When You Get The Chance is an amazingly delightful read. I adore Millie and all of her elements, she's witty and driven, and bold. I love her unconventional family and the dynamics between Millie, Cooper, and Heather. It's all perfection. Teddy, Oliver, Beth, Steph, Farrah, there are so many individual stories, a few twists, and it all comes together beautifully in the end. I have not been this engrossed in a book in months, and I am probably too old, at 37, to have enjoyed it so much. Emma Lord's books get better and better with each one. Her writing style is uncomplicated but vivid. I'll read anything she writes. You don't have to love theater or Mama Mia to enjoy this one, it's like a warm hug, or a pocket full of sunshine. Do not miss out!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
When You Get the Chance follows Millie, a theatre kid, who is doing quite a few things. She’s looking for her mom (after narrowing it down to three possible women), trying to convince her dad to let her go to a super selective theatre program that she’s been accepted to (except it’s across the country), and also, she’s falling in love.
I was not a theatre kid. They didn’t have any sort of drama program at my high school, so that aspect of this story went right over my head. Though I could totally feel the energy and excitement and passion that Millie had for acting from this book. My favorite part was the mom drama. I have to say that once you get past a certain point about the mystery moms, I absolutely guessed who Millie’s mom was before it was revealed. Growing up with a single dad, I really liked this aspect of the story. Millie’s family dynamic was an interesting one. I loved Millie’s dad and it was so clear that he loved her. He obviously did his best to raise her and love her and I loved that. But I also could understand Millie’s complicated emotions about her mom. I think this part was really well done. Because it’s not that Millie is unhappy with her dad and her aunt, but there’s nothing really that can replace the mom that birthed you, even if she gave you up.
Now, the romance. I was absolutely here for the rivals to lovers romance between Oliver and Millie. I think they were so fun to follow as they figured out what a great team they can be. I liked learning about the ways that’s they helped one another and didn’t even know it. I think their journey from grudging respect to friends to lovers was absolutely to die for. I devoured it.
Overall, this was a fun and easy to read story about Millie who is just trying to find herself (but what else are we going to do at age seventeen), and instead finds more of a mystery, love, and possibility. I think this will be a hit among YA readers, for sure.

Millie Price is determined to become a Broadway star. Living in New York City, she’s auditioned for a few things in the past, but an embarrassing viral video of her put the auditions on hold while Millie works on reinventing herself. When Millie is accepted to a prestigious pre-college musical theatre program the summer before her senior year, she thinks she’s on the fast-track to her dream. But when her dad says no to the program, Millie isn’t so easily stopped. She comes up with the perfect plan to get someone else on her side: find the mom who abandoned her with her dad when Millie was just a baby. She discovers three possible women who might be her mom and sets out on a quest to reveal the truth. She won’t let anything get in her way, not her theatre-obsessed possible half-sister, not her two left feet, and not even her impossibly cute theatre rival. But when the truth comes out, Millie must figure out what—or who—is most important to her after all.

Emma Lord’s love letter to New York City, Mamma Mia, and musical theatre is just phenomenal. As a musical theatre nerd myself, I fell in love with the many references sprinkled throughout. I thoroughly enjoyed the enemies-to-lovers romance, and I had fun trying to solve the mystery of Millie’s mother alongside the spunky protagonist. Millie is bold, brash, determined, and yes, flawed (who isn’t?)—but Lord does a fabulous job of providing ample opportunities for Millie to grow in the midst of her adventures. While I absolutely loved the romance, I also really enjoyed the father-daughter relationship Lord showcases in this story. It was so fun to see them learn about and support each other. With surprise twists and characters that are easy to fall in love with, When You Get the Chance easily joins Lord’s first two novels on the shelf of favorite and fabulous teen romances.

(Pine Reads Review would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing us with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change upon final publication.)

Emma Lord has done it again! This book was SO GOOD I CAN'T EVEN HANDLE IT. If you enjoy heartfelt yet witty YA contemporary, you absolutely NEED to add this to your 2022 TBRs. This book was just so fun and current and sassy while also being just the right amount of serious and I am just so in love with it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this e-ARC to me in exchange for an honest review!

THIS WAS SO FREAKING CUTE!!!!

