Thank you Netgalley for an Arc of When You Get the Chance in exchange for an honest review

3.75 stars, rounded up to 4 stars.

So listen. I have mixed feelings about this book.

Even though it is advertised as a roadtrip novel, for me it was definitely a family novel first, a queer novel second and a coming of age novel third. And then maybe there is a little bit about roadtrip in there, but since the trip itself wasn't very long, I'd put the other themes on the forefront.

A big theme of the book is figuring out why Mark's (MC1) mum and Talia's (MC2) dad are not on speaking terms. They haven't seen each other for years and are only forced to come together when Mark and Talia's granddad dies and they're all flying to Toronto for the funeral and to figure out how to deal with their grandma. One big issue is the cottage that the grandparents kept three hours away from Toronto for summer vacations and the families respectively go up there to decide what to do with the cottage, now that the grandma isn't physically able to keep it up anymore.

Only a day later, the parents have to go back to their mother's side as she's been admitted to a hospital after a fall, leaving the kids in charge of the cottage for now. Mark is devastated that they take both cars which means that he won't have a way to go to Toronto pride and Talia is devastated because she can't visit her partner? Ex partner? Erin who also works in Toronto. Eventually, they find a way though and the three kids make their way to Toronto without their parents knowledge.

What was a little irritating to me was the total lack of grief from the two teenagers about their grandfather. While they do say it is sad about him dying and that they feel bad, it doesn't seem to last very long because they are quickly preoccupied with other things, namely Mark flirting with a local guy and Talia hoping that her partner of two years, with whom she doesn't know where they stand at that point, would text.

Additionally, I didn't immediately connect with either of the main characters and was rooting most for Mark's little sister Paige who was not only supportive of her queer family members but was putting on her best detective face to try and figure out why their parent's aren't on speaking terms anymore.

I was also a huge fan of the lesbian couple the kids hitch a ride with to Toronto and about the exchange of terms and experiences between these queer generations.

I did warm up to both Mark and Talia in the course of the novel, mainly because both seem more and more selfconscious and willing to learn and to better themselves whenever they get called out on being insensitive. I really did feel that there was a character development for both of them, which I really loved seeing. Mark grew way less obnoxious and Talia seemed a little freer in her thinking about both what others thought of her and more importantly, what she wanted from her life. I got the feeling that only at the end of the novel, Talia let herself really explore what she wants from the next couple of years not out of obligation to a partner or her dad but for her and I loved seeing it.

There is a lot of queer representation in this book. While not being queer myself, I kept having the opinions of various friend's in my head while reading about especially the trans and poly rep and I know that they wouldn't have been too fond of it so I felt myself being not too fond of it. But that is all I am going to say on that matter since I felt like there was a lot of diversity in here which I loved and I am going to let people who identify with the various sexualities and gender identities judge how well the rep was done apart from that. However I do have one friend who resembles Talia a lot in their thinking about queerness and sexuality and I couldn't help but smile whenever Talia lectured someone (mostly Mark) on the importance of accepting and embracing other people for who they are :)

All in all, I really liked this book and read it within a day. It was a feel-good novel and I realise that I have been really nitpicky with my critisism here, which you will have realised by now because I gave this a rounded up to 4 rating which means that I must've liked it a lot. My point is: It is a lovely novel and a feel good read and I recommend it to... literally anyone who is into contemporary YA fiction. It's got heart, soul, a lot of Canadian charm and it takes you to a Pride Event as if you were really there. Really Fab.