Member Reviews

I enjoyed Lord's debut, Tweet Cute, but she's definitely leveled up here. Abby was a flawed, chaotic, and totally lovable protagonist and I loved the friends to lovers relationship between her and Leo. Savannah and Abby had a realistically fraught relationship. Camp was a fun setting for the mishaps and miscommunications, and gave it all big nostalgic Parent Trap vibes. The whole book is fresh, funny, and emotional. I wasn't sure if Lord would be able to pull off a believable reveal for why the sisters were raised apart, but it all worked out. Great for fans of Emma Mills and Morgan Matson.

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I requested this ARC of You Have a Match completely because I liked the cover, and was initially disappointed that this was a YA. That disappointment faded within a few pages, I was hooked pretty quickly. The story is fresh and polished, I stayed up late to read One More Chapter, and actually teared up at one point (don't worry, no dogs die). I would loooove to have a sequel to see what happens to our main characters, I feel so invested in their lives at this point.

This was my first book by Emma Lord but I will absolutely be seeking out more books by her.

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This was sappy sweet and gave me Parent Trap vibes. I loved it.

There were 2 errors that I noted in the ARC:

(Double Negative) There's no scenario where my parents don't yank me out of here.

(Spelling) Think I'd agree to that? Nobody has to taken (spelling-take) any legal action

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What would you do, if you found out, you had a biological sister you never knew existed just because you took a random DNA test to support your best friend ? Abby discovers she has a full blooded sister, Savannah 'Savvy' Tully, who her parents gave up for adoption a mere 18 months before she was born. When Savannah, her Instagram famous sister, asks her to join her in the summer camp where she's in charge, Abby takes the opportunity and goes with her. The blooming kinship between Abby and Savvy is the heart and soul of this novel and I found the evolution of their relationship to be just so charming. I expected to like this book, but I was pleasantly surprised but just how much I did enjoy it. It is a super cute book about family, friendship, love, summer camp, and sisterhood, with a modern day Parent Trap feel to it. I can't recommend this one enough. This is my first book by Emma Lord and I am adding Tweet Cute to my TBR pile immediately.

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4.5 Stars.

Move this up on your radar!

I was going to try and wait to read this book, but I just couldn’t!

I absolutely loved this book and it was exactly what I was looking for! I love Leo and Mickey so much in this book. The only reason I didn’t give this a full 5 stars is it just felt like it was missing something in the beginning. I can’t put my finger on it, though.

I’m so excited and blessed to have been given the opportunity to read this arc! It packs a punch in all the right ways. Light, yet handles more serious topics, cute adorable banter, and newfound love platonic and romantic!

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Tweet Cute (Emma Lord’s debut novel) is one of my all time favorite YA novels, so I went into this book with high expectations and... they were totally met (maybe even exceeded). I loved this fun twist on The Parent Trap!

This book was sweet and swoony and I *literally* hugged my kindle multiple times while reading it! I also found myself laughing out loud throughout the story.

If you were a fan of Tweet Cute or you’re a fan of YA novels, or you know, just good books in general... put this book on your TBR list! It’s such a good one and I’m SO excited for more books from Emma Lord in the future!

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Connie bets Abby she is more Irish. I like the name Abby. Leo is having a DNA test done and the girls decide to also. Iiked how Abby interacted with Leo. Abby finds out she has a long lost sister Savannah m I really liked the characters and dialogue.

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First, thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC! I LOVED Emma Lord's first book and I'm so happy her sophomore effort was just as enjoyable.

I really love Emma Lord's writing and it reminds me so much of Emma Mills, in that they're both so matter of fact in their story telling and her characters, especially her female characters, are bold and badass. I really liked both Abby and Savvy and the ways they complemented and were different from each other.

One thing that didn't work for me was the whole Savvy falling off the cliff thing. It felt so trite and like its purpose was the encourage a heart-to-heart conversation between Abby and Savvy that could have happened with them not stuck in a ditch.

Maybe I'm showing my age as 39yo consumer of YA lit, but I would have liked more information and background about each of the parents. Their interactions with each other and also with their kids were really great.

