📚Review: You Have a Match by Emma Lord

Thank you @netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC!

The Parent Trap meets 2020 with a side of teenage romance and a whole basket of pop culture references — that’s You Have a Match by Emma Lord.

Abby Day is reckless, not doing illegal stuff reckless, but scars to prove it reckless. Her plan is to have no plan and her parents are ruining that by scheduling every moment of her life with tutoring and SAT prep in an attempt to get her back on the “right track.” All Abby wants to do is take beautiful photos and show them to exactly — no one, well, except her two best friends. Enter Connie and Leo — Connie has every moment of her life planned out, failure is not an option, and Leo is an aspiring chef who had a major “glo-up” last summer at camp that leaves Abby feeling some kind of way.

Leo thinks all three friends should take a DNA test that will help them with a school project, and maybe help him find out who his birth parents are. Abby has no interest in getting extra credit but does have an interest in Leo so she agrees. The results prove to lead her down a track she never knew existed — the one where she has a secret sister! Now there’s a mystery to be solved and that’s where Savannah, Mickey, Finn, and Camp Reynolds come in.

I had high hopes for this one. I found myself inspired by the characters, especially Finn and Mickey. I often found these secondary characters more relatable and memorable than Abby and Savvy. Abby’s headstrong and borderline whiny personality bothered me at times, but her need to find out the truth about her sister and finding out the truth within herself along the way made me keep reading.

As much as I love a little romance, paired with the mystery of the test results it was almost too much. I also think it would’ve been interesting if Lord wrote this in alternating perspectives between Abby and Savvy.

Overall, I think Emma Lord wrote a mystery that will inspire teens to keep reading as long as they can get past the slow start. Lord develops diverse characters and weaves in stunning setting descriptions too. I definitely envisioned myself in Pudget Sound more than once.

3.5⭐

I love Emma Lord’s style - You Have a Match is written with so much wit and humour as her previous book Tweet Cute.
Abby finds out that she has a secret sister living nearby. They go to the same summer camp together to solve this mystery. But there’s also Abby’s best friend Leo, so Abby has not only the mystery to solve but she also has to do something with her crush on Leo. Things as usual get complicated but with lots of wit and warmth we get to a happy ending. I really enjoyed reading this book therefore I highly recommend it for anyone who needs a book that will warm their heart.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press & NetGalley for letting me read an eBook of Emma Lord's YOU HAVE A MATCH!

I fell in love with Lord's first novel, TWEET CUTE, as it was recommended to me earlier this summer. Lord has a knack for writing teens-- and she does so with care and concern, humor and hope. So I came to her next book with high expectations. To be honest, in many ways, it met them: I laughed, I cried, I checked Instagram. YOU HAVE A MATCH has so many things going for it (so many love triangles, amazing food descriptions, heartfelt sister drama, tense friend dynamics, romance, loving lost grandparents--though it took me a WHILE to figure out who Poppy was--a cute dog, trying parental relationships)-- it reminded me of an updated PARENT TRAP (long lost sisters, camp, etc.). If there ways a critique, it was almost that there was TOO much going on. The tension at the start of the book seems to rely on the revelation of Abby's DNA test, but then the book adds more and more secrets to keep the plot moving forward. To me, it didn't have the same momentum as Lord's debut, and I found myself wondering which relationship I was turning pages for (fine, yes, them all, but I was distracted by some and wanted more of others).

Overall, an enjoyable read with a lot of feels and heart.

I loved Tweet Cute, and I was pumped to get You Have a Match early - it didn't disappoint!

I love Emma's style of storytelling and particularly the scenes with dialect. Sometimes when authors try to write in a way that sounds like how people actually speak right now, it comes out sounding stilted and not necessarily authentic. Emma's writing really feels authentic to the characters and she manages to make references and talk about our lives today (Instagram, hey!) in the way real people do.

Character development in this books was done SO well. I loved Abby's growth over the course of the month we're with her, and I LOVED that there was an epilogue to give us an update on all these characters.

Emma's quickly shooting to the list of my favorite authors - I'm excited to share this with my friends!

In fairness to Emma Lord, "Tweet Cute" was an incredible YA book that would be hard for anyone to upstage. However, "You Have a Match" lacked the spark that made Tweet Cute so memorable. The story line was fine but not particularly unique (the long lost sister is a story I've read before). Abby's relationship with Leo was a little predictable and when they ended up together I felt indifferent. Emma Lord does shine with all of the cultural and Internet reference - the book feels very modern and caters perfectly to a Gen Z crowd. Overall, an entertaining book that lacked the quirkiness and repartee I had hoped for.

