Title: You Have a Match

Author: Emma Lord

Year of Publication: 2021

Genre: YA Contemporary

Number of Pages: 302

Summary: From Goodreads: “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.”

Review: Thank you to the Publisher (St. Martin’s Press & Wednesday Books) and Net Galley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

When I saw that Emma Lord had a new book coming out, I immediately added it to my TBR because Tweet Cute was one of my favourite books of 2020. Even though I didn’t enjoy this book as much as Tweet Cute, I still thought it was quick and delightful, and I highly recommend checking it out.

You Have a Match follows Abby, a teenager who agrees to sign up for a DNA service with her friends Leo and Connie, even though she knows that she won’t find anything surprising. When she gets the results back, they’re exactly what she expects, until she gets a message from a stranger claiming to be her sister. What follows is a summer full of camp, photography, culinary creations, confused romantic feelings, friendship, family secrets, self-reflection, and growth.

My favourite thing about this book was the different hobbies that the characters had. Abby, the main character, is a photographer. She doesn’t have a lot of confidence in her artistic abilities, but she takes pictures of scenery and of Leo’s culinary creations. Leo is interested in food, and he loves experimenting in the kitchen. There’s a lot of talk about the things he makes in this book, and his lasagna balls, in particular, are something that I need in my life. Savvy is a lifestyle influencer on Instagram. She posts things like green smoothies and yoga poses, but it’s clear that she enjoys what she does. I liked seeing these hobbies play out on the page, and I thought they added a fun dimension to the characters.

Speaking of the characters, I loved all of them. I enjoyed the friendship between Abby, Connie, and Leo, even though there weren’t a lot of scenes with all three of them together. I loved the group of girls that Abby met at summer camp, and I liked that they all had plans for their futures and how to tie social media into their plans. I wanted to hug Finn, and he was probably my favourite secondary character in the book. I thought Mickey was awesome, and I loved everything about her. I liked Abby and Savvy, and I enjoyed reading about them trying to figure out what their dynamic should be.

I really liked the family secret aspect of this book. I don’t think I’ve read a book before that deals with secret sisters, and I thought it was a lot of fun. I enjoyed reading about Abby and Savvy trying to figure out their parent’s secrets and trying to piece together their story. I also enjoyed the shenanigans they got into while plotting against their parents.

As far as romance goes, this book has some. It’s not the main plot of the book, but there are a few romantic threads. There’s also a bit of a love shape in this book, which is fun if that’s something you’re interested in.

This book deals with some heavy topics like, trying to find out where you’re from, divorce, family secrets, and dealing with a loved one’s death. I think all of these topics were handled well, especially the grief aspect of the story.

As mentioned before, I didn’t enjoy this book as much as Tweet Cute. This book was a quick read. I liked the characters, and I thought the storyline was cute, but it also felt like something was missing. I’m not entirely sure what was missing, but there was something that wasn’t there. If I figure it out, I will let you all know.

One final thing that I want to note is that Emma Lord writes the best epilogues. I don’t want to give anything away, but seriously, her epilogues always fill me with a ton of joy.

Rating: 4.5 Stars!