I loved the romance. I love a slow burn when it's SO obvious they'll get together.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this and I'm so excited I got my greedy little hands on it early.

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What a gem this was, I absolutely flew through it. I loved the characters and the plot was brilliant! What a wonderful reading experience.

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Thank you Wednesday Books for my review copy. All opinions are my own.
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I fell in love with Emma Lord while reading her debut Tweet Cute. With You Have a Match she sealed her status as auto buy author for me ♥️.
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There are so many things I love about this book. Where to start, where to start 🤔. Let’s go with these...
1. The Parent Trap (with a twist) premise. I mean. Precious.
2. The amazing cast of characters. I swear I loved them all.
3. The fact that a YA book (not my jam), makes me smile and laugh and giggle and swoon, in such a lovely way.
4. The setting. Camp is always a good idea. Always.
5. The writing. Simply put. Emma writes well. It doesn’t feel cheesy. It should. But instead it is a delightful premise with amazing execution.
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Amazing readability with a stupid grin on my face the whole stinkin time.
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I will highly recommend this title. Not just to my YA lovers. It really speaks well to lots of people.

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St Martin's Press sent me an ARC of "You Have a Match" after I read and loved Tweet Cute. Emma Lord is such a fresh voice in YA fiction and I feel privileged to have read both of her novels.

Abby, Leo and Connie are best friends even though Abby has feelings more than friends for Leo. They are take a DNA ancestry test on a whim and Abby is surprised to learn she has a biological older sister, Instagram famous Savannah Tully. The two girls meet and decide the best way to get to know each other and figure out how their lives ended up like this is to spend the summer at camp together, away from curious parents. And of course, to complicate matters, Leo will be at the same camp.

This book was the perfect amount of fun fluff and heart. The story of these two estranged sisters trying to reconcile their history, of Abby trying to figure out who she is in the world and of course a teenage love story is always fun. I always find myself a little frustrated in these types of books about the lack of true communication but I've learned to look past it and just see it as a plot device, whether I like it or not.

I would absolutely recommend this book who enjoyed Tweet Cute or anyone who reads a lot of YA. Emma Lord is the future of the genre in my opinion and you can't go wrong with her work.

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I got an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. Thank you.

This story is the author's second book (I enjoyed "Tweet Cute") that, just like the first one, is able to make a social media platform like a character itself. With her first book, Twitter was the character. Now, Instagram takes center stage.

Budding Photographer 16-year-old Abigail (Abby) Day lives in the Seattle area and is crushing on one of her best friends, Leo. To help give him a nudge to finding his biological family, she agrees to sign up for a DNA service. What she doesn't count on is the results: a secret older sister that her parents didn't tell her anything about. Her sister is Savannah Tully, a fit, rule-following Instagram star that Abby feels like is her complete opposite. To learn more about Savvy (and spend more time with Leo), she goes to a camp on an island nearby. She doesn't expect to find out more about herself as well shortly after her beloved grandfather passes away.

What first made me want to read this book is the author herself. I got an advanced copy of "Tweet Cute", loved it, and wanted to see what her sophomore effort was like. I just love how in each book (I've mentioned this before) that she makes social media a character. And this book made me want to continue reading even before it got to the "Camp Reynolds". It's also got some romance, but the driving subject of the book feels more like the growing sisterhood between Savvy and Abby (which I enjoyed).

This book also feels realistic, like something like this could actually happen. At first, I thought one boy was going to be her love interest (even though there was no romance, but more of a friendship), but it surprised me sometimes.

This is a great teen book if you're into stories about any of the following: camp, finding yourself, sisterhood, surprising romances. Also, if you were a fan of "Tweet Cute", you should DEFINITELY pick this one up, too.

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I got an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. Thank you.

This story is the author's second book (I enjoyed "Tweet Cute") that, just like the first one, is able to make a social media platform like a character itself. With her first book, Twitter was the character. Now, Instagram takes center stage.

