Member Reviews
Thank you so much @WednesdayBooks & @NetGalley for giving me this eARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review (Release Date | 12 January 2021)
SYNOPSIS | When Abby signs up for a DNA ancestry service, she is mainly doing it so that her adopted best friend (& unrequited love) Leo has a reason to as well. She doesn't expect to find out that she has an older biological sister (Savvy), nor does she expect her to be instagram influencer & living close by. They hatch a plan to meet at Summer Camp to figure out why Abby's parents gave Savvy up for adoption.
WHAT I LIKED:
- this book does a lot (family drama, unrequited love, self-discovery, sisterhood, grief, social media dependency, coming of age...)
- Abby. She is flawed & messy & oh so relatable.
- the friendships & found-family storyline were precious
- gave me 21st century Parent Trap vibes
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
- a number of references to a certain Wizarding World including Houses & traits
- that the romance was a peripheral (& predictable) plot
5 stars = Outstanding!
Another winner from Emma Lord, author of the fantastic TWEET CUTE.
The unexpected-sister part of the story was the star for me. It was the hook that made me want to read it, and it was the piece that kept me frantically turning pages. I read this in one sitting, primarily for the family pieces of this story.
The friendship and personal growth and romance pieces rounded out the book well. I loved the characters in this, so I was happy to just hang out and see what happened with all of them as the story moved along. If some of the secondary characters eventually got spin-off stories, I would snap them up!
The writing here is fantastic - I bookmarked several pages as I read where things were especially funny or moving or just really expressed well. For me, this will go right at the top of my YA go-to, always-love, keep-rereading YA novels. Do not miss this one! (Language, LGBTQ+)
Thank you publishers for an advanced copy of this book! I LOVED it! Her first book, Tweet Cute, was recommended to me last year when I was looking for something warm and light hearted. It was perfect and so was this one! They are YA without being childish, warm and fuzzy without being cheesy, and they make me SO nostalgic for high school and allll of the teenage angst. All of her characters are so well written. This is the story of 2 long lost teenage sisters who found each other through a DNA kit, unknown to both of their parents, plan a summer away at camp. It’s like Parent Trap for those of us who have Instagram and smart phones. Loved it!
I enjoyed this book and found the storyline really interesting with a lot of drama! It’s a very easy YA read with some aspects being hinted at to let you predict certain storyline plots. I enjoyed the characters in this book and it was such a cute YA book, with The Parent Trap vibes (my favourite childhood movie)!
I loved the ending and how it skipped to a year later, showing how things turned out! This was a key part in my live for this book because the last 25% all I wanted to know was what happened and where everyone ended up! I loved this cute YA read and I’d definitely recommend this to everyone needing a light-hearted and easy read!
You Have a Match by Emma Lord is her sophomore novel that came out on Tuesday January 12, 2021 and to say I was excited for this was very true. I didn't really knew much about this book before requesting it from the publishing company just knew that it was the same author who wrote Tweet Cute which came out last year and I really loved that one. This second novel is all about finding a secert sister that u never knew u had and falling in love with ur secert male friend! This book had some lgbt characters in here too and for me I think the last two chapters of the book took the cake for me overall that it mad this book a 5 star read for me.
So You Have a Match is all about our main character name Abby who is in her junior year of high school and her school consulelr told her she needed to take a summer school class and she wouldn't have it a school but at this summer camp call: Camp Reynolds. So Abby didn't wanted to go to this camp because she wasn't sure if she knew anyone there but soon enough she finds out she knows not just one but almost the whole camp there!
This second novel from Emma Lord was just what I needed durning these stressfull time. Which is a fun lighthearted read and something to make me laugh out loud which I did a lot. There are so many amazing characters in this novel and for the first time in a while I read a contemporary book that feature a family! With actual parents and siblings! Which is a nice fresh take from reading fantasy lately (Lol).
Anyways I knew very little about this book except that it was a ya contemporary novel that had lgbt characters and a main character trying to find some secret that her parents have kept from her all her life. But as soon as Abby takes this DNA test she finds out she has a secret sister that is two years older than her and that runs Camp Reynolds and then things happened from there. I won't put spoilers in this reivew but just know I read this one very quickly and so happy I was able to get a phycial copy of this arc from the publishers so thank u very much!
