Abby Day doesn’t want to go to camp. For one thing, it’s going to be hours of SAT prep every morning, and Abby’s already had it with her parents’ agenda for raising her academic profile. Abby doesn’t care so much about her grades, and she’s not convinced that she wants to go to college. But her lawyer parents insist on her bringing her GPA up and doing well on her SATs.
Secondly, even though she’s known her best friends Leo and Connie for pretty much her entire life, things got weird after the BEI last fall. The BEI (Big Embarrassing Incident) happened when Abby and Leo were waiting overnight for a Black Friday deal, and in the wee hours of the all-nighter almost kissed. Abby has been incredibly embarrassed ever since, trying to push down her feelings for him and go back to being just friends.
And third, there is the secret sister. Leo is adopted and wanted to find out if he and his sister had any other family out there, so he decided to take one of those DNA tests you send in to find out more about where you come from. But he was nervous, so he talked Connie and Abby to take the test too. Leo didn’t find any other relatives, but Abby did. She found an older sister she never knew about. Savannah is a full-blood relative, so Abby’s parents had a daughter they’d never told her about. And as the only daughter in the house (she does have 4 younger brothers), she is stunned to find out about a sister she never knew.
She’s also taken aback that her parents lied to her. A big lie. For her whole life.
So in an impulsive moment, she deletes the email from her school saying she’ll have to go to summer school to retake English, and tells her parents she wants to go to camp. But once she gets there, she has second thoughts. She doesn’t want to spend her days in a classroom with more test prep. She isn’t sure about where she stands with her big embarrassing Leo feelings. And she has serious doubts about connecting with her newly found sister, especially when Abby finds out that she’s a rules follower and a narc.
But then Leo says something that makes Abby think that maybe he had feelings for her too. That’s had, not has, but it still sends her for a tailspin.
And then she finds out that there are some amazing places to take photos of nature, one of her favorite things in the world.
And the SAT prep classes are only in the morning, leaving the afternoons open for hiking, kayaking, and other fun camp activities.
And best of all, she finds herself making friends with the other girls in her tent, all SAT preppers too. And there is good food, thanks to wannabe chef Leo. So maybe camp isn’t all bad. Maybe she’ll stick it out. And maybe she’ll figure out some of things she’d been avoiding along the way.
You Have a Match is the latest ya novel from Emma Lord, who wrote last year’s Tweet Cute. Just like her previous book, this one is funny and charming and eminently readable (addictively readable, even), but with a depth of character and story that draws up deep into the emotional journey of Abby and won’t let you go.
I loved You Have a Match and could hardly set it aside. I love these characters, both their virtues and their vices, and I was rooting for them all to figure out what it was they wanted and to go running after their dreams. This doesn’t read like a ya novel; it reads like a really good novel, and if you like a good character-driven story, then You Have a Match is for you.
An ARC of You Have a Match were provided by Wednesday Books through a Goodreads giveaway, with many thanks.