Budding Photographer 16-year-old Abigail (Abby) Day lives in the Seattle area and is crushing on one of her best friends, Leo. To help give him a nudge to finding his biological family, she agrees to sign up for a DNA service. What she doesn't count on is the results: a secret older sister that her parents didn't tell her anything about. Her sister is Savannah Tully, a fit, rule-following Instagram star that Abby feels like is her complete opposite. To learn more about Savvy (and spend more time with Leo), she goes to a camp on an island nearby. She doesn't expect to find out more about herself as well shortly after her beloved grandfather passes away.

What first made me want to read this book is the author herself. I got an advanced copy of "Tweet Cute", loved it, and wanted to see what her sophomore effort was like. I just love how in each book (I've mentioned this before) that she makes social media a character. And this book made me want to continue reading even before it got to the "Camp Reynolds". It's also got some romance, but the driving subject of the book feels more like the growing sisterhood between Savvy and Abby (which I enjoyed).

This book also feels realistic, like something like this could actually happen. At first, I thought one boy was going to be her love interest (even though there was no romance, but more of a friendship), but it surprised me sometimes.

This is a great teen book if you're into stories about any of the following: camp, finding yourself, sisterhood, surprising romances. Also, if you were a fan of "Tweet Cute", you should DEFINITELY pick this one up, too.

#NetGalley #YouHaveaMatch

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I adored Emma Lord's debut, TWEET CUTE, and was anticipating another stellar YA read with her latest release, YOU HAVE A MATCH. Verdict: it was delightful, charming and full of soul.

Thanks to unexpected DNA test results, we are treated to a wonderfully witty Parent Trap retelling at summer camp. Hayley Mills & Camp Inch forever.

It's part coming-of-age with a bit of romance and a lot of complex "newfound family" navigation. These various points were cleverly woven together with a wonderful mix of heart, humor, sweetness and struggle. Lord writes teenagers so authentically. The characters are dealing with some hefty issues- grief, friendship, adoption, sisterhood, romance, high school and next phase of life pressure. Once I started reading, I didn’t put it down because. I was invested in the growth of the main character, Abby. So much so that it almost felt like I was at camp with her, sleeping on the top bunk in Phoenix Cabin.

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A PG, YA homage to Disney’s 1961 children’s movie, The Parent Trap

Abby, Leo, and Connie have been a trio of BFFs since early childhood. While the three of them are taking an anthropology course together toward the end of Abby and Connie’s junior year and Leo’s senior year, they jointly sign up with a DNA service as part of a class project which involves each student tracing their family tree. Nothing much turns up of interest for Leo or Connie, but a world-changing event happens to Abby. She discovers she has a sister whose name is Savannah (Savvy), who is only 18 months older than Abby and lives within relatively close driving distance. Abby is appalled. Why in the world would her parents give up their first child for adoption when they were married at the time, stayed married, and subsequently had four more children together, including Abby?

Without informing her parents she knows their deep, dark secret, Abby contacts Savvy, who is equally shocked to learn that she has a sister and three young brothers. She suggests that Abby spend six weeks with her at a summer camp not far from where they both live so that they can get to know each other. Soon after this invitation, Abby is amazed to discover that Leo actually knows and is good friends with Savvy, because for quite a few years he has been attending the same summer camp that Savvy has invited Abby to. Unfortunately, rather than having lots of bonding time at camp with Savvy, Abby’s sister turns out to be a very busy junior counselor at the camp and an obnoxious enforcer of what Abby considers to be far too many stupid, oppressive rules. In addition, Leo—whom she wishes were much more than just a platonic friend—is so busy working as a cook in the camp kitchen, he can’t do much to cushion the blow of Abby’s disappointment about Savvy.

You Have a Match (YHAM) is a PG-rated, YA novel which is an obvious homage to Disney’s 1961, G-rated, children’s film, The Parent Trap (TPT), and its Disney remake by the same title from 1998. I had assumed before reading this book that, because the fabulous debut novel by this author, Tweet Cute (TC), is a G-rated, romantic-comedy, YA homage to the adult, romantic-comedy movie, You've Got Mail, that this book would also be a G-rated, romantic-comedy, YA homage to another, famous, adult, romantic-comedy movie. It is not. Though there is a romance plot between Abby and Leo, it is a relatively small part of the book, and it is not comedic. Instead, the book is a combination of comedy of errors and family drama, what I’d call a “dramedy.” The vast majority of the book is dedicated to the budding, sister relationship between Abby and Savvy. So it is a love story of the “buddy movie” variety, rather than a love story in the vein of romance. Anyone who enjoys buddy-love stories will definitely enjoy this book.