If u looking for a quick and fun and lighthearted summer contemporary read You Have a Match is ur book to pick up. It has a secert that the family is holding, a summer camp, love in the air, kayking happening, hiking happening, and a summer that Abby wouldn't forget, and neither will u!(:
Thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
3/5 stars
The Parent Trap meets Instagram in this adorable YA contemporary!
You Have a Match was an adorable, if predictable, read! I honestly had so much fun reading this! Sure, it was a typical YA contemporary, but at this point it's pretty hard to find something that hasn't been done before.
When Abby signs up to take a DNA test, it's mainly just to help out her best friend and crush, Leo, though things have been a little awkward between them of late since an awkward almost-kiss. But she didn’t know she had a sister. Or that her new-found sister is a famous Instagram star. They plan to get to know each other by meeting up for summer camp, but their differences and parents threaten to pull them apart forever.
Abby was such a fun main character! She has just the right amount of spunk and personality to make her feel less like a character and more like a person that I could meet in the real world. Seeing the growth of Savvy and Abby's relationship felt genuine, and was such a highlight of the book!
Part of why I was so excited to read this book was the spin on an Instagram influencer. The public only sees the perfect exterior, so I thought it would be interesting to get in her head. Unfortunetely, we didn't really see any of that. Savvy said she didn't really enjoy it anymore and that was kind of it. I would have liked to see a little more there, though what we got wasn't that bad.
This book was cheesy. Like, almost cheesier than Emma Lord's first book about grilled cheese restaurants. But through the corniness, there were some moments that felt completely real and genuine. Emme Lord definitely has a knack for taking a fluffy book and adding some real elements here and there!
This book was charming and loveable, though fluffy and predictable. I had a great time reading it, but I doubt I'll revisit it. Fantastic job to Emma Lord for writing yet another good time for me!
Emma Lord has a style of writing that makes words seem glittering and intriguing, pulling us in as the plot thickens. As an extremely awkward person, I also high-key love the emphasis on awkwardness in this book.
When Tweet Cute came out last year, I shouted about it from the rooftops, the streets, and every social media platform I’m on. So I was really looking forward to You Have a Match, and even more excited to have an ARC copy of it.
Did it live up to my expectations?
Mostly yes!
The characters themselves were vivid and distinct – I felt for the main character, Abby, and her life of tutors, SAT prep, and flinging herself into adventure. Emma Lord has a knack for making characters that are extremely relatable, and this book is no different. The love interest, Leo, is adorable and could melt even the most stone-cold of hearts. The tropes in this book? Exquisite. We love our childhood-friends-to-lovers and pining. Savannah – Abby’s long-lost sister – took a while for me to warm up to but by the end, I was cheering her on as well.
While this book was a fun read, it felt like something was missing. That Emma Lord pizazz that we saw in Tweet Cute, with the witty banter and characters you’d die for, just wasn’t quite there. The love interest situation also had a miscommunication that felt like it could’ve been resolved with a minute of talking. I’d recommend this book if you’re looking for a fun, sisterly book about family and sleep-away camp!
*Thanks to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for providing me with a free arc in exchange for an honest review."
-Full disclosure this book was a cover request for me because after 2020 I needed a cute rom com. It is not a rom com or at least I wouldn't consider it one.-
Imagine making a bet with your friends over who's the most Irish and taking one of those mail in DNA tests and finding out you have a sibling you didn't know about. That's Abby's life, and not only does she have an older sister that could practically be her twin but said sister is Savannah Tully a semi famous Instagram influencer who lives a short car ride away. As if the stress of meeting her sister isn't enough Abby is also dealing with the fallout of an event referred to as the Big Embarrassing Incident a.k.a. she almost kissed her friend Leo.
Savannah and Abby decide to do the only logical thing, spend the summer at a local camp getting to know each other and try to figure out what happened that lead to their parents falling out. The only problem is Leo also happens to be working at this camp along with Savannah who it turns out he's known for years.
This book was not at all what I expected, but definitely something I needed. It did a great job showing the nature vs nurture aspect of growing up and discovering who you are as a person. I loved that the story focused mostly on Savvy and Abby's relationship with each other instead of the those around them. Overall just an enjoyable story. I decided to purchase the audiobook as well after reading when it was released and the narrator did a fantastic job.