I laughed aloud. I was emotional. I gasped in shock at some parts. Emma Lord has a gift for spinning this light hearted yet deeply emotional story about familial love and coming to terms with who you are. Millie grew so much from the first page to the last and as a reader you can’t help but root for her.

This book has an amazing father-daughter relationship, beautiful platonic friendships, and a ship that grabbed my attention since the first chapter. At its heart, this story showcased that what makes a family may not always be traditional but the bonds formed in love are just as strong.

Like Emma Lord's previous books, this is every bit as fun and charming. A nice balance between lighthearted and emotional. I am not a theater person myself, but I still enjoyed that element of the plot, I do wish Millie's dad's old Livejournal had been more of a factor, though. The "plot twist" was super obvious to me from the beginning, but Millie is such a charismatic and loveable character that it didn't take away from my enjoyment of following Millie on her journey. All the characters were easy to love and I didn't mind that the book wrapped up in a neat (and probably unrealistic) bow. A fresh bit of optimism is certainly welcome and I can see many readers loving this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy!

4.5/5 stars

This book is a Broadway lover's dream!

I really liked this one, plus I've been wanting to read a book by Emma Lord since Tweet Cute because that cover is the cutest, but I got the next best thing!! This book was a joyous celebration for Broadway and it couldn't be any more pleasant and fun to read. Millie is the sweetest and one of the most confident characters I've read in a long time, and the relationships she forms along the way, make her life into a real Broadway show where we have front row seats!

Also, I have a soft spot for arch nemesis turned lover, Oliver. He's one of those "I like you and I show that through actions rather than words" sort of guy, and I loved that contrast between him and Millie, it just worked!

I may never have seen a Broadway show (I know, so shameful!), and I am having major FOMO, but this book made me love Broadway without attending any, and that takes some great skill! Highly recommend this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the earc in return for an honest review.

This book was so fun! And this might be a weird takeaway, but it totally made me want to do more with my days. Here Millie is, running all over the city, geocaching and taking dance lessons and drinking milkshakes, and I didn't even make it outside yesterday. I wished this book would've gone on for another 500 pages because I just wanted to live in it forever.

This big hearted, swoony, YA love letter to the the-AAAatttreee was delightful and just what I needed this week. Emma Lord is creating such a distinct voice for herself, once that is sweet and funny and loud and endearing. She writers teenagers so well, ones that both leap off the page and draw you in. This time we have Millie Price, an effervescent high school junior who dreams of being on Broadway, and actually has the chops to make it happen. She also concocts her own gender-reversed Mamma Mia scenario in which she tries to find her birth Mom. Complicated, I know, but Lord makes it work beautifully. Warning though: if you used LiveJournal in high school, like I did, your bones will turn to ash when you realize this teenager is using her Dad's LiveJournal for clues about who her mother might be. *facepalm*

If you like Broadway musicals, YA, and enemies to lovers, this is a MUST-READ (WHEN YOU GET THE CHANCE) (I'm yelling like Millie does in the book). There are a lot of characters to keep track of, but they all create a bight and beautiful cast that will leave a smile on your face. There are also some fun and unexpected twists, and so many nods to New York that it will make you feel like you are walking the streets with Millie. Emma Lord is quickly becoming a must-read author for me and sets the standard super high for YA novels.

I think this is my favourite book from Emma Lord, and it’s definitely my new comfort read!

Millie Price knows she’ll be on Broadway one day; it’s only a matter of when. When she gets accepted into a major pre-college program, she’s thrilled! She'll be able to get a head start on college, which means she can get on the stage even sooner. Her single dad, however, doesn’t feel exactly the same way about the program; he doesn't quite understand why she can't just finish up her senior year of high school in New York. When he goes on a business trip, Millie sets out to find her mother in hopes of having someone in her corner. With new people, a new internship, and new concepts, Millie’s summer gets a bit crazier than she imagined it would.

I really enjoyed this book! It took place in New York City, and it was a modern Mamma Mia retelling, which was pretty great! I loved the references to Mamma Mia (it’s one of my favourite movies/musicals), and I also loved all of the references to other musicals! Also spotted a few Tweet Cute references throughout the book, which was fun! The plot was very fast-paced, and it never really got slow, so it was quite easy to read in one sitting.

“When You Get the Chance” also had a pretty big cast of characters, and each had their own individual personality. They were all super well-written, and each was very different from the others. I absolutely loved Millie! She was such a bold main character, with a massive personality. She’s probably one of my favourite YA main characters that I’ve seen in a while.