Most of the humor in this book, similar to TPT, involves pranks at a summer camp between two sisters. In the case of TPT, unlike YHAM, the pre-teen girls do not know before they meet that they are twin sisters separated in infancy, and there is no real drama in TPT, with a humorous tone maintained from start to finish. This version of two separated sisters, of necessity, takes a different tack from TPT, because the sisters are not twins, and one is 18, a legal adult, and the other is almost 17, and a rising senior in high school. The role of parents in this story is very different than that of TPT as well. They are not divorced, so there is no comic subplot of the girls playing matchmaker to get their parents back together.

Speaking of parents: one thing I’ve noticed in virtually every YA novel I’ve read (and there have been hundreds over the years), whether indie-published or mainstream, is the tendency of authors to neatly tie up family drama plots. No matter how sordid the circumstances of parents as the main antagonists to the YA protagonist throughout the book, all is ultimately forgiven and forgotten in service of offering an upbeat, HEA ending to the story. This book is no exception to that rule. As a children’s film, TPT lightly slides over the fact that it is utterly despicable that a divorcing couple would split up their infant twin daughters between them, never the twain to meet again, as detachedly as they divide up their linens or furniture, as if their mutual offspring are of no more value than inanimate possessions. The version of this parceling off of a child in this story is no less horrifyingly unethical, and the person who is most at fault, in my view, is let off the hook. In TPT, neither of the divorced parents ever acknowledges they did anything wrong in separating their daughters, so the children who are enjoying that movie, by vicariously living out the fantasy of two clever young sisters’ acting as a team to reunite their divorced parents, are easily distracted from ever contemplating the awfulness of the original separation. In contrast, this book’s tale of older teens pushes the reader to think about what the parents did that caused the girls to be separated. And because it is not glossed over with cute comedy, older teens and adults reading this novel will be unable to avoid examining the original sin of the separation with much more distressing clarity than in TPT. As a result, for me personally, anyway, the HEA resolution of this tragic family secret was unsatisfying. However, I am not grading this book down for that, because the author has stayed true to a common expectation of the YA genre which routinely leads to authors' creating this type of story resolution. For that reason, very likely most readers of this book won’t be bothered by it.

Though there is no sex or drunken parties in this book, there is an excessive amount of off-color language, including dozens of F-bombs, which is why I consider this book PG.

The fascinating story concept of the reuniting of twins separated at birth got me to wondering how many other movies might have been made over the years with this premise. I researched the subject and made a list. In case fans of this book might be interested in that as well, I have included that list below:

Handsome Siblings, foreign movie, 2020
Twinsters, movie, 2015
The Identical, movie, 2014
Great Queen Seondeok, foreign movie, 2009
Twitches, TV movie, 2005
Attagasam, foreign movie, 2004
Forgotten Twins, foreign movie, 2004
The Legendary Siblings, foreign TV show, 1999
Swear on India, foreign movie, 1999
The Parent Trap, movie remake, 1998
Twins, foreign movie, 1997
Sister, Sister, TV show, 1994-1999
ChaalBaaz, foreign movie, 1989
Twins, movie, 1988
Big Business, movie, 1988
Seeta Aur Geeta, foreign movie, 1972
A Stranger That Night, foreign movie 1972
Start the Revolution without Me, movie, 1970
The Parent Trap, movie, 1961

I rate this book as follows:
Heroine Abby: 4 stars
Subcharacters: 4 stars
Sisters Plot: 4 stars
Family Drama Plot: 3 stars
Romance Plot: 4 stars
Writing: 4 stars
Overall: 4 stars