This is a NetGalley read. But I did not like this story at all. It was about 320 pages too long (Yes, that is also the page count).
Abby Day got on my nerves. And those last name puns were stupid. She talks tough too. Yet, she is incredibly unconfident. Unless it comes to being a little jerk. I literally could not have been more annoyed with the back and forth Leo crap. Even after other campers said Leo likes you, she kept the whole charade of I’m keeping distance because he is bettering himself. At one point, I was considering punching my own lights out to reprieve that teenage angst. Shut the hell up and grow a pair in a Day. See it is not funny!
Finn was a character that I truly enjoyed. Also, Rufus. Solid 5 star dog. Mickey too. Savvy wasn’t too bad either. I guess any character that wasn’t core was good. Just hate Leo and Abby. Still have my fingers crossed for Leo finding some hot college chick to bang just to spite Abby.
I enjoy YA. But this one was an incredible miss for me. This was a two star read for me. However, I am absolutely not the intended audience. If I respond more subjectively, I can appreciate that Abby Day’s are plentiful in this world and I bet they would dig this story. Therefore, I will give it a three star rating.
I would thank NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the read. But it felt much more like cruel and unusual punishment.
As if it weren't enough that Abby was already dealing with the weirdness resulting from an incident with one of her two best friends, Leo, due to her feelings for him that he clearly doesn't reciprocate, she finds out that she has a sister who she never knew about. Not only that, her sister is Savannah Tully, an Instagram influencer with a large following. In an effort to get to know her sister better, Abby finds herself at camp with both Savannah and Leo where at first things don't seem to go well at all either between Abby and Savannah or between Abby and Leo. This is a sweet story about family, all kinds of family - the family you are born into, the family you grow up with and the family you choose and how all of them are special. It's also a story about friendship and how sometimes the bonds of friendship can be stronger than you think and even when you think a friendship is irretrievably broken it may not be. Finally, it is a story about romance both heterosexual romance and homosexual romance, and although this is clearly Abby's story both romances are treated equally respectively and equally importantly.
You hHave a Match has a LOT going on. There were so many characters and so many different subplots and dramas that I felt like the sister relationship -- which I thought should have been the heart of the book -- got crowded out.
I love the Parent Trap - it's one of my favorite movies ever - and this did have a bit of that feel, with the sisters separated and reuniting at summer camp. The rationale for the sisters being separated in the Parent Trap made no sense - you have to just go with it. Without spoilers, this story also had a really weird and not-very-believable explanation that I guess you also just have to go with.
Tweet Cute was one of my favorites of last year so I am sad that I didn't love You Have a Match as much as I hoped.
I adored Emma Lord's debut novel Tweet Cute so much, and with her sophomore novel, she's further cemented herself as an author whose work I'm bound to enjoy. You Have a Match is about Abby, who ends up signing up for a DNA service with her best friend. With the results comes a surprising revelation: Abby has a full-blooded older sister named Savannah (nicknamed 'Savvy) who she's never known about. The pair make plans to meet up at a summer camp in order to uncover the truth about why they never knew about each other and the relationship between both sets of parents... though that ends up not being the only thing the pair figure out while they're away.
I loved You Have a Match! My fondness for this story has a lot to do with how much I appreciate stories about family dynamics, particularly between siblings, and specifically between sisters (which I suppose isn't much of a surprise as I have two of my own). While Abby and Savvy's relationship might not be the typical sort, Lord's portrayal of their dynamic was real and relatable. It was equal parts heartwarming (the connections they make!) and heartbreaking (the complications that threaten the fragile relationship that's begun!), while also being 100% compelling to read about these two as they go from strangers to sisters. That's not to say that this was the only aspect of the book I enjoyed! I liked the friendships, the romance (which has a lot of miscommunication, but in a way that made sense), and the summer camp setting (including the shenanigans). I was also surprised to find out that two characters were Filipino and to see Filipino food mentioned on page; seeing details like that in a story is always exciting. And finally, I fully appreciated the way this novel tackled the aspects of identity (both in real life and online) and relationships (family, friendship and romantic). You Have a Match was a wonderful, charming read, one that I personally really enjoyed and would highly recommend.