The book was quite predictable, but I really liked it and would definitely recommend it (especially if you enjoyed Emma Lord’s other books)! :)

WHEN YOU GET THE CHANCE is a charming YA contemporary with a new take on Mamma Mia. Millie lives life loudly. She dreams of being a broadway star and is determined to make it happen. When she gets into a prestigious precollege program across the country, she thinks her path is set - that is, until her father says no. She ultimately gets him to agree to put off the decision for a little while and decides to find someone who will be on her side. If it's parental permission she needs, she suspects that her mother would be on her side, if she knew who she was.
Millie's mother left her with her father when she was an infant, and Millie knows almost nothing about her, except that she was also theatrical. When she finds her father's old livejournal entries from back in the day, she comes up with 3 possible women who could have been her mother. With the help of her BFF Teddy, they figure out ways that she can get closer to them to see if they may be the one. She joins a broadway club run by Beth, takes dance classes with Farrah, and signs up for an internship to get to know the assistant, Steph. The internship puts her in direct competition with her archnemesis, Oliver, who might turn out to be her crush. This summer is sure to be life-changing.

What I loved: This "Millie Mia" is a really heartfelt search for belonging and family. Although Millie has a loving father and aunt who are very involved in her life, there is something missing with the mother she knows must exist but barely knows anything about. Millie is coming-of-age, but to understand who she is, she wants to understand where she came from. Her journey is really fantastic, full of fumbles, but a really genuine journey of self-discovery and understanding. The romance is also really sweet, and I love the way she and Oliver carry from nemeses to friendly to crushes. Between the internship, crush, and mother search, this is a book that moves quickly and keeps readers on their toes.

Important themes of family, friendship, theatre, reaching for your goals, embracing yourself, and trying to outrun your past make this a really lovely read. With the showbusiness background and lessons, the Mamma Mia storyline is taken to a whole other level. I loved the old friendships (Teddy the GeoTeen is delightful), new ones (especially darling Chloe, whose story I also would have loved to read), and the search for belonging that make these characters and Millie so compelling. Overall, this was a really delightful and entertaining read with some very heartfelt and lovely scenes.

Final verdict: A charming YA contemporary, WHEN YOU GET THE CHANCE is a heartfelt coming-of-age read about family, friendship, and broadway. Highly recommend for fans of BETTER TOGETHER, JUST A BOY AND A GIRL IN A LITTLE CANOE, and DATING MAKES PERFECT.

Please note that I received an ARC. All opinions are my own.

Millie has dreams of becoming a Broadway star and is looking for an ally to support her dreams. When she stumbles on her dad's embarrassing LiveJournal from 2003, she sets out on a quest to find her mom who abandoned her as a baby.

Okay calling all Mamma Mia fans and theater geeks alike -- this is a such a fun young adult book and my favorite from Emma Lord so far. Millie is over dramatic as hell but still endearing as she tries to get her dad to send her across the country to a pre-college program. We see her navigate getting to know three possible moms and competing with her rival-turned-crush for an internship.

I loved the cast of supporting characters, the family dynamics, and Broadway references throughout. The story is charming and will have you smiling as you watch Millie's adventures unfold throughout New York City.

I loved this one and highly recommend picking it up when it publishes January 4.

I always love Emma Lord's books. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: she writes stories that I want my kids to read. Her characters are scrappy, quirky, <i>funny</i>, clever, and resilient. They face realistic obstacles, BIG obstacles, but they always find ways to overcome and become even better humans. <i>When You Get the Chance</i> is another example of Lord's ability to write playful, positive, layered, and ultimately hopeful stories.

My one gripe.... God help me, the THEE-AA-TAHHHH theme is strong in this one. Lots of references to Broadway and musicals and cast members of this or that play that I am simply unfamiliar with (and really don't care about, sorry!). The main character, Millie, is just a wee bit over the top, IMHO, and I found myself annoyed with her more than once. I do love the dynamic between Oliver and Millie, though, and he helps ground her character. But still. Just, ya know, chill, Mill.

Otherwise, this is a delightful story that I know many readers will love. It's good clean fun, very heartwarming and entertaining.