I loved this book! What a great YA. it doesn’t focus as much on romance although there is romance in the book. It’s focused more on family dynamics and coming of age. It’s really well done and the writing is great. Thank you to netgalley for the arc.

Emma Lord has done it again! I loved her first book, Tweet Cute, so much and I was so excited to see news about her next novel coming out.
The author has such a talent for writing cute yet meaningful YA contemporary/romance. This story was so touching and emotional as the reader follows the main character, Abby, who discovers she has a sister she never knew about after signing up for a DNA service. The sisterly bond was amazing, the friends-to-lovers romance was so sweet and the camp setting made for the perfect summer read!
The romance was definitely slow-burn and extremely satisfying when we actually got to see it. I wish there was a bit more focus on Abby and her sister, Savannah, rather than being romance-heavy at some points. Otherwise, this book was so good!
Thank you so much to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press and the author for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

My heart is literally smiling. I start to see imaginary heart emojis whirling around my head and I keep giggling like mischievous teenagers or worst kind of annoying romance heroines. This book is AMAZING!

I loved the Parent Trap with non identical twins theme!
Storyline: Two sisters accidentally find each other via DNA service and decide to dig more to learn what their parents are hiding from them by participating a summer camp together.

There are 1 year and half age difference between them. From their appearances, it is obvious that they’re siblings. But characteristically they’re completely opposite of each other.

Abby, talented avid photographer who doesn’t like to share her works because her ancient but survivor camera has been given to her by her grandfather (Poppy) who recently died. After his death, her grades started to drop, she is still shaken and suffocated by her parents oppressively controlling attitudes about her school success. Now she has to go to summer school but her unique hacking skills saved her from her parents’ wrath. (She hacked their emails, deleting phone messages from school)

She is reckless risk taker and injury-prone tree climber, skater but when it comes to be brave about her own feelings, she fails. Leo is her long time crush but nearly kissing experience later she learned he wasn’t into her from their common best friend so she starts acting like nothing happened ( of course she’s getting clumsier and acting more weird around him. Those two guys are so cute,sweet pies!)

And let’s not forget the elder mysterious sister: Savannah.She likes photos, too but she prefers to be in front of camera, not the other way around. She’s a social media goddess with her sterile, clean, ultra healthy life tips, yoga poses, greenest drinks turn you into Hulk. Her family is Tony Stark kind of rich ( but you may imagine they cannot be at least %10 as charismatic as him.)

Abby accepts to go to camp but she didn’t count two important things. Leo is at the camp, too and he seems like he’s so happy to see her, confusing her mind with his pull-push mixed signals and Savannah is controlling, rigid rule follower and total narc.

At first Abby wants to leave the place because of Savannah’s irritating antics but later she forms great friendships, evolving her photography and she realizes she starts to like hanging out with her sister who is dealing with the love life problems, reluctant to come clean about her feelings.

This is sweet friendship, sisterhood, family book with lovely romantic vibes. It heals your soul and widen your smiles, brightening your mood. I read it at one of most stressful times and it help me a lot to see the rainbows after the stormy rains.

I enjoyed Tweet Cute before but this book is so much better. I even liked it more than original Parent Trap script because the families’ story about the sisters is more meaningful and emotional.
Overall: I recommend to everyone who wants to feel good and enjoy entertaining, heart warming, sweet young adult and family books.

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/ Wednesday Books for sharing this lovely ARC with me in exchange my honest review.

Emma Lord was already an autobuy (auto...ARC request?) author for me, and this book only cemented that status. It’s funny, earnest, delightfully soapy, and has exactly the kind of summer vibes I was looking for to stave off my sadness at the fact that my summer before college was sort of ended by COVID before it even began. The writing is wonderful, the characters moreso, and the story itself *chef’s kiss* in every possible way, and at this point, Emma Lord could write incoherent sentence fragments on a napkin and I’d still pay money to read them. And probably give them five stars. Seriously, this author seems to be incapable of writing anything that is not utterly delightful to read. For all your long-lost-family-drama and summer-you-wanted-but-never-had needs, “You Have a Match” has my highest recommendation.

I really enjoyed Tweet Cute which put Emma Lord on the map for me as an author to check out so I was really excited when I saw that she had another book coming out. Tweet Cute captivated me in a way that I didn't think would happen as social media isn't really my thing, but she brought it in in a way that allowed me to connect even though I'm not a social media fan. I was hoping that would happen with You Have a Match.