I had a great time with this book. After enjoying Emma Lord's first book Tweet Cute, I was eager to give her work another try. I loved the description of this book so I had pretty high hopes going into this story. I was not disappointed and ended up finding this book to be very entertaining.
Abby signs up for a DNA service along with her friend. Abby does not expect to learn that she has a sister out in the world that she has never heard about before. When Abby meets her sister, Savannah, they make a plan to go to camp together so they can piece together the secret behind Savannah's adoption. It turns out that she is going to the same camp as her crush and best friend, Leo, so she might actually figure out what is going on between the two of them.
I liked Abby a lot. She wasn't perfect and she is dealing with a lot of things over the course of the story. I think that she handled things really well and she showed a lot of growth over the course of the story. Savannah is an Instagram star and seemed to be picture perfect at the start of the story. As the book progressed, we get to see the real Savannah and her flaws and she really started to grow on me. I loved all of the secondary characters that spent time with Abby and Savannah at camp. I think that they each added an important element to the story.
I really liked seeing everything come together in this story. Abby and Savannah both learn a lot about themselves and their family over the course of this story. I thought that the bond that they developed felt very authentic. There was a bit of romance worked into the story which I thought added a wonderful element to the story. Each of the characters was dealing with their own issues and I thought that together this was a perfectly layered story.
I would recommend this story to others. I thought that this was a fantastic story filled with wonderful characters, a focus on relationships, and a lot of heart. I wouldn't hesitate to read more of Emma Lord's work in the future.
I received a digital review copy of this book from St. Martin's Press - Wednesday Books via NetGalley.
This novel is about friendship, sisterhood, and a little bit of young love. Abby is one of a trio of besties with Connie and Leo, who she also happens to be crushing on. Leo decided to do sign them all up for a DNA ancestry service as a part of an anthropology project, and the results are more than Abby bargained for. She unexpectedly finds out she has a sister, Savannah, who is just 18 months older than her. To get to the bottom of what happened, Abby and Savannah go off to summer camp to get to know each other and hopefully crack the case!
There were so many wonderful things going on in this novel. First of all, as a summer camper myself, most of the novel took place at the camp and it gave me all kind of nostalgic vibes. Abby is also a photographer and has a camera from her grandpa who passed away, as well as a newer camera she calls Kitty. You can see pictured my own grandpas old camera as well my newer one as well. I definitely related to Abby and get love of photography, but also her awkward and sometimes wild side.
Reading about the relationship between Abby and her sister was also pretty amazing. They are so different, yes somehow fit together, which is how my sister and I are too. I love books about sisters and this was no exception.
I happy recommend this book and I plan on reading Tweet Cute soon, Emma Lorde’s other book. I enjoyed the pacing and the character development and I look forward to reading more by the author.
My expectations were high, and my expectations were met.
I could not get enough of this book. Emma Lord has a way of writting a story that pulls me in and really makes me feel the emotions her characters are going through.
This was fun, emotional and I didnt really want it to end-despite the many tears that I shed.
This is Emma Lord’s second novel. I didn’t read Tweet Cute, but would often see positive and complementary reviews of it crossing my Goodreads updates.
You Have a Match didn’t disappoint. It is my favourite kind of contemporary young adult novel, with a complicated plot, interweaving many layers and themes, while still maintaining a witty romantic tone. The central focus sees main character Abby discover she has a secret full-blooded sister 18 months older. Adjacent to that is her seemingly unrequited crush on her best friend Leo, and a drop in her academic results, partly due to the grief of losing her grandfather, someone who saw her, and listened to her and encouraged her passion for photography.
When new sister Savannah appears as someone put together and totally in charge, Abby’s self-confidence dips even further. Her parents, usually too busy dealing with her three younger rambunctious brothers, have turned their focus on her grades, and she feels much pressure to excel, and its this stress and uncertainty about her future that prompts her to keep Savvy a secret a bit longer and head off on summer camp, pretending she is going to be studying for SATs when in reality, it’s a chance to try to explore her relationship with Savvy and the circumstances of their situation.
