About the Author: “Emma Lord (she/her) is a digital media editor and writer living in New York City, where she spends whatever time she isn’t writing either running or belting show tunes in community theater. She graduated from the University of Virginia with a major in psychology and a minor in how to tilt your computer screen so nobody will notice you updating your fan fiction from the back row. She was raised on glitter, a whole lot of love, and copious amounts of grilled cheese. Her books include Tweet Cute, You Have a Match, and When You Get the Chance” (Bio from the Macmillan Publishers website).
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“This may have started with a war, but whatever it is now, there isn’t an end in sight—not as long as we’re both still winning.”
Told from alternating perspectives, Lord’s debut is the must-read that got me hooked on her three-dimensional plots and lovable characters. Pepper and Jack are complete opposites: her being an organized perfectionist overachiever and him being a jokester and secret coding genius. Despite Pepper’s home life falling apart due to divorce and an ongoing stalemate between her mom and older sister, the family’s fast food chain, Big League Burgers, has exploded mainly from Pepper’s mad Twitter skills. However, when Big League Burgers allegedly copies Jack’s grandma’s secret grilled cheese recipe, he is determined to take the company down in what dissolves into a Twitter battle. Little do Pepper and Jack realize they are falling for each other one tweet at a time. Pepper and Jack are dynamic characters with unique perspectives I could not get enough of. I especially recommend the audiobook narration to mix up your regular reading routine. Tweet Cute is a great place to jump into Lord’s signature style and read one of her (arguably) best books.
“If you learn to capture a feeling, it’ll always be louder than words.”
When Abby decides to take a DNA test on a whim, she expects to have a few laughs with her friends and then forget about it. However, that ship sails when the test reveals that Abby has an older biological sister, Savannah Tully, who turns out to be the “perfect” Instagram influencer. To get to the bottom of the mystery, the sisters meet up at summer camp. However, despite being only a year and a half older, Savannah is rigid, difficult, and untouchable. Still, Abby is determined to get to know her sister and figure out what her parents are hiding. As if things were not already complicated enough, her friend and crush, Leo, is also the camp’s co-chef, and things have been awkward between them since the BEI (Big Embarrassing Incident). I had the opportunity to read an advanced reader copy of You Have a Match before it was published, and I find myself coming back to Abby’s story frequently. Lord explores a new area of family and turmoil in her sophomore novel that has kept me contemplating even to this day. The romance is not what makes this book, nor is it even something I’m strongly rooting for while reading. You Have a Match is truly a story about sisterhood and self-exploration that can inspire every reader.
“And no matter where it leads us next, this time we’ll be ready to face it together.”
Millie Price is bold and unstoppable, dreaming of becoming a Broadway star one day. While she has her “Millie moments” when she feels intensely overwhelmed, she won’t let anything—or anyone—stand in her way. Things change, however, when Millie finds her dad’s 2003 LiveJournal that offers hints about her birth mother. Her dad has always been frustratingly quiet about the subject, and the discovery inspires Millie to track down her mom, not realizing that digging up the past always comes with consequences. When You Get the Chance is about letting go and accidentally making a mess of things. Lord explores another enemies-to-lovers trope that I enjoyed watching play out. If you love musicals or stories about self-exploration, don’t miss When You Get the Chance!
“You can’t just sell people on a happy ending based on your advice; you need to be the happy ending. You have to earn it.”
Andie Rose is over the moon when she is accepted to transfer mid-freshmen year to her dream school, Blue Ridge State. Her mom died seven years ago, and she has since been raised by her grandma Maeve and Grammy Nell. Andie’s mom was an influencer legend and the original Knight at Blue Ridge who founded a secret underground radio station. The station started a tradition for freshmen to collect special ribbons at social activities in order to join special clubs. Andie is ecstatic to relive her mom’s glory years and to be back at the same school as her boyfriend Connor, with whom she has been long-distance since the end of the summer. The only problem is Connor has a similar surprise and transferred to the local community college that Andie was attending to be together. After the difficult semester apart and miles still between them—and her mom’s big shoes to fill—Andie has her work cut out for her as she tries to adjust to a new school mid-year. I loved the older setting in this Lord novel and can personally connect with the challenges of long-distance relationships. I recommend this book for those looking for the same signature Emma Lord flare in a college setting.
“It turns out I am not a royal burdened with ancient power or a knight infiltrating a distant realm with a dark secret, but just Riley. Powerless and ordinary and unsure of myself.”
Riley Larson has a record of mischief and is uncertain what her next steps will be after graduation. She was rejected from all the colleges she applied to and has been lost since her best friend Tom moved to Manhattan after freshman year. Before the move, the duo started building The Getaway List—a checklist of made-up adventures—to accomplish once reunited and make up for lost time. Riley’s first decision after the rejections is to visit Tom in New York, much to her mom’s disapproval. The pair tackle the list, everything from taking an immersive writing workshop to seeing a favorite band play live, forging a new group of friends along the way. Riley feels alive for the first time, but her mom urges her to return home to avoid repeating her past mistakes, leaving Riley to question what her future should look like and who should be a part of it. While Lord’s latest novel may feel slightly repetitive, it offers readers her traditional style in another post-high school setting, which I appreciated. I recommend this book for anyone unsure what their next step is to be inspired to think out of the box and travel down a road they never thought possible.
Emilee Ceuninck, Pine Reads Review Lead Writer & Editor