When You Get The Chance
BY Emma Lord

This book is amazing and so much fun to read. WHEN YOU GET THE CHANCE is one of the most charming and heart felt books I have read recently that is set in the world of musical theater. This story is also about achieving your dreams no matter the cost, and a story about family and Millie's quest to find out more about her mother - and narrowing it down to three women - just like Mamma Mia!

This was such a great book full of wonderful happy vibes and yet also addressing issues on family and life passions. The characters are also so special and the side story was wonderful too.

Truly entertaining and fun read.

When you get a chance started a little rough for me because Millie is a bit too whiny for me and I don’t like that in characters. But thankfully I stayed with it because I really ended up enjoying When You Get a Chance.

It’s a good story about how people aren’t always what they seemed to be. And that if you give them a chance they’ll surprise you.

Definitely recommend if you’re into enemy to lover YA books.

Thanks to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for the chance to read this book in return for an honest review

This book was so cute. I was initially afraid that I would be annoyed with the main character, but her growth over the story was wonderful. All the characters were relatable. The story handles some difficult issues in a graceful way and stresses the importance of family; all types of family.

When You Get the Chance is Emma Lord’s love letter to musical theatre in general and Mamma Mia in particular.

Millie is an almost 17 year old who has just finished her junior year of high school. She is a very talented singer and actress. She’d be a triple threat if she could just get her feet to catch up with the rest of her talents.

Oliver Yang is her nemesis from the theater group. When they both show up at a talent agency, Oliver seeking an internship and Millie trying to find out if her mom (who abandoned her as a baby) works there, their rivalry is pushed to new limits. But could their forced proximity as they both become interns lead to changed feelings?

And what about the mom that Millie is looking for? Does she work at the take to agency? What about the dance instructor who might actually be interested in Millie’s aunt? Why not the woman who sets up musical watch parties?

I love musicals, but I’ve never seen Mamma Mia. I know that knowledge would have let me in on some of the jokes in the book. But that didn’t stop me from really enjoying the story. I read it in less than 24 hours.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A YA contemporary retelling of Mamma Mia! staring a Rachel Berry-esque theatre kid on the hunt to discover which of three women is for her mother across NYC???? SIGN ME UP.

After loving Emma Lord’s YOU HAVE A MATCH, I was so excited to see her tackle another long-lost family story with WHEN YOU GET THE CHANCE. This did not disappoint!

I highly recommend this book to YA readers who love the following:
💫 Family-centered conflict, interconnected backstories, and found family
💫 An enemies-to-lovers romance side plot
💫 Strong father/daughter relationships
💫 ALL the broadway references (that managed to not be too corny)
💫 A sympathetic teenage main character with a unique voice
💫 A balance of poignant and really fun storytelling

I think Emma Lord is a standout YA author. She writes teenagers so well in how they are imperfect and emotional, but also trying their best and leaning a lot. I look forward to reading more from her!

Millie dreams of being a Broadway star and she is determined to make it happen. The only problem is life keeps throwing curveballs at her and getting in her way. When Millie reads an entry in her dads online journal, she decides she’s going to set out to find her birth mom. Could she be someone in her life now or is she a random stranger? Will she be able to find her? Will her mom be happy to meet her?

I thought this book was a decent, but basic read. The relationship between Millie and her Dad was very sweet. Outside of that I didn’t find a connection with the characters. It was just an average read for me, and nothing really stood out. Based on the reviews, most people really seemed to love it, so if it sounds interesting to you, pick it up and see for yourself!

Thank you to NetGalley + Wednesday Books for the ARC. Pub date was 1/4/2022, so head on over to your favorite local or online bookstore and grab a copy!

Emma Lord’s When You Get the Chance is a mix of YA contemporary x Romance. Not only do we follow Millie as she juggles her summer internship job with finding her mum (a la Mamma Mia) there’s also a budding enemies-to-friends romance.

Millie has the most precious relationship with her father. She worries over him and hides her search for her mother for fear of hurting him as he never seems to want to talk about it. She uses clues from her father’s rather embarrassing livejournal in her search. As she gets to know her mum candidates, will Millie find her real mother?

Alongside her search, sparks are flying with her drama club rival, Oliver, as they compete for an important internship with a super strict and seemingly unfeeling manager. Millie’s loathing over the years spills over and their banter was absolutely delicious.

This story was absolutely delightful with a true love for musical theatre! I absolutely enjoyed all the references and it was such a delight.

A wonderful story worth every stars I rated it! It’s definitely a fun journey to follow and has you guessing at every page turn!!

This book is available now!


Thank you to the publishers for the arc.

Millie dreams of being a Broadway star and has pursued it for most of her life. She's just been admitted into a school that she thinks will put her on a fast track. When her dad says no, she and her best friend decided to do a "Millie Mia"- figure out which one of three women could be the mother she's never known. This pursuit is filled with surprises and left turns. I will admit that Millie grated on my nerves for the first few chapters, but I grew to see it as insecurity that is masked by a bigger than life personality. By the end, I was rooting for her. This story reminded me of the movie Definitely Maybe and I am now listening to a bunch of Broadway cast recordings thanks to Millie. This is a good one!

Fun book,especially for children who love Broadway! I would love to have this in my classroom library.

When You Get the Chance

When You Get the Chance is the second novel I’ve read from Emma Lord in the past few months, and can I just saw she may be a new auto-buy author for me. Both of the books I’ve read have been very family-focused which I’ve absolutely adored.

This story follows an enemies-to-lovers trope that is done so incredibly well, and it’s not even the big focus of the story. Like I mentioned above, the focus is on family and friends, and the romantic bit is just kind of seamlessly weaved in, which makes for one of the loveliest types of reads.

