Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A sweet story about teen love, coming of age and logical & biological family.
3.5/5 - it wasn't what I expected but it was a fun story. It was a little older than what I was expecting for a YA novel, more of an upperclassmen novel than underclassmen, I'd say. Emma Lord writes about how Abby finds a surprising discovery from a DNA test that turns her world on end. It's a fun summer read, as most of the book takes place during the summer at camp.
Such a good idea, but poor execution.
Leo, Connie, and Abby are all TERRIBLE at communicating. TERRIBLE.
All the characters are so flat it’s hard to care about any of them.
I actually understand the parents keeping quiet, but Abby not knowing Leo was going to the same camp? Abby not really listening to Leo’s camp friends stories, people he’s known for years and years?
Speaking of camp, why don’t they have janitors to clean the bathrooms? Are they just hoping kids get demerits?
I wanted so much more.
Leo, Connie, and Abby are all TERRIBLE at communicating. TERRIBLE.
All the characters are so flat it’s hard to care about any of them.
I actually understand the parents keeping quiet, but Abby not knowing Leo was going to the same camp? Abby not really listening to Leo’s camp friends stories, people he’s known for years and years?
Speaking of camp, why don’t they have janitors to clean the bathrooms? Are they just hoping kids get demerits?
I wanted so much more.
i was nervous that i wouldn’t like “you have a match” because i loved “tweet cute” so much and i knew i’d inevitably compare the two, but i’m so happy that wasn’t the case.
emma lord’s humor and quick banter always seems to get me, this time with a heartwarming story of two sisters coming together
emma lord’s humor and quick banter always seems to get me, this time with a heartwarming story of two sisters coming together
TW/CW: grief/loss, mentions of substance abuse, anxiety, mentions of abandonment, brief descriptions of injury and illness (broken bones, pneumonia)
I was banking on You Have a Match being at least decent just because of the memory of how good Tweet Cute was, but I really should’ve run for the hills the minute I saw the Reese’s YA Book Club sticker on it. But whether or not I’m looking at Tweet Cute through rose-colored glasses or if Emma Lord just took a dip in quality, You Have a Match was not nearly as sweet—or even enjoyable—as its predecessor.
The main issue with You Have a Match was that it didn’t seem to know what it wanted to be. The premise (and partially the title, although it definitely applies to both) was advertised mostly as a kind of coming-of-age story of sisterhood, but the book itself also wanted to shove a fully-developed romance plot in between it all. The thing is, both of these stories could have been great as separate books—one about finding your lost sister, one about falling in love at summer camp. And I really believe that Lord could’ve succeeded with both of those stories. But even though it could have been possible to merge the two, You Have a Match felt like it didn’t know where to put the emphasis. As a result, the story felt like it needlessly jumped all over the place, making both of the plots cease to be cohesive. It really feels like a case of Lord biting off far more than she could chew.
As a result, the romance that was supposed to happen between Abby and Leo definitely suffered. So much attention was brought to the plot with Savannah and her friends that there was no room for their chemistry to develop, and by the end of the novel, none of the romance felt fleshed out in any way. All of it hinged on the reader believing the information that was very much told (certainly not shown…) that they’d had a beautiful friendship for years, and even that wasn’t enough to save the absolutely lukewarm romantic aspects of this book.
The pacing of You Have a Match didn’t help either of these issues—in fact, it was probably the reason that they were exacerbated. Once the characters got to camp, none of the timing made any sense. It felt like we were just being bounced along like a pinball from subplot A to subplot B without any room to breathe or make sense of what was happening. Everything felt transient and borderline pointless; 309 pages (for the Kindle edition) isn’t that short of a page count, but some points really did feel like filler. This is probably what could have solved the “this book doesn’t know what it wants to be” issue—cut all the filler and focus on developing the relationships between the characters, and chances are, I would’ve enjoyed it so much more.
Part of what endeared me to Tweet Cute was that the social media parts rarely came across as a Gen X author trying too hard to sound “hip.” As much as it can be, it felt real enough that the humor and romance could come through via that aspect. However, whatever internet savviness that Lord had was lost somewhere in the dust between Tweet Cute and You Have a Match. Maybe it was the shift in focus from Twitter to the whole mess that is the concept of Influencers, but it felt incredibly shallow in comparison. Despite her (eventual) redeeming qualities, Savvy came across as the most unoriginal, cardboard-cutout idea of an influencer (fit, makes green smoothies, immaculate hygiene, does yoga, etc.), but Lord could have easily subverted that idea with something that set her apart. All of the nuance came down to “influencers are people too, my life isn’t always perfect :(” and never went any further. Especially with the fact that Abby and Savvy were sisters all along, I feel like this could’ve gone so much deeper—or, at least, in a more interesting direction.
All in all, a coming-of-age, summer camp rom-com that wasted almost all of the potential that it had. 2 stars.
I was banking on You Have a Match being at least decent just because of the memory of how good Tweet Cute was, but I really should’ve run for the hills the minute I saw the Reese’s YA Book Club sticker on it. But whether or not I’m looking at Tweet Cute through rose-colored glasses or if Emma Lord just took a dip in quality, You Have a Match was not nearly as sweet—or even enjoyable—as its predecessor.
The main issue with You Have a Match was that it didn’t seem to know what it wanted to be. The premise (and partially the title, although it definitely applies to both) was advertised mostly as a kind of coming-of-age story of sisterhood, but the book itself also wanted to shove a fully-developed romance plot in between it all. The thing is, both of these stories could have been great as separate books—one about finding your lost sister, one about falling in love at summer camp. And I really believe that Lord could’ve succeeded with both of those stories. But even though it could have been possible to merge the two, You Have a Match felt like it didn’t know where to put the emphasis. As a result, the story felt like it needlessly jumped all over the place, making both of the plots cease to be cohesive. It really feels like a case of Lord biting off far more than she could chew.
