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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
Pretty good YA book about Abby discovering a secret sister and all the angst that goes with that plus, secret crushes on BFF, sat prep, high school etc.
This was cute but ultimately unmemorable. (And, as a personal gripe, oddly devoid of understanding of the trauma and legal rights for both adoptive and birth parents?) I think my students would like it--MC is feisty without being obnoxious, and the romance is believable for high school.
I have to say it: I loved Tweet Cute. Like, LOVED it. So I was really excited for this.
Which may have set me up to have too high expectations. Abby rubbed me the wrong way several times, but I think I was supposed to find her behavior to be funny, or at least amusing. It reminded me of juvenile teenage behavior that I cringed at when I was in high school (the gum thing, in particular).
I did enjoy her getting to know Savvy, and opening up to her more. She grew and stopped being quite so judgmental over the course of the book.
The interactions with parents were a bit unrealistic to me, which would have been fine if not for the fact they featured pretty heavily in the last half. They just didn't quite feel like people, and their motivations were off.
I liked Leo, Mickey, and Finn, but feel like we didn't really see nearly enough of them!
The entire backstory for Savvy's adoption seemed pretty far-fetched to me, and I didn't like how Savvy's mom acted about it all, both in the present and what happened in the past.
So, all in all, it was a bit of a miss. A lot of potential, but I think it also just tried to do too much at once.
Which may have set me up to have too high expectations. Abby rubbed me the wrong way several times, but I think I was supposed to find her behavior to be funny, or at least amusing. It reminded me of juvenile teenage behavior that I cringed at when I was in high school (the gum thing, in particular).
I did enjoy her getting to know Savvy, and opening up to her more. She grew and stopped being quite so judgmental over the course of the book.
The interactions with parents were a bit unrealistic to me, which would have been fine if not for the fact they featured pretty heavily in the last half. They just didn't quite feel like people, and their motivations were off.
I liked Leo, Mickey, and Finn, but feel like we didn't really see nearly enough of them!
The entire backstory for Savvy's adoption seemed pretty far-fetched to me, and I didn't like how Savvy's mom acted about it all, both in the present and what happened in the past.
So, all in all, it was a bit of a miss. A lot of potential, but I think it also just tried to do too much at once.
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
fast-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
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-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
I just have to start by saying I've been moving away from YA for a while. So when I first picked this up, I didn't realize it was YA. I figured it out pretty quickly, but I wanted to give it a shot because I liked the premise. Surprisingly, I ended up really enjoying this book. Where a lot of YA tends to just irritate me or I just can't relate anymore and lose interest. This one did the opposite and made me remember those tense, angst emotions I remember feeling as a teenager. How every little thing/emotion felt so big. I laughed out loud multiple times. The resolutions to things felt normal, and when the conversations that needed to happen did, it left me feeling like dang that was a true talk.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3.5 stars. Lord is so good at writing teenagers. I always feel like the thought process we see them go through and reactions are generally really genuine in her books. The only time I think that wasn't true in the one was with finding out info about the lawsuit and everything. With as much drama as the parental situation caused, I know as a teenager I definitely would not have stopped pestering my parents for details about everything. I really wish it would have gone into a bit more-- that part felt unfinished and glossed over for as much as led up to it. But overall, this was cute and I'm excited to read what EL comes up with next.
Emma Lord's debut novel Tweet Cute was one of the first books I managed to read when lockdown started last year (maybe the first?) so it feels fitting that I'm reading You Have a Match around the same time of year. I'd been looking forward to this book for months and it did not disappoint.
After she takes a DNA test in solidarity with her best friend Leo, who's trying to find out more about his biological family, high school junior Abby Day discovers that she has an older sister. Savvy is just two years older than her, and she has no idea why her parents would have placed their daughter for adoption, especially given that she was born so soon after. She meets up with Savvy, who's an instagram-influencer, and next thing you know they're both off to the same camp for the summer. And on the ferry there, she realizes that this is the camp Leo's been going to every summer as well. So with her secret sister and her one-time crush, she's ready for a summer of digging up some secrets.
Emma is a master of using social media in all the best ways in her writing, making everything feel fun and real and important. The same goes for how she writes about food. Everything is so descriptive. I loved the sense of place in this book as well as the found family. It's yet another book that feels like a fun, warm hug, and I really loved it.
After she takes a DNA test in solidarity with her best friend Leo, who's trying to find out more about his biological family, high school junior Abby Day discovers that she has an older sister. Savvy is just two years older than her, and she has no idea why her parents would have placed their daughter for adoption, especially given that she was born so soon after. She meets up with Savvy, who's an instagram-influencer, and next thing you know they're both off to the same camp for the summer. And on the ferry there, she realizes that this is the camp Leo's been going to every summer as well. So with her secret sister and her one-time crush, she's ready for a summer of digging up some secrets.
Emma is a master of using social media in all the best ways in her writing, making everything feel fun and real and important. The same goes for how she writes about food. Everything is so descriptive. I loved the sense of place in this book as well as the found family. It's yet another book that feels like a fun, warm hug, and I really loved it.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes