When You Get the Chance
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Follow cousins on a road trip to Pride as they dive into family secrets and friendships in this contemporary novel—perfect for fans of David Levithan and Becky Albertalli. As kids, Mark and his cousin Talia spent many happy summers together at the family cottage in Ontario, but a fight between their parents put an end to the annual event. Living on opposite coasts—Mark in Halifax and Talia in Victoria—they haven't seen each other in years. When their grandfather dies unexpectedly, Mark and Talia find themselves reunited at the cottage once again, cleaning it out while the family decides what to do with it. Mark and Talia are both queer, but they soon realize that's about all they have in common, other than the fact that they'd both prefer to be in Toronto. Talia is desperate to see her high school sweetheart Erin, who's barely been in touch since leaving to spend the summer working at a coffee shop in the Gay Village. Mark, on the other hand, is just looking for some fun, and Toronto Pride seems like the perfect place to find it. When a series of complications throws everything up in the air, Mark and Talia—with Mark's little sister Paige in tow—decide to hit the road for Toronto. With a bit of luck, and some help from a series of unexpected new friends, they might just make it to the big city and find what they're looking for. That is, if they can figure out how to start seeing things through each other's eyes.
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Road trip! Tom Ryan and Robin Stevenson combine family drama and PRIDE in When You Get The Chance!
Quote: “I'm a part of this. These are my people, this is my community. I may not know exactly how I identify or whatever, but pretty sure that whatever I am, there's a place for me under this great big queer rainbow.” (Loc. 1536)
Ryan and Stevenson give us two very different types of main characters with gay Mark and lesbian Talia. Mark, to me, is a very unlikeable character. He is selfish, self-absorbed, lazy, and just an all around asshole. (laugh) Talia is feisty, world aware, hard-working, and filled with teenage angst.
Mark and Talia, cousins, showcase the extremes of the teenage attitude regarding life and being a rainbow. Mark's actions prod the story along, but it is Talia's emotions that display the story's heart.
Ryan and Stevenson tackle a wide range of issues from elder care, death, homophobia, LGBTQ+ history, gender and sexual identity, and the “rules' ‘ of the rainbow. This sounds like a lot of baggage, but Ryan and Stevenson blend it seamlessly.
Do not let the cover fool you, When You Get A Chance is a story with depth and written with both main characters voices. We get Mark's drive to experience the rainbow rully and Talia's search for self amidst heartbreak. Both stories are about change. Change of oneself and the evolving history of the rainbow through the secondary characters that Mark and Talia meet on their journey to self-awareness.
I really detest Mark (laugh). I think it is because I see so much of myself in Talia. I know people like Mark and Talia. Ryan and Stevenson give us realistic fiction with no easy answers. Just like life.
What makes this story worthwhile to read is all of the characters combined. Flaws, humor, pain, history, and the best moments appear under the rainbow.
I received an ARC of this book and I am writing a review without prejudice and voluntarily.