Emma Lord creates such a fun space in her books. This story of Millie and her journey to find her mom. The back drop of theater and Broadway make the setting of the story so much richer. I enjoyed the found family. I loved Millie's own growth. I loved her finding out not only who she is, but what is actually best for her and her friends and family as she tries to stage her own "Millie Mia"

High school student, Millie Price, dreams of becoming a Broadway star. She lives in New York City with her slightly-dweeby, single-dad and fun-loving, Aunt Heather, but she has her sights set on a competitive precollege program that will take her out of state next year.

Her Dad isn't happy when he finds out about Millie's plan. He doesn't understand why she can't finish up school at home. She's steps from Broadway, why would she need to travel across the country to help her future career prospects? It's clear to Millie that he just doesn't get it and probably never will. ((Our Millie is nothing if not dramatic.))

What Millie needs is an ally to sell this precollege program to her Dad, but where to find one?

Although she knows next to nothing about her birth mother, an untouchable topic in their household, Millie does know that her Mom was a huge fan of musical theater. Perhaps if Millie can find her, she can recruit her onto Team 'Let Millie Go To Precollege', thus swaying her Dad.

Going off clues found within her Dad's embarrassingly honest LiveJournal from 2003, Millie and her best friend, Teddy, begin the hunt in earnest. They narrow their candidates down to three women, all living within New York City. All Millie needs to do is get close to them and insert herself into their lives, until she can figure out which woman is her Mom.

When You Get the Chance swept me off my feet from the very start. It's a beautifully engaging love letter to musical theater, featuring one of my favorite YA Contemporary protagonists of all time. I absolutely adored Millie. Her moods, dreams and insecurities all felt incredibly real to me. I'm basically her Aunt Heather now. I love her so darn much.

Emma Lord does a fantastic job of mixing cutesy-YA Romance, with quite serious family issues. This seems to be a trend in her work that I really appreciate.

Millie has a lot of questions surrounding her Mom that unfortunately, she doesn't feel comfortable asking anyone. She can tell by her Dad's reaction anytime her Mom does get brought up, that he doesn't want to talk about. This leaves poor Millie to struggle on her own with a lot of unanswered questions. While her Dad is super loving and supportive of her, there's just a lot left unsaid.

I loved how this wildly fun and hilariously witty story was wrapped around this serious, dramatic core. It's fun, sweet and fast-paced, while also having true substance that should resonate well with a lot of Readers.

If you pick this one up, and I definitely recommend that you do, please take the time to read the Acknowledgements at the end. I think it gives great insight into Lord as a writer and her inspiration for this story. At this point, I will pick up anything Emma Lord writes. I love her brand. I'm sold!

Thank you so much to the publisher, Wednesday Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I look forward to adding a hard copy to my growing Emma Lord collection. Her writing absolutely fills my heart with joy and I just can't get enough of it!

I really enjoyed this book once Millie stopped being so insufferable. She was a tad bit too much in the beginning and I almost put the book down because of that, but I pressed on because I knew Emma Lord writes some pretty great characters. I absolutely adored the cast of characters in this book, especially Teddy and Chleo.

I do have to say that I feel called out because of the whole LiveJournal thing because, MAN, I remember going back to reread some entries a few years ago and they were just as cringe inducing as Cooper's. I do love that touch of nostalgia, but it was a bit weird to think that kids nowadays (my old lady is showing) don't know really popular bands or movies. I could understand if it was something indie or a cult nische classic, but c'mon, Armageddon was such a classic movie that I think most people would know about it. But then again, I was a teenager when it came out so how should I know.

This storyline felt a little disjointed at first. Like, was this a 'find your mom' storyline or an 'enemies to lovers' romance? I don't think Emma quite knew which direction to go in so it did feel a bit like she was telling two stories at once for awhile.

The big reveal of Millie's mom wasn't really a shocker because I'd kinda figured it out early on, but I did love the fact that the woman ended up being Cooper's long lost bestie. I really liked that touch and felt like it added a great juxtaposition to Millie and Teddy's friendship. I also just plain like the fact that this grown ass man misses his bestie who happens to be a woman, and the fact that even though they had a child together, they still miss each other as just friends.

All in all, a pretty good story but not the best. It definitely needed some more cohesion storyline wise, but I enjoyed myself!

