From your tower you say you see the way to go: WHEN YOU GET THE CHANCE.

When You Get the Chance: A Novel by Emma Lord
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Millie Price has never known her mom. She left Millie with her dad when Millie was a baby. Millie has never really felt a gap, since she's had the support of her introverted dad and her aunt, Heather. But when Millie decides she wants to go to a super-competitive arts college for her last semester of high school--against her dad's wishes--it inspires her to search for her mom. With the help of some angsty entries from her Dad's Livejournal, circa 2003, she narrows her search down to three women: Beth, Farrah, and Steph. While tracking down Steph, she stumbles into an internship possibility that pits her against her arch-nemesis from high school, Oliver. He tends to bring out the "Millie Moods," the periods of intense emotion that she can't help but wonder come from her mother. As Millie fights with Oliver and tries to find her mom, it feels like life may be getting out of control.

This book was an awesome way to start the year! I LOVED this sweet, charming cross of Mamma Mia and Definitely Maybe.

Amanda Seyfried walked so Millie Price could run.

CHANCE is witty, romantic, and delightful. Millie is utterly bewitching--an amazing character that you cannot help but love. She needs people to like her, a desire that often rules her life, along with her strong moods. She has a deep and lasting best friend in Teddy, the boy across the hall. The theme of friendship runs strong in this book, and Teddy and Millie's friendship is wonderful, formed on geocaching, food, and loyalty. It's so nice to have a strong friend relationship along with a romance.

As Millie searches for her mom, she meets Steph, who works at a talent agency, where she battles with Oliver, her enemy from high school. Oliver, a straitlaced stage manager, is the opposite of Millie and they have a history of fighting and battling over school performances. I loved this "enemies to more" romance--it was witty and cute, filled with humor and great banter and serious moments. I was grinning dumbly at half the things they said.

The best thing about this book is that it's so much more than Millie and Oliver's romance--there's the quest to find Millie's mom, Millie forming relationships with a variety of the mom contenders and related side characters, her friendship with Teddy, Millie's gay aunt (who is awesome), and more. There's wonderful 90 musical references, odes to theater and musical theater, and Livejournal mentions (oh the time I spent on LJ)!

This is a delightful book--such a beautiful ode to family and theater. I loved it! 4.5 stars.

I received a copy of this book from St. Martin's Press / Wednesday Books and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review.

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