Millie was born to be on Broadway and all of her work seems to be finally paying off when she's admitted to a precollege program at a prestigious performing arts school. However, her single dad and Aunt Heather are not in favor, preferring that she stays home for her senior year of college. While trying to convince her dad, she decides it's time to finally find her unknown mother, whom she has whittled down to one of three potentials. Yes, it's Mamma Mia in reverse! Along the way, Millie drags her best friend/surrogate brother, Teddy, as well as her drama club nemesis, Oliver, with her through an accidental internship and geocaching of both items and persons. Millie is trying to find herself both outwardly and emotionally, as she struggles with BIG emotions her family refers to as "Millie Moods," as well as reevaluating the rivalry she has always felt with Oliver.

This was my third Emma Lord book and I've loved all three--this is really saying something for someone who rarely reads YA (I have not one single thing against it, just doesn't pop up on my radar usually). This book was truly a love letter to all of us theater dorks out there who feel big feelings and dream of the stage. Millie perfectly danced right up to that line of being just too much without jumping into being obnoxious or full-on bratty. Of course her hate to love relationship was great, but that was really just the B-plot. Millie's self-discovery and growth into a more adult relationship and understanding with both her father and her aunt were the headlines. She's been so driven and focused on her dreams, this is the first time she's taken a moment to look around and see how things have changed and take stock of what would be best for her and her family. I also LOVED her relationship with Teddy. I'm a sucker for an opposite sex friendship that has not one ounce of unrequited love on either side (Veronica Mars and Wallace Fennel forever!). It's clear that Emma Lord has nothing but love for kids like Millie and it's wonderful.

I don’t know what it is about this book but I have tried multiple times to pick it up and read it but I just simply can’t. I don’t know if it’s me or if it’s the book but nothing seems to be able to stick with me, draw my attention or keep me engaged. Maybe I’m just too old for this book? I don’t know. Just sad I couldn’t get into it.

Millie’s dream is to be a Broadway star and nothing will stand in her way. Not her dad who raised Millie alone or her drama club rival Oliver. Millie needs an ally to help convince everyone she should go to an elite precollege school to help her reach her goals. Millie happens to find her dad’s LiveJournal entry from 2003, right about the time she would have been conceived. Millie gets the idea to track down her mom but first she needs to decided which of the three possibilities is her.

If you enjoyed Mama Mia or were a theater kid here is a book for you. I have loved #emmalord books in the past and this one did not disappoint. It was fun to see Millie’s antics as she tried to figure out who her mom is and I loved how everything turned out in the story. While this is a YA novel, I think anyone would enjoy this book. Emma Lords books are cute and adorable, while also confronting family issues!

2.5⭐️

Maybe I’m just too old for this. But I found the MC insufferable.

She’s exactly like Rachel Berry from Glee and that is just too over the top for me.

Honestly this whole book felt like a Glee episode. And that show is like a fever dream, so it’s not a compliment.

It also tried to do what Mamma Mia did, but no one can Mamma Mia like Mamma Mia.

The only good thing I have to say about this book is that it makes theater nerds have some credit that they deserve but honestly, even that connection couldn’t save it for me.

An amazing YA contemporary story that is a love letter to musical theatre, family, NYC, and love in all its forms.

Millie is the next big broadway star — at least, according to her, and that's the only opinion that matters in her quest for the stage. She just closed the curtain on her junior year of high school and got the big acceptance letter she's been dreaming of! A pre-college arts school that has cranked out the brightest broadway stars. Only thing — it's not in her hometown of New York City. It's in California, and her dorky single dad has given Millie a hard no. She got a scholarship and has a whole plan to be able to earn the rest of tuition this summer, but she'll need parental permission. Inspired by one of her favorite shows, Millie channels Mamma Mia-like sleuthing to find her three potential moms and mildly stalk them until she figures out who's her mom. Oh and then there's the Oliver issue — which is that her mortal enemy seems to keep popping up everywhere throwing off her big goals.

I knew exactly what to expect from Emma Lord but oh my gosh this book made my heart happier than I could even predict! I loved everything about this plot, setting, characters, all of it! I feel like I have such low expectations from YA, but Emma Lord knocks it out of the park. Also, I realize this book might not ~speak~ to people who have little to no interest in Broadway, however, that is not me so I WAS THRIVING.

Read if... you have days where ABBA is on repeat and if you cannot visit NYC without squeezing a show.

