The Book:
When You Get The Chance by Emma Lord
Published January 4th 2022 by Wednesday Books
Date read: January 3rd, 2022
The Characters:
Millie
Teddy
Oliver
Buy it on Bookshop.org | Amazon | Libro.fm
The Plot (from Goodreads):
Nothing will get in the way of Millie Price’s dream to become a Broadway star. Not her lovable but super-introverted dad, who after raising Millie alone, doesn’t want to watch her leave home to pursue her dream. Not her pesky and ongoing drama club rival, Oliver, who is the very definition of Simmering Romantic Tension. And not the “Millie Moods,” the feelings of intense emotion that threaten to overwhelm, always at maddeningly inconvenient times. Millie needs an ally. And when a left-open browser brings Millie to her dad’s embarrassingly moody LiveJournal from 2003, Millie knows just what to do. She’s going to find her mom.
There’s Steph, a still-aspiring stage actress and receptionist at a talent agency. There’s Farrah, ethereal dance teacher who clearly doesn’t have the two left feet Millie has. And Beth, the chipper and sweet stage enthusiast with an equally exuberant fifteen-year-old daughter (A possible sister?! This is getting out of hand). But how can you find a new part of your life and expect it to fit into your old one, without leaving any marks? And why is it that when you go looking for the past, it somehow keeps bringing you back to what you’ve had all along?
The Ending:
None of the three women was Millie’s mom. It was actually Georgie, her boss at the internship where she was trying to get close to Steph. Steph was Georgie’s cousin and Georgie had changed her surname.
Farrah ended up dating Heather. Beth started dating Millie’s dad. Beth’s daughter Chloe started dating Teddy, and Millie started dating Oliver. They all wound up one big happy family.
The Review:
Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
In this YA contemporary inspired by Mamma Mia, Millie begins a search for her mother in hopes of convincing her dad to let her go to a prestigious theater precollege. She has three options, based on her dad’s LiveJournal entries from college. Her mother left her at her father’s door and disappeared when she was a baby, and her dad has always pretended not to know her identity.
Often when reading YA novels, I find myself questioning the reality of the story, thinking “where are your parents?”. This was not the case at all in When You Get The Chance. The parents and adults were present and an important part of the storyline. Even though Millie’s dad was out of town for a portion of the story, Millie regularly turned to her aunt/pseudo-mom Heather for help. And of course, much of the story showed her interactions with her potential moms.
I loved all of the potential moms. Beth was my favorite, and her daughter was an adorable side character. I found it especially heartwarming how Millie’s scheming brought everyone together in one way or another.
Although Millie and Oliver’s romance takes a bit of a backseat to Millie’s family situation, it was a great slow-burn enemies-to-lovers plot. They had great banter, and definitely make each other better people. I thought they were a great team. They were both so selfless when it came to the competition over the internship!
If you love ABBA, theater, NYC, or just a really good YA book, this is definitely one to read.
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