Overall, I really enjoyed the plot it was reminiscent of The Parent Trap, and was overall a sweet story about sisterhood, growing up, and love. Lighter on the romance, but that was actually really ok because the story stood on its own two legs. The romance actually was not terribly interesting, if it hadn't been there there would've been a void but the real love story was left for the sibling bond and family ties. I liked Abby, she was flawed and real and it was nice to see the author develop her and Savvy. I enjoyed a lot of the characters and their progressions as well.

What I didn't love were some of what I would consider plot holes or not nearly fleshed out/researched enough topics. These include: Finn (I'm not sure he brought much to the story, the actual conflict/reconciliation (I tried hard to suspend belief for this part, but it seemed kind of weak for the rest of the story being as strong as it was), the instagram influencer thing - this felt like the author didn't do enough research here or that it didn't really fit in/matter? but just wanted to stay in theme with social media. I also thought the writing was a little awkward in the first third of the book, or maybe the whole book but the story sucked I am and so I stopped noticing? But it was awkward enough at the beginning that it pulled me out of what was happening. Also kind of random, but the title doesn't really fit the book. Overall, I enjoyed it, thought it was a sweet story and would recommend as a nice fluffy read.

Ok wow. Officially obsessed with Emma Lord. I loved this book so much.

The concept is so cool. Abby does a DNA test and finds out that she has a biological sister (not like a half-sister either, a full-blooded full sister) which is super weird for obvious reasons. They meet up and decide to go to camp together to get to know each other and don’t tell their respective parents, because duh they’re teenage girls. Drama ensues. It’s wonderful.

I seriously loved this book so much. Emma Lord does an AMAZING job at developing characters that you fall in love with in like twenty pages. She’s talented, folks.

The romance was adorable. The family aspect was adorable. The camp setting was adorable. The million references to food were adorable (and also unbelievable - I mean cmon cinnamon in lasagna balls?)

You should read this book. Like right now.

You Have a Match by Emma Lord is about Abby, who after taking a DNA test finds out she has a sister just a year and a half older than her that lives not to far away. The two girls decide to meet up over the summer at a camp to try to figure out why their parents gave Savvy, Abby's sister, away.

This book was so cute and so enjoyable to read and that cover is stunning! I loved reading about the two sister's contrasting personalities and discovering how to communicate with one another. I also loved learning about of the side characters in this novel, especially Finn. While I wasn't totally happy with the story involving Abby''s love interest or all the drama with each of the girl's parents, I loved the setting of this novel and overall had a really fun time reading this book. I can't wait to read more books by Emma Lord!

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Well, I fully read this book in twenty-four hours and spent that time crying over the various, nuanced relationships between all of the characters, so I think it's safe to say that Emma Lord has knocked this one out of the part for me again. It has everything I love in a story: strong sibling bonds, family drama, friends-to-lovers relationships, and shenanigans. I think I'm more of a Savvy than an Abby even though I barely know what to do with Instagram, for I too a rule-following narc with anxiety who has said Pomodoro in casual conversation, and I love how three-dimensional both girls and their love lives were even as they were building bonds with each other and trying to Parent Trap their parents into revealing the secret that kept them from meeting before the DNA test brought them into each other's lives.

Ugh, I have nothing but good things to say about this book. Now I need to go grab tissues because I haven't actually stopped crying...

You Have a Match is a YA read about friendship, family, and romance. Emma Lord sets the story at a summer camp which is perfect for these teens to discover who they are, make their own decisions, and reflect on what they want their future to hold.

Abby is an aspiring photographer. She takes a DNA test with a little push from her crush and best friend Leo. She didn't expect to find out that she has a sister that she didn't know about. When she sees her sister Savvy, she wants to get to know her and decides to follow her to summer camp. Turns out that Leo and Savvy have actually known each other for a while and are both at the same summer camp. Small world.

Abby isn't afraid to push the limits to find out more about her sister and family. If her parents knew what she was up to, they wouldn't be happy. In the midst of bonding with Savvy, Abby is trying to tell Leo how she feels. She is hesitant because one of her other best friends told her that Leo doesn't like her as anything more than a friend. So, Abby doesn't want to lose a friendship by admitting her feelings to someone that won't be able to reciprocate them. But, Leo gives her some news that gives her a small window of time to either admit the truth or keep it to herself.

I really enjoyed Abby and Savvy's bond as sisters. Don't let anyone tell you that young adults aren't persistent. I admired Abby's need to find the truth. If her photography doesn't take off (not likely because she is super talented), she could totally be a detective. ;) I also loved Abby and Leo's slow-burn romance. There were so many times when I wanted them to just blurt out the truth, but the timing was perfect. Emma Lord built up the tension and even strengthened their friendship so that if they decided they wanted something more they could definitively make a sure decision.

