January 13, 2021

Friends with ARCs: You Have a Match


I adored Emma Lord's debut novel Tweet Cute so much, and with her sophomore novel, she's further cemented herself as an author whose work I'm bound to enjoy. You Have a Match is about Abby, who ends up signing up for a DNA service with her best friend. With the results comes a surprising revelation: Abby has a full-blooded older sister named Savannah (nicknamed 'Savvy) who she's never known about. The pair make plans to meet up at a summer camp in order to uncover the truth about why they never knew about each other and the relationship between both sets of parents... though that ends up not being the only thing the pair figure out while they're away.

I loved You Have a Match! My fondness for this story has a lot to do with how much I appreciate stories about family dynamics, particularly between siblings, and specifically between sisters (which I suppose isn't much of a surprise as I have two of my own). While Abby and Savvy's relationship might not be the typical sort, Lord's portrayal of their dynamic was real and relatable. It was equal parts heartwarming (the connections they make!) and heartbreaking (the complications that threaten the fragile relationship that's begun!), while also being 100% compelling to read about these two as they go from strangers to sisters. That's not to say that this was the only aspect of the book I enjoyed! I liked the friendships, the romance (which has a lot of miscommunication, but in a way that made sense),  and the summer camp setting (including the shenanigans). I was also surprised to find out that two characters were Filipino and to see Filipino food mentioned on page; seeing details like that in a story is always exciting. And finally, I fully appreciated the way this novel tackled the aspects of identity (both in real life and online) and relationships (family, friendship and romantic). You Have a Match was a wonderful, charming read, one that I personally really enjoyed and would highly recommend.

Favorite or most memorable camp scene in TV/movies? There are two movies from my childhood that come to mind immediately when I think of camp, and those films are It Takes Two and The Parent Trap (Lindsay Lohan's version). I couldn't decide between two scenes so I'm just going to take the liberty of mentioning them both here! From The Parent Trap, I love the fencing scene, and from It Takes Two, I love the food fight scene.

You Have a Match was released January 13, 2020 by Wednesday Books.

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