Absolutely loved this adorable spin on the plot of Mamma Mia. The story is that Millie has never known who her mom is because she was dropped off at her dad’s dorm when her parents were in college. Now she has found her dad’s LiveJournal from 2003 and has narrowed it down the three women who could be her mom. The Mamma Mia connection is not coincidental- musical theater is a major interest of Millie’s and there are tons of references to ABBA throughout. Just like the musical, this book is silly and a little unrealistic but also really sweet. Highly recommend this to lovers of cute YA and, of course, Mamma Mia.

*I received this book for free from Wednesday Books in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for this ARC!*

Emma Lord has become an auto-buy/auto-read author for me, so when I heard she had a new book coming out I was so excited. Then, when I found out the book was about musicals and was a gender-bent Mamma Mia, I was thrilled!! I am a singer as well as a book enthusiast, so this is completely up my alley!!

First of all, I was so excited about all of the musical theater references in this book. I was able to geek out over it while simultaneously enjoying a great story. I love reading books about music, books about books, basically just give me a book about something that I love and I am almost guaranteed to love it!

The characters in this story were great, as per usual for an Emma Lord novel. I loved Millie. She reminded me so much of myself as a teenager, though perhaps a bit more over the top than me (but only a bit 😉 ) I really loved her character development throughout the novel. Her relationship with her dad and aunt were lovely, and the relationships she develops with each of her potential moms were so delightful to watch. I loved that she really couldn’t see herself in any of them, making it so much more of a mystery for the reader as to who could be ‘the one’. Her friendships with Teddy, Chloe and Oliver were so realistic, which is something I can always count on from Emma Lord.

I really enjoyed seeing the parallels between the plot of the book and the musical Mamma Mia. They were there, but the book was still its own unique story, which walked that line perfectly when it comes to a retelling of sorts.

If you are interested in a great story of searching for who you are in all of the wrong places and a love of music and all things theater, this is a great book for you to pick up!!

If you are interested in reading my reviews of Emma Lord’s other books, you can click here for Tweet Cute or here for You Have a Match!

My Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I gave When You Get the Chance 5 Stars!!

I thought it was cute and got better at the end when everything came full circle and wrapped up nicely for love for all. Camille "Millie" is raised by her dad and aunt and has a full life in HS in theatre productions and fighting with her nemesis Oliver. Millie has secretly auditioned and received an offer to start a precollege theatre school across country to the dismay of her dad who shuts it down. Millie decides to find her mom and enlists the help of her bestfriend Tyler helps her find 3 women who based on her dad's LiveJournal left open online to help her. Of course Millie doesn't think through the consequences of her actions when she gets close to these three women. In the end it all works out well after the hot mess of Millie's interference. Was easy to figure out who her mom turned out to be based on clues that Millie didn't realize until later.

I don't always read YA, but when I do, I'm so happy its a story like this. What a fun, sweet lovely read. Musical theatre fans will love the little references to their favorite shows.

This book is a love letter to musical theater.

Truly, if you are a musical theater fan, you must read this book! I was thrilled to see so many references throughout the story.

And if you don't love musicals, no worries! This is Emma Lord's strongest YA novel yet. It's such a fun, heartwarming story. I laughed in every chapter, but I also wanted to hug each and every character. It's definitely going to be a YA standout of 2022!

There's also a reference to Tweet Cute about halfway through.

Read this if you liked You Have a Match or 10 Truths and a Dare.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced e-ARC to review. I finished this book cover to cover within about a day, which means it was a delightful treat that kept me hooked.

I've also read Emma Lord's Tweet Cute and already really enjoyed her storytelling and writing style - but I completely adored this book. It definitely has something to do with the Broadway style plot. I grew up loving live theater and going to as many shows as possible, though I never dreamed of working in the business or any of our main character, Millie's, own goals. There's also the reality of training and working within the industry right there on the page, making it clear that it's not just talent and heart that gets you noticed. But the family elements of this book are where the heart and soul really are (it's just set against a bustling Broadway backdrop to keep things fabulous throughout.) Millie's family and friends are incredible, their conflicts are realistic, and the ways these individuals have connected even in a huge city like New York is really special.

Without giving anything away, your reading will be just a hint richer if you know Emma Lord's other works ;), which is just an amazing treat for fans and the way I would want to write my own pieces!

This may be Emma Lord’s best book yet. The dramatics, the enemies to lovers, and all of the show tunes truly made this book a masterpiece.

I loved Emma Lord's first two books, and I'm glad to say this new one is just as good! What wasn't to love about "When You Get the Chance?"