I give You Have a Match 4 stars. It is a great YA novel that is unputdownable. I loved the setting because it gave it a summery vibe that I appreciate. All of the characters are so fun and easy to like that it made me devour each chapter. I think Emma Lord did a great job of balancing a family relationship between Abby and Savvy and a romance between Abby and Leo. This is a slow burn so be prepared to wait until the very end to see how it all plays out.

This was pretty adorable. I'm not Gen Z, I don't have Instagram (though I do know what a "finsta" is-sadly I learned about this from a work seminar, but still!) and I don't feel the need to take pictures of my food. However, the characters are still relatable in their struggles and challenges, just like when I was that age (though admittedly I did not find a long-lost sibling when I did one of those DNA tests). A fun book with a good heart, this was perfect for some summertime reading.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

**I was excited to receive a complimentary copy of You Have a Match by Emma Lord from NetGalley. Opinions in this review are completely my own.**

I loved everything about this book. It is definitely one that I cannot wait to recommend to students in my class or use for book clubs.

The storyline appealed to me. I have been studying my own genealogy for the past 22 years; I have been wanting to do a DNA test to see what I would learn from it, so I was drawn in from the first chapter. As well, the characters were real and their interactions with each other made it hard to put the book down. I laughed and cried; my favourite books always take me through the whole gamut of emotions.

This book was reminiscent of the original Parent Trap with Hailey Mills, which my sisters and I used to watch over and over. I was also reminded of when I went to camp as a camper, counsellor, and lifeguard; this is a great experience for all kids and I have taken hundreds of Grade 7 students to camp over the years so they can make the same kind of memories I made when I went. I think that Emma Lord did an amazing job of capturing the feelings that adolescents have in their teen years-- angst, self doubt, and that struggle of figuring out who you are and being able to express that to others. I know that my students will relate to this and love it as much as I did. It will definitely be a book that I will buy for my classroom. I'm always looking for books that will get kids reading. 5 Stars.

Leo (Abby's BFF and crush), who was adopted from the Philippines as a baby, decides to take a DNA test to try to discover something about his bio family; he encourages his friends Abby and Connie to take the test too. When Abby's test comes back she is astonished to discover that she has a sister, and not a half-sister but a baby her parents gave up for adoption before Abby was born. This secret obviously rocks Abby, who follows her new found sister to summer camp (the camp Leo is conveniently a counselor at) so they can get to know each other and to figure out why Abby's parent's gave a baby up.

This books is not really focused on the romance between Abby and Leo, I would consider it a sub-plot. Rather this book is more focused on the relationship between Abby and her newly discovered sister and Abby learning about herself and confronting the things that have been holding her back,

A DNA test that leads to a secret sister and going to summer camp with your best friend/secret crush, what could possibly go wrong? This was a fun read about discovering a secret sibling while navigating summer camp with your crush. I enjoyed the sibling bonding and the mystery of their relationship. The romance didn’t really occur until about the last 85% of the book, but the main focus for me was the sister bonding. Overall an easy summer read with family bonding and a little bit of romance. Thank you netgalley and Wednesday Books for sending me a arc!

***Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a complimentary copy of YOU HAVE A MATCH by Emma Lord in exchange for my honest review.***

Abby never expects to find a full biological older sister when she takes a DNA test. Savannah, controlled, rule-following and darn near perfect is Abby’s opposite and the sisters don’t bond. Abby follows her older sister to camp to try to figure out how Savannah ended up adopted and how their parents’ lives are entwined. The answer is so complicated neither could have guessed.

YOU HAVE A MATCH is a slow burn, starting at a snail’s pace and building to a crescendo of emotion. Emma Lord’s clever word-building had me laughing out loud one minute, crying the next. Abby could be immature and infuriating, she seemed younger than sixteen, definitely a challenge to the well-put-together Savannah. I identified more with Savvy, but liked both young women.

I didn’t enjoy the romance drama between Abby and her friend and wished less of the story focused on that aspect. I wanted more sister-reunion. I also wondered how YOU HAVE A MATCH would have read from both sisters’ points of view.

YOU HAVE A MATCH is great addition to bookshelves and libraries.

EL sure is making a name for herself in the world of contemporary YA. I loved her debut novel and this second book has just as much personality and heart.

I adore how realistic and genuine all of the characters are. They aren't perfect, but they sure are relatable. It's rewarding to see Abby confront many challenges in her life and grow because of them. I love how EL has created a fun and unique story, but one that also has meaning behind it.

Overall, definitely a cute read and one I think all fans of ‘Tweet Cute’ will thoroughly enjoy!