Look, there were times when Abby made poor choices of which I was not a fan. Camp brings with it many surprises, one of these being Leo, (a budding chef), and a chance to work on that friendship and hopefully develop it into something more. But of course, miscommunication is the key here, and they spend a lot of time not talking, which is a pity, but which also builds the tension. Another camper, Finn enables Abby’s impulsive tendencies and this in turn jeopardises Abby’s friendship with Savannah. As I say, it’s complicated and (my other favourite word) messy. There's a lot more that could be said about other characters like Connie and Victoria, the wonders of social media, and the gorgeous dog, but I think I will leave you to discover them for yourselves.
The drama builds, as we speculate on Savvy’s adoption, secrets are revealed, and insights gained. I immersed myself completely in Abby’s voice and sympathized with her, while also holding her accountable for her actions. Towards the end, it becomes a lot more about their parents, which is definitely an important contribution to the story. There's fun to be had while Abby discovers things about herself and how she relates to others, and I am pleased to report the resolutions are satisfying and tie up most loose ends nicely.
Thanks to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for an advanced copy. Highly recommended to fans of Emery Lord, Jenn Bennett and Sarah Dessen. It’s modern, twisty and inclusive. Savvy’s gay status doesn’t even raise an eyebrow. I am so glad Australia audiences will have easy access by March.
You Have a Match is available now in the US.
Emma Lord does it again! After adoring her debut with Tweet Cute, I knew I had to read You Have a Match and it’s everything I wanted and more. With descriptive scenes, Parent Trap vibes, and strong characters I grew to love, I didn’t want this book to end!
The story follows high schooler Abby Day and what happens when she incidentally discovers she has a sister her parents have hid from her for 16 years... Abby and her friends, including her new sister, go to camp over the summer where the crew adventures and ultimately learns more about themselves and each other. The result is a journey of self-discovery and what it means to be family.
I’ll always have a soft spot for Lord’s YA and truly can’t wait to read whatever she has in store for us next!
Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.
This is a really great book. It's such an original idea, that's so perfect for this period in time. I loved the camp setting, it's a realistic way to give teen characters a chance to learn and grow without being under the close monitoring of their parents, so it helps the storyline progress but also feels realistic.
The characters in this book are really great. They're well-rounded, interesting, and there's really great growth and development that just makes you want to root for these characters.
My YA heart! Emma Lord is a YA queen and this book further proves that! It’s the parent trap with a DNA twist! I thought the juxtaposition between Abby and savannah was perfection. I also loved that Abby was our protagonist and she wasn’t a picture perfect high school student! Yes for books about real kids!!
When one of Abby’s best friends decides to get his DNA tested to learn more about his ancestry (Leo was adopted as a toddler from the Philippines), Abby and the third member of their group, Connie, support him by getting DNA tests done too. The results absolutely floor her: Abby has an older sister, who’s just a year and a half older, who lives nearby and is an Instagram influencer. The shock of learning that she has a full-blooded sister doesn’t lead her to immediately ask her parents about it, however; she meets up with Savannah (known as Savvy) and the two agree they need to solve this mystery themselves. Since the summer is just starting, and Savvy will soon be working at a summer camp not far from their home in Washington, Abby decides to go to the camp as well.
All is not smooth sailing, however; Abby’s grades have gone down the past year of school, and she’s failing one class, and while she’s attending the SAT prep part of the camp, she’s mightily tired of tutoring and interventions. On top of that, she’s surprised to find Leo is working at the camp too. That would be pretty cool, except for the fact that she has been crazy about him for a while and awkward around him ever since the B.E.I. (big embarrassing incident) months before. And while she would like to get to know her sister and learn what happened, she also is annoyed that Savvy is very serious about her position as junior counselor — and about every single one of the silly rules of the camp. What should be a fun opportunity to spend more time with her best friend and get to know Savvy becomes a very frustrating and confusing month.
Emma Lord’s first book, Tweet Cute, was utterly delightful and charming, so I was happy to dive into this story. You Have a Match has a lot of serious things going on: loss, grief, adoption, finding one’s way in life, facing and resolving old challenges. It’s not as light as Tweet Cute, but it still is about family and the impact of past decisions made by parents and even grandparents on the lives of teens. It’s about teens looking ahead to their immediate futures as adults and trying to decide what they want to do and can do, what their “real lives” will be like. And of course, it has teen love. Here, Abby’s relationship with Leo is one of the main plot lines, but it comes second after the main story of Abby and Savvy and their parents. It’s a book that has cute and fun elements but is weightier than the author’s first book.