Book Review | You Have a Match | By Emma Lord

You have a match is refreshingly young adult in its tone and narrative. Well, isn’t that the norm? You would think that, but most of the times, the lead characters act and talk like thirty year olds. I mean, I get the idea of an old soul and surprisingly there are quite a few books where the maturity actually suits the character. But I could never relate to that because I sure as hell wasn’t as wise in my young adult times. 

Which is why this book and the story actually took me back to the time when I was seventeen and had my big bold ideas but at the same time felt helpless about a ton of things that I had no control over. Guess what, that is what the plot is about. This is one of the beautiful coming of age stories that I have read recently.

I have always been a champion of stories featuring sibling relationships. Especially when they are sisters. Imagine my joy when I find out that the entire plot is centered around sisterhood.

I loved the distinct and mirror like personalities of Abbie and Savvy. They are similar yet so different in the way they deal with their conflicts. And it is one of the things I loved about the book. As the story progressed, they learn from each other and come out as better people at the other end. That is  the benefit of having a good sibling relationship.

The romance was dealt with the required amount of subtlety. It was prominent but didn’t overpower the main theme.

One of the conflicts I loved was Abbie and her struggle with her grades. Most often I felt that worrying about grades and getting admissions were only an Indian or even Asian thing, based on the US/UK based YA fictions I have read. If you look at the clichés, these kids are often great at academics or if not, they are just a creative or liberated soul who knows exactly what they want. Again, yes ,there might be what, ten percent of people who are like that. But if my belief is correct the rest of the world has no clue what to become at the age of sixteen or seventeen.

Half of our decisions are made by our parents and you don’t have enough money to go around the world or follow your passion. At least, that’s the world I belong to. Which is why I was happy to see Abbie and Savvy’s parents fussing over their children’s lives because that is what most parents are like.

You Have a Match is a sweet and fun coming of age story with enough depth. It is refreshingly young adult which actually addresses and identifies with many of the real life issues that the age group faces.