Full disclosure, I signed up to read this book strictly based on my liking the author. I am not sure I even read the summary, I went New Emma Lord? Yes, sounds great, sign me up. Gimme. This strategy has not always worked out for me but alas, life with ADHD means dealing with impulsive streaks like this from time to time. All that being said, I was very pleasantly surprised by the actual content of this book, and having gone back and read the summary, I don’t think it does it proper justice. I mean for one, it doesn’t fully capture the utter unquenchable Millieness of our leading lady and WAIT FOR IT, the full set up of the Mamma Mia-ness of it all. Given my love for the movies and songs, once I picked up what was happening I full-on squealed and went HECK YES MAMMA MIA TIME! I mean, of course, it’s not the same but I loved this twist on it. The fact that it gets its start not by perusing a mom’s diary but scrolling through her dad’s LiveJournal was priceless and perfect. Given that I had my own LiveJournal phase and I’m only a few years younger than MIllie’s dad it was such a surreal, nostalgic and hilarious touch that I really enjoyed.
I also just loved Millie, Millie moods and all. Considering my own mental health struggles, I felt hers and sympathized with her. She was a mess but a lovable mess that I wanted to hug and sing with and hang out with like she’s a lovable cousin or sister. This book is also one of those rare cases, where yes the love interest is more than lovely and romance is fun, I was turning the page for way more than just the hope of a relationship. I was deeply invested in finding out who Millie’s mom was and falling for all of the possible candidates and enjoying Farrah and Heather together but also Chloe and Beth and Teddy. Especially Teddy. I love it when a book is more than just me wanting people to kiss when there is heart there and a cast of vivid and colorful characters. When You Get the Chance, set against the backdrop of NYC and splashed with more than a few Broadway references was full-on technicolor and such a fun ride. I’m glad I hopped on.

Thank you so, so much to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for providing an arc copy! All thoughts and opinions are still my own.

Emma Lord just doesn't miss. I adored her previous 2 contemporaries, and this one was no exception. Her characters are real, flawed, complex, and somehow still so dang lovable. I just love how messy she lets her characters get. This book totally swept me away and I ended up listening to the entire thing in one sitting because I just didn't want to put this down.

I (of course) loved the rivals to lovers romance. I loved their banter and chemistry and the way they pushed each other. Despite them being academic rivals, there were very few instances of them being outright mean which I appreciated. And I loved watching them slowly acknowledge their feelings and learn to trust each other. The romance was so sweet and well paced and I loved it.

Emma Lord always tackles difficult family situations in her books and that was definitely the case in here. I love the exploration of different types of families and homes - single parents, divorced parents, queer couples, etc. I love that Emma Lord is taking on "normal household" standards.

Because the parents in here are WONDERFUL. As an adult reading YA, I always have to distance myself a little, because this book isn't written for me. (In fact I'm nearly the same age as the father lol). But the parents and adults in here are fantastic and supportive and present.

This also has a found family aspect, Abba references galore, a ride or die friendship that I loved, and tons of glimpses at NYC and Broadway. And overall this was just so fun, witty, and heartfelt. Emma Lord is an auto read author for me at this point and I absolutely cannot wait to pick up whatever she writes next.

Millie Price has always dreamed of becoming a Broadway star. When she gets into one of the most prominent performing arts schools in the county, she is convinced it’s her ticket to making it big. Her dad, isn’t as sure, considering it’s on the other side of the county. So Millie decides to track down her mom- who left her at her Dad’s when she was a baby- to try and get another vote in her favorite. Her search for her mom reveals three possibilities, but, I order to get to know them, Millie has to accept an internship working along side her nemesis from her current theater program.

When You Get A Chance is a fun YA romcom mixed with all the musical references a theater nerd could want…. But if you are like me and only causally consume theater, it never gets to be too much (at least in my opinion) and often pokes fun at itself. If you’ve enjoyed Emma Lord’s other works I think you will enjoy this.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for providing me with a eARC in exchange for a review!

Another hit from Emma Lord. This big-hearted YA enemies to lovers romance gave me all the feels. Cue tons of snarky banter between high school rivals Oliver and Millie competing for an internship in NYC. This book is highly recommended for all the drama geeks and theatre nerds out there and anyone who loves complicated, non-traditional family relationship stories. Perfect for fans of You've got a match or As if on cue. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for one of my most anticipated 2022 YA books!