really have a beat and Take Me Home Tonight is all about a fast-paced night! I love the new albums but they’re a little slower, more contemplative. Less city, more woods. So I feel like Lover or 1989 captures the energy of the book a little more!

One of the things I adore about your writing is your gift of character development, especially in this story where the timeline was one magical and wild day in New York! If you could get lost in New York with one person, would you rather choose Kat or Stevie?

I’d probably choose Kat! She’s a little more willing to take risks and chances and throw herself into whatever the night brings. Whereas Stevie is a little more cautious and careful. But she’s also a little more responsible, which is something you’re missing if you choose Kat! But it’s a tradeoff I’m willing to make ☺

If the book Take Me Home Tonight was adapted, would you rather be a made for tv Netflix adaptation or a movie?

I really would see this as a feature – I think that stories that take place over one night are really best as movies! Two hours is the right timeframe, I think – otherwise it just feels like the same night is going on forever!

I have read all your books since you’ve written Since You’ve Been Gone. Take Me Home Tonight is the first book I have read from you that is a dual point of view. If you had to write a stand-alone about only one of the characters, would you write it about Kat or Stevie?

It was a really fun challenge to write for two POVs for the first time! I think if I wrote a stand-alone, I would write from Stevie’s POV, just because I feel like Kat already had more of the book’s real estate and I’d want to balance things out!

If this was a Choose Your Own Adventure book, would you rather ride around a moped with Cary in New York or run around with a loveable and jumpy Pomeranian named Brad?

Moped with Cary! Not even a question. I love you Brad, but I want a scooter adventure around Manhattan!

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