The book is also an updated take on Mamma Mia, which is regularly referenced in its pages. Plus there’s a huge theatre-nerd focus which is delightful. And the dad is a dorky, introverted LOTR-stan whose LiveJournal is majorly included in the plot. So first off, how old am I? And secondly, I LOVE THIS WHOLE BOOK.


So if you’re into YA novels with cute tropes, musical theatre, music venues, milkshakes, and geocaching - YOU WILL FIND NO BETTER BOOK FOR YOU.

A lighthearted and entertaining read, and very original premise. I have never felt so old lol, especially when I was using livejournal around the same time as Millie's dad. The plot is very Mamma Mia-ish and very charming, though I have to admit, all the broadway references got kind of annoying after a while,

This didn't do it for me and that honestly bums me out. I didn't connect with any of the characters and I felt like the plot was also just blah.

This was so stinkin' cute. I had a LiveJournal, and this brought back such fond memories. I am moving out of my YA "phase," but I delighted in reading this and will recommend.

I absolutely love Mama Mia: the music, the movie, the broadway show, so when I was told about this book being a searching for mom, Mama Mia story, I grabbed it. Millie Price dreams of being on Broadway and has worked hard towards that dream. It has not been easy, her dad is an introvert who would rather hang out at home, Oliver, the stage manager at her school seems to be against her and then there are her Millie moods (the feelings of intense emotion that threaten to overwhelm her). She has been accepted at a well known drama school for her precollege year, but her father is reluctant to let her go. When she accidentally reads her dad's journal from 2003, she decides it is time to find her mom, maybe she will support her dreams. Her BFF and neighbor Teddy is a tech nerd who can find any information in few seconds. The three women mentioned in the journal who could be the possible mother candidates of Millie are Beth: a social worker, mother of Chloe who is a year younger than Millie, Steph: an executive assistant of a famous Broadway agent and a struggling actress and finally Farrah: a talented dance teacher. In order to meet them, Millie finds herself at an interview for an intern position of the very famous Broadway manager. She ends up competing for the position with her long time nemesis Oliver. They’re both chosen to be temporary assistants for two weeks and given some tasks to complete. The one with the best performance will get the permanent position.

This was a fun story. I loved reading about all the competitions and things that happen between Millie and Oliver. They have such a love/hate relationship, but as it develops into friendship and more, I was rooting for them. The various ways that Millie meets her three possible moms was interesting. There were times that she shone and others where she bumbled. She is so relatable, that everyone she met befriended her. It was also great to see how Teddy and Millie helped awkward Chloe come out of her shell. As she got to know the women, she also learned more about herself and Oliver. Her relationship with her dad and her aunt were wonderful but they had some problems that summer with her behaviour and secrets. I did love Millie. Her moods, dreams and insecurities were so realistic and made her relatable. Emma Lord does a fantastic job of mixing cutesy-YA Romance, with some serious family issues. It was fun, witty, fast paced and sweet, but had substance dealing with a young woman who wanted to know more about her mother, but was worried about upsetting her father, so afraid to ask. She was coming into her own and had to find her place. So, which woman is her mother? You will have to read this one to find out.

I loved When You Get the Chance. As a theatre kid myself, some of the feelings and emotions that Millie goes through.

I love the Mamma Mia vibes I've got from When You Get the Chance, the bonding times that Millie has with her dad is the best thing out of this story and I love that there is some of that. I can't wait to read more by Emma Lord

This book is essential reading for anyone who loves musical theatre or is nostalgic for LiveJournal.

But really I could say it’s essential reading for anyone who wants to have a good time. This was more enjoyable than I ever could have imagined, and it might just be my new favourite Emma Lord book.

Okay, maybe I’m too old for this book, or maybe not but I just wasn’t feeling this. I found the synopsis and premise of the book to be so promising! And I’ve enjoyed Emma Lord’s other books, but this one just missed the mark for me. Millie was one of the more annoying main characters I’ve read in a long time. I found her to be inconsiderate and very self-centered. I don’t feel like her character really develops much throughout the book either. If she does, I may have skimmed over it, which I found myself doing a lot. This one was a no from me.

This one is definitely for all the theater nerds! If you like musicals or theater even a little bit, you'll enjoy this book all the more. I loved the way Millie grows in this one, as she hunts for her birth mom and also works towards her own theatrical ambitions. When You Get the Chance had the right balance of fun and heart for me. I enjoyed this one and happily read it in a day.

This was a great spin on the plot of Mamma Mia. Full of heart and family love, both found and biological.

4.5 stars.

Another cute, light, fun read from Emma Lord. I loved the musical focus of this book and thought it was just really a good time. (Though I do have to admit that some of the references to Millie's dad's past had me cringing at the fact that I'm getting old and have started having more in common with the parents in the YA reads than the protagonists.)

Millie is quirky and a little over the top, but so much fun to read. She makes some really hair-brained decisions along the way, but rather than feeling illogical these feel just like a teenaged tendency to fail to look before leaping. To her credit, she does acknowledge these moments as errors and I appreciated how she grew in maturity as the plot proceeded. She still stays true to a teen character, but shows an appropriate character arc according to her age and experience.

I loved the other characters as well. Emma Lord can write a good diverse type of cast with introverts and extroverts alike. They felt like real people and I truly enjoyed the interactions between the characters along the way.

Super sweet and had me smiling most of the time...though occasionally smacking my head from some of Millie's silly choices. Absolutely worth the read and a thumbs up recommendation for when you're looking for a read that's fun, fast-paced, and full of musical theatre culture.

* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *