When You Get the Chance Book Review
When You Get the Chance by Emma Lord book review and recommendation with NO SPOILERS
Date: 10-22-25 Post Written By: MK Overall Rating: 7.1/10
Book Cover Rating: 4.1/10
(My personal opinion)
Title: When You Get the Chance
Author: Emma Lord
Pages: 320
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary Romance
Subplots: Theater
Romance: No spice, but prominent part of plot
Publisher: Wednesday Books
First Published: 2022
Number of Editions: 16
Goodreads Rating: 3.86/5
Number of Goodreads Ratings: 11,877
Amazon Rating: 4.2/5
Number of Amazon Ratings: 432
Movie/TV Show?? : No
Book Type: Standard
Hook: Millie has always wanted nothing more then to become the star she knows she can be. She has been in theater all her life and knows she has what it takes. So long as her emotions don’t get a hold of her. And… she has plenty of emotions.
First: There are her Millie-moods. Whenever she gets emotional she gets sucked into them and almost falls apart. Whether it causes her to cry, scream, or yell, she’s done it all.
Then: There’s her mom. Millie has grown up in New York City with her dad and aunt for her whole life. No mom. Obviously she has one, but all her dad has ever told her is that her mom wasn’t ready to raise Millie. When Millie gets ahold of one of her dad’s old journals however…. it’s like Mama Mia all over again. Three possible moms. All live in New York City. All have backgrounds in theater. All have similarities to Millie. So which one is it?
This brings the story to the third problem: Oliver. He has always been the play directer at their high school- and NEVER got along with Millie. But, of all the boys, he just so happens to be with her in an internship she signs up for. The whole point of this internship is to get closer to one of Millie’s possible moms. This will be SIGNIFICANTLY more difficult with him by her side all the way.
My Review
Main Characters:
Millie Price- Millie is the main character of this book. She is energetic, emotional, and deeply passionate. She is famous for her ‘Millie moods’ which often involve yelling, crying… or both. Millie is going into her senior year of high school and loves performing in school plays and musicals. For her whole life she’s had very close relationships with both her father and aunt. However, she has never known who her mother is. According to her dad, Millie’s mom loved Millie, but knew she couldn’t be the mother Millie deserved. Recently, Millie has become very curious as to her mother’s identity. So, when she finds her dad’s old college diary, she reads it and learns there are three possible women her mother could be. Millie will do anything to discover which truly is her mother, and hopefully learn something about herself in the process.
Oliver- Oliver has been Millie’s nemesis all throughout high school. He is the theater director who seems to have a passion for driving Millie crazy. He is also a senior at her high school, and is a really caring, compassionate person. He also happens to be working side by side with Millie all summer in an intensive internship.
Steph- Steph is potential mother #1. She is the secretary of one of New York’s most elite talent agencies. This agency is offering summer internships for seniors in high school….. Steph is caring, but also emotional and passionate…. just like Millie. She is working to pursue her own acting passions.
Farrah- Farrah is potential mother #2. She is a dance teacher in New York. She is confident, cool, and seems to know exactly what she’s doing in life…. everything Millie aspires to be. Millie sees dancing as her biggest weakness, so she signs up for Farrah’s dance classes. Farrah is not only super supportive, but gives amazing advice.
Beth- Beth is potential mother #3. She is a total Broadway geek (in the kindest way), who also lives in New York. She hosts Broadway themed get togethers that Millie signs up for. Beth also has a daughter just a few years younger than Millie. Beth is energetic, enthusiastic, and loves living life to its fullest! Millie can definitely relate.
Millie and Oliver were great, interesting characters that I constantly wanted to know more about. They underwent significant growth and development- but somehow it felt just a bit forced and overly expected of them. They could also be generic and overly dramatic… too often, in my opinion. The three potential moms were a ton of fun to hear about and compare to Millie. Also, I was very pleasantly surprised to NOT mix up the moms and forget which was which even once (something that would have been easy to accidentally do if they were too similar).
Character Rating: 8.3/10
Setting:
This book takes place in New York City.
The setting and atmosphere weren’t significantly emphasized or elaborated upon- causing this rating to be very average. I certainly didn’t have any problems with this, I just can’t say I LOVED the SUPER INTENSE setting or anything… 😬. I enjoyed hearing a bit about New York; it also worked really well that everyone could live fairly closer together.
Setting Rating: 5.3/10
Plot:
I really loved the fun, Mama Mia ish plot; Emma Lord did a great job making a fun concept unique and personalized! This plot was fairly straight forward- which mom is Millie Price’s real mom? I will note: I have read SO many YA romance books with little to no plot outside of the romance, but this one did! It was such a pleasant surprise and helped me enjoy this plot much more.
Plot Rating: 9.6/10
Writing:
You know… Emma Lord does a great job writing sweet, heartfelt, easy reads. This book wasn’t intricate or particularly in-depth, but still had a time and a place. She did a great job interweaving the right amount of romance at the right times throughout this book, however, it did feel a little cliche at times.
Writing Rating: 6.1/10
Ending:
To be honest, this was an average ending. It was fine, but not particularly shocking or hooking. I guess there were no major loose ends or remaining questions, but there also wasn’t much climax or dramatic lead-up.
Ending Rating: 6.3/10
The Overall:
Overall, I enjoyed this sweet YA romance book! I was pleasantly surprised with the addition of real plot on top of just the romance side of things (something missing in TOO MANY YA books). It was sweet, simple, and a great easy read. I enjoyed hearing about all the unique characters and their growth, but at times it did feel cliche or forced. The setting and ending were fairly average, but I did like that there weren’t too many loose ends. Overall, this book pleasantly surprised me, but wasn’t shockingly amazing.
Overall Book Rating: 7.1/10
I would recommend this book
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Emma lives and writes in New York City
She loves baking delicious, inventive treats
She has written over 6 YA romance books
For more information, view Emma Lord’s website: Emmalordwriting.com
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