As a result, the romance that was supposed to happen between Abby and Leo definitely suffered. So much attention was brought to the plot with Savannah and her friends that there was no room for their chemistry to develop, and by the end of the novel, none of the romance felt fleshed out in any way. All of it hinged on the reader believing the information that was very much told (certainly not shown…) that they’d had a beautiful friendship for years, and even that wasn’t enough to save the absolutely lukewarm romantic aspects of this book.
The pacing of You Have a Match didn’t help either of these issues—in fact, it was probably the reason that they were exacerbated. Once the characters got to camp, none of the timing made any sense. It felt like we were just being bounced along like a pinball from subplot A to subplot B without any room to breathe or make sense of what was happening. Everything felt transient and borderline pointless; 309 pages (for the Kindle edition) isn’t that short of a page count, but some points really did feel like filler. This is probably what could have solved the “this book doesn’t know what it wants to be” issue—cut all the filler and focus on developing the relationships between the characters, and chances are, I would’ve enjoyed it so much more.
Part of what endeared me to Tweet Cute was that the social media parts rarely came across as a Gen X author trying too hard to sound “hip.” As much as it can be, it felt real enough that the humor and romance could come through via that aspect. However, whatever internet savviness that Lord had was lost somewhere in the dust between Tweet Cute and You Have a Match. Maybe it was the shift in focus from Twitter to the whole mess that is the concept of Influencers, but it felt incredibly shallow in comparison. Despite her (eventual) redeeming qualities, Savvy came across as the most unoriginal, cardboard-cutout idea of an influencer (fit, makes green smoothies, immaculate hygiene, does yoga, etc.), but Lord could have easily subverted that idea with something that set her apart. All of the nuance came down to “influencers are people too, my life isn’t always perfect :(” and never went any further. Especially with the fact that Abby and Savvy were sisters all along, I feel like this could’ve gone so much deeper—or, at least, in a more interesting direction.
All in all, a coming-of-age, summer camp rom-com that wasted almost all of the potential that it had. 2 stars.
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a surprisingly powerful little novel.
It's been a while since I've read a genre that was first and foremost YA, especially one with straight, white characters. This genre and especially type can be really hit or miss for me, and I prefer to read novels with more of a direct plot relating to race or gender instead of just YA.
I think it helped that the romance in [b:You Have a Match|53138158|You Have a Match|Emma Lord|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1589256633l/53138158._SY75_.jpg|79888669] was very much a side plot. This was not YA romance for YA romance's sake. This was a book about family and self-discovery and finding your place even when the world implodes on you. Overall, it's a very heartwarming story.
The characters are more complex than I expected going in. Again, with the sole idea of YA romance, there's not much you can do to make the characters as complex. On the other hand, when it becomes a story with real people at the core, there's a lot you can do. All characters had their own demons to fight, and their own struggles to overcome, ones that went far beyond who-likes-who romantic tension..
The self-discovery and found family stories were very prominent in this novel. Found family is one of my favorite tropes, and so are stories about characters actively becoming friends. This latter plot is one that is not explored often enough, and YA is one of the only places you can actively find it at least sometimes, and I'm so glad this novel included so much of it, and especially of female friendship and of girls overcoming catty rivalries.
[b:You Have a Match|53138158|You Have a Match|Emma Lord|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1589256633l/53138158._SY75_.jpg|79888669] was surprisingly unique and authentic for YA romance, and I really appreciated the story all around. I could definitely see myself rereading this in the near future.
Disclaimer:
It's been a while since I've read a genre that was first and foremost YA, especially one with straight, white characters. This genre and especially type can be really hit or miss for me, and I prefer to read novels with more of a direct plot relating to race or gender instead of just YA.
I think it helped that the romance in [b:You Have a Match|53138158|You Have a Match|Emma Lord|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1589256633l/53138158._SY75_.jpg|79888669] was very much a side plot. This was not YA romance for YA romance's sake. This was a book about family and self-discovery and finding your place even when the world implodes on you. Overall, it's a very heartwarming story.
The characters are more complex than I expected going in. Again, with the sole idea of YA romance, there's not much you can do to make the characters as complex. On the other hand, when it becomes a story with real people at the core, there's a lot you can do. All characters had their own demons to fight, and their own struggles to overcome, ones that went far beyond who-likes-who romantic tension.
Spoiler
Side note, I also liked that Savvy and Mickey are gay from the start, so that there's definitely no tension of that sort between siblingsThe self-discovery and found family stories were very prominent in this novel. Found family is one of my favorite tropes, and so are stories about characters actively becoming friends. This latter plot is one that is not explored often enough, and YA is one of the only places you can actively find it at least sometimes, and I'm so glad this novel included so much of it, and especially of female friendship and of girls overcoming catty rivalries.
[b:You Have a Match|53138158|You Have a Match|Emma Lord|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1589256633l/53138158._SY75_.jpg|79888669] was surprisingly unique and authentic for YA romance, and I really appreciated the story all around. I could definitely see myself rereading this in the near future.
Disclaimer:
Spoiler
Free in exchange for an honest review, courtesy of Goodreads Giveaways. Thanks to [a:St. Martin's Press|1153849|St. Martin's Press|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] for listing. All opinions are my own.
My Review: https://youtu.be/LM9QW4LFZpM
Thank you, NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC
Thank you, NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC
Emma Lord is officially an auto-buy, or more accurately, an auto-put-on-hold-at-the-library, author. You Have a Match is delightful, and just as lovely as Tweet Cute. I loved all the characters and how very real they were. And her writing is just the perfect style for a quick and fun YA read. So good!