I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

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I got You Have a Match as an eARC thanks to NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I read Emma Lord’s debut novel, Tweet Cute, also as an ARC. I really loved that one, which is why I hit the request button as fast as I could when I saw You Have a Match. The story follows Abby. She and her two best friends, Connie and Leo, take a 23&me DNA test because Leo is adopted and he’s curious about his history. A part of him was hoping to potentially find family members. Connie and Abby take the test with him to be supportive. When the results come in, Abby is the one that finds a new family member. A full blood sister, meaning they have the same parents, and Savannah (Savvy) has already sent a message to Abby. The two meet and put some pieces together about the fact that their parents (Abby’s parents and Savvy’s adoptive parents). They concoct a plan to go to the same summer camp to figure out what’s going on with their parents.
I didn’t always like Abby, but I really appreciated her as a character. She had some real growth. She reminded me a lot of myself. She’s a ‘don’t make waves’ kind of person. So, instead of telling her parents she doesn’t need all of the tutoring and extra help they’re making her go to, she just goes. She doesn’t want to rock the boat and that’s the story of my life. She has a lot of feelings that she doesn’t let out, which is never good. It causes lots of hijinks between Abby and Savvy (read: Finn is my favorite instigator).
Savvy is an Instagram influencer. I wish we’d gotten some of this story from Savvy’s point of view. I think that would have been the only thing that would have made this story better. I think it would have been nice to hear how she was feeling about everything and then later how things went with her parents. I liked Savvy. She puts on this image for the internet and that sort of makes her feel like she needs to put on the same image all the time. It was really interesting to see her talk to Abby and share things with one another. I loved seeing Savvy open up and be vulnerable with Abby. The two really had a rocky start, but they worked through it and I loved the sisterly moments they had. Also, Savvy is a lesbian (I don’t remember if it was specifically stated, but she has a girlfriend in this book.)
Overall, I loved all of the characters. I don’t want to make this too long and go over each of them. But I loved Abby and Connie’s relationship. It was realistic, filled with conflict and great resolution. I loved Savvy’s best friend Mickey and her food competition with Leo. I loved Finn and how much of an instigator he was, for it only to come out that he was going through some shit. I loved this book. It was filled with diverse characters that I couldn’t help but feel the things that they were feeling. There was family drama and heartwarming resolutions. There was summer camp hilarity. I just had a great time reading this story.

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I was obsessed with the Parent Trap, so I was super excited to read this novel about sisters secretly getting to know each other at summer camp. There are plenty of pranks pulled between these very different sisters, even as they work together to figure out why their parents kept the other's existence a secret.

It's a super cute book about family, friendship, love, summer camp, and sisterhood.

I received a copy of this ARC from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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This was my first book by this author, It was pretty enjoyable. I would give this book a 4.5 star rating! It was a pretty Quick and easy read!

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The whole idea of finding family members through DNA tests reaches a whole new level in Emma Loard’s You Have a Match.  Abby does the DNA test in support of her friend Leo, who is adopted—only to find out she has a sister.  A full sister, period, no halfs or anything.  I mean, can you imagine something like this happening to you?  On top of that, her main source of support, her grandfather, passed away a little under a year ago, and while her parents are amazing, they were in law school when they had her, so her bond with Poppy is quite strong.  When he passes, both Abby and her parents are left adrift, and her parents overreact a little by piling on various academic tutors on her.  And since when it rains, it pours, it so happens that around the time that Poppy passed, Abby had a Big Embarrassing Incident with her best friend Leo—yes, the same one as above—and it’s just a whole lot of complicated and a whole lot of coming-of-age that has to happen.  Which it does, beautifully, I have to say, in a way that I feel honours both the turmoil that is adolescence and the nobility that most people carry within them.  This one is definitely a recommended read, something that will leave readers feeling warm inside but also carry a little bit of insight into the importance of communication and love.

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Given the cover I thought the romance part would be more in the book. It ended up with a lot of near misses. The parts that did have the romance were great. The story part of Abby's DNA search and resulting changes in her life was good but took up way too much of the book. The secondary characters had so much to offer and I felt they were left behind with the romance also.

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