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When one of Abby’s best friends decides to get his DNA tested to learn more about his ancestry (Leo was adopted as a toddler from the Philippines), Abby and the third member of their group, Connie, support him by getting DNA tests done too. The results absolutely floor her: Abby has an older sister, who’s just a year and a half older, who lives nearby and is an Instagram influencer. The shock of learning that she has a full-blooded sister doesn’t lead her to immediately ask her parents about it, however; she meets up with Savannah (known as Savvy) and the two agree they need to solve this mystery themselves. Since the summer is just starting, and Savvy will soon be working at a summer camp not far from their home in Washington, Abby decides to go to the camp as well.
All is not smooth sailing, however; Abby’s grades have gone down the past year of school, and she’s failing one class, and while she’s attending the SAT prep part of the camp, she’s mightily tired of tutoring and interventions. On top of that, she’s surprised to find Leo is working at the camp too. That would be pretty cool, except for the fact that she has been crazy about him for a while and awkward around him ever since the B.E.I. (big embarrassing incident) months before. And while she would like to get to know her sister and learn what happened, she also is annoyed that Savvy is very serious about her position as junior counselor — and about every single one of the silly rules of the camp. What should be a fun opportunity to spend more time with her best friend and get to know Savvy becomes a very frustrating and confusing month.
Emma Lord’s first book, Tweet Cute, was utterly delightful and charming, so I was happy to dive into this story. You Have a Match has a lot of serious things going on: loss, grief, adoption, finding one’s way in life, facing and resolving old challenges. It’s not as light as Tweet Cute, but it still is about family and the impact of past decisions made by parents and even grandparents on the lives of teens. It’s about teens looking ahead to their immediate futures as adults and trying to decide what they want to do and can do, what their “real lives” will be like. And of course, it has teen love. Here, Abby’s relationship with Leo is one of the main plot lines, but it comes second after the main story of Abby and Savvy and their parents. It’s a book that has cute and fun elements but is weightier than the author’s first book.
Rated: High, for language: 20 instances of strong profanity, around 50 uses of moderate language, 30 to 40 instances of mild profanity, and a handful of uses of the name of Deity in vain. Sexual content is limited to some kissing and referring to making out.
* I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
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