As if I needed any more reason to watch Mamma Mia on a loop, Emma Lord delivers a pitch-perfect gender-flipped retelling of the movie that has burrowed into all our hearts.
If you’re not familiar with the movie Mamma Mia (first of all, how dare you?), let me give you the premise of When You Get the Chance. We follow Millie Price, who’s determined to make her dream of becoming a Broadway star a reality and nothing will stand in her way. Not her lovable dad who raised Millie all on her own and doesn’t really want her to move away, not her rivalry with Oliver, who seems to put the drama in drama club and certainly not the dreaded “Millie Moods,” the overwhelming intense emotions that often lead to Millie turning into a tornado that’s in danger of flattening everything and everyone around her.
When a left-open browser brings Millie to her dad’s LiveJournal from 2003, Millie knows what she needs to do to work through all the obstacles standing between her and her dream. She’s going to find her mother. With three potential candidates, Millie goes on the quest that she’s sure will solve all of her problems—if only so her real mother will sign the papers Millie needs to transfer schools and give her Broadway career the push it needs.
As unlikely bonds are formed, rivals turn to allies and the secret identity of Millie’s mother gets closer to being revealed, Millie will have to ask herself: how can she be looking for answers in the past when her present is in desperate need of her full attention? And what’s more—can the secrets of her dad’s past threaten her future?
Honestly, only Emma Lord could take something as iconic as Mamma Mia and make it, dare I say, even better? These days, there are few authors that floor me a little bit more with every new release but Lord is at the top of that list. How this woman manages to make me feel like I’m watching a sitcom while reading her books—you know, laughing out loud, yet feeling super invested in the characters and being close to tears when they’re treated badly or facing hardship—is beyond me.
Millie is such an endearing character. After suffering a somewhat embarrassing incident, Millie has convinced herself that she constantly needs to reinvent herself in order to be remarkable—and make people forget about what happened. In eternal competition with her former self, Millie tries hard to fit in while also standing out. Additionally, Millie suffers from “Millie Moods”. Out of all the books I’ve ever read, I think the “Millie Moods” are the closest I’ve ever come to see myself represented in fiction. Lord somehow manages to capture these overwhelming, intense feelings where you all of a sudden feel like your whole world is breaking apart and the only thing you feel like you can do is swing a hammer yourself and bring the whole thing down before anyone else has the chance. I’ve never seen that kind of representation before but wow, was I floored by how relatable Millie was.
I also appreciated how really, everything that makes Millie Millie, ties back into her search for self-discovery. From reinventing herself to figuring out who her mother is—especially at that age, it’s so hard to make all the parts of your identity “work” and I think that readers will sympathize with Millie’s ordeal.
Also, can we just talk a second about family relationships because wow, just wow. Father-daughter relationships (when they’re not completely toxic) are some of my favourites to read about in YA and Millie and her dad’s relationship? Top tier. Chef’s kiss. Even with Millie’s focus on finding her mom, we still get some truly heartwarming moments between her and her dad. You can see the love between them and even though there are unanswered questions, there is an abundance of comfort and familiarity in their bond that leapt off the page. Not to mention that Millie’s aunt—her father’s sister—also provided, beyond comic relief, so much pizazz in this novel. Honestly, I’d read an entire series just about this family dynamic.
Millie’s three potential mothers—Steph, an aspiring stage actress who works as a receptionist at a talent agency; Farrah, a dance teacher who teaches Millie how to not step on everyone’s feet; and Beth, a chipper stage enthusiast with a daughter who’s almost as obsessed with the stage as Millie is—were also all so amazing. I loved how Millie had a moment with all of them where you as the reader were practically begging for them to turn out to be her real mom. While I won’t spoil the ending, I just adored the interactions between Millie, Steph, Farrah, and Beth. Lord really keeps you guessing until the very last chapters and whether the ‘horse you bet your money on’ wins or not, chances are you’re going to love these lovely women anyway, if only for the comfort and safety they offer Millie at time she desperately needs it.
And of course, there’s the romance. Millie and Oliver are a top-tier OTP for me. The rivalry? The banter? The slow realisation that, hey, there might be more to this person than just what I thought of them? Chef’s kiss. 10 out of 10 would recommend falling head over heels for Millie and Oliver. What I loved most is that, even when these two go head to head, they still understand each other’s motivations even if they don’t see eye to eye. Oftentimes in rivals-to-lovers, you don’t really get why they’re on opposite sides, but here, it’s crystal clear. And while you know Lord will deliver a satisfying romantic showdown, the journey to get there might have been my favourite part of the whole book.
I could go on and on about things that I loved within this book—from Millie’s best friend Teddy who is the word wholesome personified to the non-stop laugh-out-loud moments this narrative offered to all the tiny moments between Oliver and Millie that made my heart flutter and even Oliver’s brothers’ band—there is just so much to discover in this wonderful story. If you’ve ever been hesitant to pick up a book because of the hype, let me just calm your fears right now: this one’s worth it. Now, excuse me while I go listen to Abba for the rest of the day.
With the perfect mix of a bubbly drama queen protagonist that will steal your heart and a delicious rivals-to-lovers romance with a Broadway twist on top, Lord proves herself to be a necessary staple in the YA contemporary genre with When You Get the Chance—a fresh, uplifting voice that invokes excitement of what’s yet to come!
When You Get The Chance is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of January 4th 2022.
Will you be picking up When You Get The Chance? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
A bighearted novel about falling in love, making a mess, and learning to let go, When You Get the Chance is the next effervescent novel from Emma Lord, New York Times bestselling author of the Reese Witherspoon YA Book Club pick You Have a Match.
Nothing will get in the way of Millie Price’s dream of becoming a Broadway star. Not her lovable but super introverted dad, who raised Millie alone since she was a baby. Not her drama club rival, Oliver, who is the very definition of Simmering Romantic Tension. And not her “Millie Moods,” the feelings of intense emotion that threaten to overwhelm. Millie needs an ally. And when an accidentally left-open browser brings Millie to her dad’s embarrassingly moody LiveJournal from 2003, Millie knows just what to do―find her mom.
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?
