ARC Review: You Have a Match by Emma Lord
10:00
Series: None
Author: Emma Lord
Published January 12th 2021 by Wednesday Books
Goodreads Synopsis
From the beloved author of Tweet Cute comes Emma Lord's You Have a Match, a YA novel of family, friendship, romance and sisterhood…
When Abby signs up for a DNA service, it’s mainly to give her friend and secret love interest, Leo, a nudge. After all, she knows who she is already: Avid photographer. Injury-prone tree climber. Best friend to Leo and Connie…although ever since the B.E.I. (Big Embarrassing Incident) with Leo, things have been awkward on that front.
But she didn’t know she’s a younger sister.
When the DNA service reveals Abby has a secret sister, shimmery-haired Instagram star Savannah Tully, it’s hard to believe they’re from the same planet, never mind the same parents—especially considering Savannah, queen of green smoothies, is only a year and a half older than Abby herself.
The logical course of action? Meet up at summer camp (obviously) and figure out why Abby’s parents gave Savvy up for adoption. But there are complications: Savvy is a rigid rule-follower and total narc. Leo is the camp’s co-chef, putting Abby's growing feelings for him on blast. And her parents have a secret that threatens to unravel everything.
But part of life is showing up, leaning in, and learning to fit all your awkward pieces together. Because sometimes, the hardest things can also be the best ones.
Goodreads
Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.
You Have a Match sees three best friends, Abby, Connie, and Leo decide to take a DNA test to find out more about themselves. It's mainly for Leo, who was adopted, to discover more about his Filipino heritage, but Abby is shocked when her result show she has an older, full sister, who lives only thirty minutes away. She's always thought of herself as the elder sister of three younger brothers, the eldest child of her lawyer parents, and to find out that she's been lied to for all her life is heartbreaking. Meeting up with her new sister, Savannah, or Savvy, they both realise they want to learn more about each other, and the situation they now find themselves in. So, Abby decides to ask her parents if she can attend the summer camp at Camp Reynolds that she had been against, but her parents had wanted her to go to, as Savvy is a camp counsellor, but pretty much as soon as she arrives, things start to go wrong. Savvy is a lot more strung up that Abby expected, the rules are over the top, and to make matters worse, Leo is also a counsellor, and Abby is still coping with her unrequited crush, and the aftermath of the B.E.I. (Big Embarrassing Incident) during Thanksgiving. Will Abby discover the truth about her family situation, and be able to overcome her feelings for Leo?
When I read Tweet Cute over a year and a half ago, I was just in awe at Emma's writing and how she made her book come to life, so I jumped at the chance to read an ARC of her latest book, You Have a Match. This time around, it was as good, if not better. Her characters are even more fleshed out and real, and I just adored every minute I was reading this book. Abby was such a relatable character, and I could completely understand her feelings throughout the book. In the last year she's lost her grandfather, who she was extremely close to, realised her feelings for her best friend and believes they are unrequited, is struggling with school, and then has a new, seemingly perfect sister thrown in on top. She just feels like a failure, and being told she needs to go to summer school is only exacerbating it all, so it's perfectly reasonable she has a few dips and out bursts as the story progresses. I really enjoyed her discovering Savvy, and just who she was, and how similar they both were. Savvy's parents are very well off, and she's a instagram influencer, who loves what she does and has so many followers, and is basically the antithesis of Abby. On the surface, they don't really have much in common, but it's what is beneath that's important, and it was perfect how this happened, in my opinion.
There was romance, which I loved too, for both Abby and Savvy. Abby and Leo had a moment during the thanksgiving break, and Abby thought it was unrequited, especially when other best friend, Connie, told her Leo wasn't interested in her that way. She's had months to try and get other the feelings, but it's a right struggle, and being at Camp Reynold's with Leo makes it worse. There's a little bit of a possible love triangle, with Abby growing close - but platonically - with Finn, which sort of pushes Leo forward a little, but all in all, I loved them together, and they were so right for each other. Savvy also has romance too. She's being dating a girl, long distance, for some time, but they're not right for each other, and it seems to be more hard work than it's worth. Savvy's best friend, Mickey, has a crush on her, and it's clear too that Savvy likes her back, and it's very much a will they, won't they sort of situation, but it turned out perfectly in the end. I can't wait to read what Emma writes next!
Dates Read:
January 2-3, 2021
Rating
5 Stars
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