Although I've never watched Mamma Mia in any form, and barely know any of the music, I highly enjoyed this book. Millie is a force to be reckoned with, and from what I can tell from the author's Instagram, a lot like Emma Lord. She loves sweets, theater, and has a tendency to be dramatic. She was very entertaining - nobody can call her boring.

I also loved the supporting characters and the relationships between everybody. Millie's family, her, Cooper, and Heather, sounded like such a fun team. I would love to have an aunt who owns a milkshake restaurant :). And Teddy was a phenomenal best friend for Millie; I'm so jealous of their relationship!

The ending of this novel is also supremely satisfying, even if I saw much of it, including the identity of Millie's mother, coming. Everything wraps up and all loose ends are tied. I love me a good happily ever after, and this one was superb.

Thank you so much to Wednesday books for allowing me, once again, to have an ARC of Emma Lord's next book.

Sometimes slice of life books can be really cheesy and cringey to listen to, especially when they’re young adult books. And while this one was still pretty cheesy, it was still super enjoyable. Millie is A Lot, but she’s also super sweet and really does care about her friends and family (I was worried she would be too much like Rachel Berry for me to enjoy, and I am pleased to announce that is NOT the case). Oliver was a good “enemy-to-lover” character, and I didn’t mind him at all. I also loved the Mamma Mia! plot line (with a twist), which made it an even cuter read. All of the characters were enjoyable and fun to meet and I recommend this book if you’re looking for a fun, quick YA read.

Raise your hand if an ABBA song immediately got stuck in your head just from reading this title. 🙋🏽‍♀️

While I can't say that what this book tries to do is very original, I do think the execution is really good, and I enjoyed my time with it. If you are or ever have been a theatre fan, you will probably enjoy this even more than I did. For me, the strength of this book is definitely in its characters. One of my frequent issues with YA books is that the characters are initially introduced as quite mature for their age, and then I inevitably get frustrated when they make decisions that feel very immature and more what I would expect from "normal" teenagers. But Millie is a very normal teenager from the start: she has Moods, she says things without thinking them through sometimes, she has hopes and dreams and ambitions, and doesn't always agree with the decisions her father makes on her behalf. Sounds pretty accurate to me.

The other element I really enjoyed was the different relationships Millie has. I like the single father trope, and I would've loved to see more interaction between Millie and Cooper. But I also really appreciated Heather and Teddy and the support system that they provide. The relationships felt very realistic; they got mad or disappointed with each other, but not in a way that felt unwarranted.

There is a romantic subplot as well, but it is very slow burn and not the focus. Instead, the focus is on Millie and her journey of self-discovery. Her search for her mother forces her to confront some of the things she has always taken for granted, and I really liked seeing her relationships with the three women and how they all influenced her growth a little bit. The big reveal wasn't really a surprise, but all in all this is a heartwarming story and a fun read.

I have solidified Emma lord as a favorite author. She always delivers a fun, quirky, banter filled book that is a joy from beginning to end. Not sure about the recurring theme of finding missing family but it’s always done in a great way. Millie is a huge theater kid with so much energy who stumbled upon her dad live journal and havoc is unleashed. In this version of mamma Mia, Millie sets off to find her mom in order to go to this super exclusive school across the country. There’s tears, jeers and so much joy across the pages that it feels like a musical. I loved Millie’s relationships in the books and even her frenemy was a fun time to read. This is a cute book for anyone who needs to start the new year off right.

Emma Lords books are always so fun and quick to read. This one was no exception.

The book is def meant for a younger crowd than my adult self but I enjoy story lines, although my only complaint is the predicability of them after reading three of them now.

Thank you net galley for the advance reader copy of this novel. This was a contemporary YA novel about finding your true self with a few bumps. I enjoyed the slow burn between the main characters who finally kiss at a out the 90% mark. A lot of good thinking points in this novel.

High school junior Millie loves her dad, a dorky, work from home Lord of the
Rings super-fan, but she’s nothing like him. Her future is clearly in musical theater, and she’s ready to leave the comfortable New York City nest they both share with her club-owning aunt Heather. Millie has secretly applied to an expensive west coast pre+college drama program that she thinks will kick start her career; she tells her dad once she has been accepted but he balks at the expense and the distance.

Meanwhile, Millie’s latent curiosity about her mom, who left her with her dad just after she was born, ramps up when she sees an old social media account of her dad’s from college and sees photos of three women friends with him. Is one of them her mom? Tracking these women down requires the help of her best friend and neighbor Theo and the cooperation of Oliver, the stage manager from her high school drama department with whom she loves to spar. A cheerful rom-com! EARC from NetGalley.