Books like The unexpected everything

A breezy, big-hearted contemporary read about the messy, beautiful chaos that ensues when perfectly laid plans fall apart. These 12 books are the closest matches in mood, pace and themes, with what each one shares with The unexpected everything.

breezy
heartwarming
energetic

01
Second Chance Summer
Morgan Matson
A bittersweet, sun-drenched summer of rekindled love and inevitable goodbyes.
Shares:
- heartwarming
- earnest
02
Since You've Been Gone
Morgan Matson
A sun-drenched, playlist-fueled summer of stepping out of your comfort zone and finding out who you are when nobody else is looking.
Shares:
- breezy
- earnest
03
Once and for all
Sarah Dessen
A sun-drenched, bittersweet summer romance that explores the messy collision of wedding-day perfection and real-world grief.
Shares:
- earnest
04
Love and Gelato
Jenna Evans Welch
A sun-drenched Italian escapade that wraps the bittersweet ache of grief in the sweet comfort of first love and newfound family.
Shares:
- earnest
- first love
05
That Summer
Sarah Dessen · 1996
A bittersweet, sun-drenched exploration of the summer when childhood ends and the messy reality of growing up begins.
Shares:
- wry
- earnest
06
Always and Forever, Lara Jean
Jenny Han
A warm, bittersweet embrace of a story that captures the terrifying, beautiful precipice between childhood and whatever comes next.
Shares:
- earnest
- first love
07
The fill-in boyfriend
Kasie West
A sweet, trope-driven high school romance where a desperate prom-night lie blossoms into a genuine, swoon-worthy connection.
Shares:
- earnest
08
Not if I save you first
Ally Carter
A frosty, high-stakes wilderness survival thriller wrapped around a witty, second-chance teenage romance.
Shares:
- earnest
09
The upside of unrequited
Becky Albertalli
A warm, witty, and deeply relatable exploration of the terrifying leap between crushing from afar and risking your heart in the real world.
Shares:
- wry
- earnest
- first love
10
My life next door
Huntley Fitzpatrick
A sun-drenched summer romance that contrasts the quiet loneliness of a pristine life with the chaotic warmth of the family next door.
Shares:
- earnest
- first love
11
It's Not Summer Without You
Jenny Han
A sun-faded, bittersweet exploration of what happens when the golden haze of childhood summers is pierced by real-world grief.
Shares:
- earnest
12
The Future of Us
Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler
A nostalgic, sliding-doors exploration of how the tiny choices we make today ripple into the people we become tomorrow.
Shares:
- earnest

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