modern mamma mia

When You Get the Chance by Emma Lord is the perfect take on a modern Mamma Mia! with a twist ending I did not see coming. It follows Mille Price, a high school rising senior, on the quest to find the mother who abandoned her at birth.

Millie is obsessed with musical theater and wants to be an actress as her career. One of the only things she knows about her mother is that she was also obsessed with musical theater. So, after Millie's father won't let her attend a theater precollege across the country, Millie decides she needs to find her mother and get her on board. Millie has three perspective mothers that she spends time with over the course of the novel. All three women knew her father in college and seemed to be close to him.

This novel is dramatic, angsty, and funny to read. It is a pure joy to follow Millie along her journey of finding her mother as well as herself. There is romance, twists, turns, and lots of musical theater references only a true nerd can appreciate.

Does Millie eventually find her mother in this Millie Mia? You'll have to read the book to find out! If you are a YA fan, you will surely love this book.

5/5

-Cath