Friday, January 29, 2021

Book Review: You Have a Match by Emma Lord

Pages: 320
Genre: YA Realistic Fiction
Pub. Date: January 12, 2021
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Source: Publisher for review
My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
 
 

Goodreads says, "From the beloved author of Tweet Cute comes Emma Lord's You Have a Match, a hilarious and heartfelt novel of romance, sisterhood, and friendship...  When Abby signs up for a DNA service, it’s mainly to give her friend and secret love interest, Leo, a nudge. After all, she knows who she is already: Avid photographer. Injury-prone tree climber. Best friend to Leo and Connie…although ever since the B.E.I. (Big Embarrassing Incident) with Leo, things have been awkward on that front.  But she didn’t know she’s a younger sister.  When the DNA service reveals Abby has a secret sister, shimmery-haired Instagram star Savannah Tully, it’s hard to believe they’re from the same planet, never mind the same parents — especially considering Savannah, queen of green smoothies, is only a year and a half older than Abby herself.  The logical course of action? Meet up at summer camp (obviously) and figure out why Abby’s parents gave Savvy up for adoption. But there are complications: Savvy is a rigid rule-follower and total narc. Leo is the camp’s co-chef, putting Abby's growing feelings for him on blast. And her parents have a secret that threatens to unravel everything.  But part of life is showing up, leaning in, and learning to fit all your awkward pieces together. Because sometimes, the hardest things can also be the best ones."

 

Abby's best friend, Leo, participates in a DNA service, like Ancestry, with the hopes to find out more about his birth parents as he is adopted.  He convinces Abby to do it as well.  Abby assumes she will find out boring things like how Irish she is, etc, but what she finds out changes her life forever.  According to her DNA results, Abby has a sister....an older sister she never met...as in a 100% (not half!) sister!  This sister is Savannah, or Savvy, who lives not far away in another Seattle suburb. Although she is only a year and a half older than Abby, she is very different. She is pretty much an Instagram star with a huge following and is the polar opposite of Abby. How could they come from the same parents? The two girls decide a course of action in order to learn more about each other; they decide to meet up at summer camp.  To complicate things further, Leo, her best friend and crush, works at this camp and after their awkward moment things haven't been as easy  as before.  Savvy and Abby have a whole summer to figure out their complicated story and there's much more in store for Abby.  Emma Lord's You Have a Match is a sweet coming of age tale that focuses on friendship, family, social media, and the beauty of figuring out all those important, yet complicated moments in a person's life. 

Both Abby and Savvy are interesting character in You Have a Match.  They are opposites, but sisters nonetheless and this made me think of The Parent Trap, especially with the summer camp setting.  I enjoyed Savvy's type A personality and rule following antics, whereas Abby isn't even sure of the rules right off the bat and is chewing gum at camp. It's a no-no!  I also really enjoyed Abby's best friend-turned-love interest, Leo. He also has an adoption story as he was adopted from the Philippines. I do wish Lord would have paid a bit more attention to Leo's story, because I think it is a worthwhile one and much needed in YA literature this day in age.  Nonetheless, his adorable romance with Abby was well done and very cute--perfect for camp and summer love.

The best part for me was the setting of summer camp in You Have a Match. Summer camp is the    quintessential location for learning more about yourself, making new friends, having a summer romances, and all that a coming-of-age summer brings. Lord's descriptions of camp and the Pacific Northwest were really great and something I most definitely enjoyed.

While I didn't love You Have a Match as much as I had hoped, it was still a cute and heartwarming YA novel that I enjoyed cuddling up with this winter.  So, are you a fan of Emma Lord?  Have you read Have a Match? Do you enjoy stories set at summer camp? Let me know in the comments below. 

 

6 comments:

  1. Well, ok. I wasn't as enthused about it anyway, so I'm glad I didn't rush out to get a copy. Definitely a borrow.

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    1. Definitely borrow! It was cute! Thanks for visiting, Joy!

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  2. The summer camp setting sounds so fun - I never went as a kid!

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    1. I did with my sports team and in middle school and it was a blast! Reading this book brought back a lot of camp memories. Thanks for visiting, Angela!

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  3. is leo considered a main character?

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