When You Get the Chance – Emma Lord

I wish more than anything I could ask him something now. I was prepared to lose him, maybe. But I wasn’t prepared for what happens after the losing.

-Emma Lord, When You Get the Chance

Well, life hits sometimes, and I haven’t posted a blog/review in just over a year. I find it hilarious though that my last post from October 23, 2020 was a review of Emma Lord’s You Have a Match, and my first review back is of Emma Lord’s When You Get the Chance! I swear, I didn’t plan it that way. I didn’t even realize it until just now when I opened up wordpress, inspired to write a blog again! It’s good to be back! Now, you aren’t really here for me, you’re here to read about Emma Lord’s newest upcoming book!

Millie (short for Camille, although easily could be equated to Millie from Thoroughly Modern Millie) is a musical theatre nerd in the extreme. It’s good that she lives in New York because she would lost in a small town in the middle of nowhere. We follow her navigating through trying to get her single parent father to let her go away to a musical theatre pre-college, essentially skipping her senior year of high school. When he inevitably says no, her solution is to ask her mother to convince HER to let her go. Only problem, she’s never met her mother. She was dropped off by her mom on her dad’s doorstep when she was an infant, and Millie has been raised by him and his sister, Heather. When Millie discovers that there are 3 potential women who could be her mom living in the city, she takes matters into her own hands. The antics ensue from there.

One thing I loved about this premise, is how much Millie identifies that her situation is reminiscent of Mamma Mia. So far as she and her best friend Teddy, begin calling it her Millie Mia. This book is completely filled with an abundance of musical theatre references (which some may think are too much, but as a musical theatre nerd, I LOVED). And the relationships between Millie and all her supporting cast (hah hah) were very well developed. From her best friend across the hall Teddy, to her arch-nemesis Oliver, to her potential younger half-sister Chloe, her aunt Heather, and to her father, my personal favorite, Cooper. Each relationship feels fully fleshed out and has backstory. And I love how you learn about each of the characters in their lives OUTSIDE of Millie.

One of the biggest things this book also solidified for me. I may read YA books 95% of the time, but I’m in my mid 30s. Do I still fall for the clear love interest? Nope, I’m falling for the single dad every time.

All in all, I loved this book so much. Easy 5/5 from me for this book. My only little nitpicky issue, is that, throughout the whole book, “theatre” is spelled “theater.” Small gripe, but that’s just me. I had to get over it.

Book Particulars:

• Page Count: 320 Pages
• Publisher: Wednesday Books
• Edition Read – eBook, thanks to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
• Expected Release Date: January 4, 2022
• Dates Read: November 24, 2021 – November 26, 2021

Book Synopsis:
Nothing will get in the way of Millie Price’s dream to become a Broadway star. Not her lovable but super-introverted dad, who after raising Millie alone, doesn’t want to watch her leave home to pursue her dream. Not her pesky and ongoing drama club rival, Oliver, who is the very definition of Simmering Romantic Tension. And not the “Millie Moods,” the feelings of intense emotion that threaten to overwhelm, always at maddeningly inconvenient times. Millie needs an ally. And when a left-open browser brings Millie to her dad’s embarrassingly moody LiveJournal from 2003, Millie knows just what to do. She’s going to find her mom.

There’s Steph, a still-aspiring stage actress and receptionist at a talent agency. There’s Farrah, ethereal dance teacher who clearly doesn’t have the two left feet Millie has. And Beth, the chipper and sweet stage enthusiast with an equally exuberant fifteen-year-old daughter (A possible sister?! This is getting out of hand). But how can you find a new part of your life and expect it to fit into your old one, without leaving any marks? And why is it that when you go looking for the past, it somehow keeps bringing you back to what you’ve had all along?