When You Get the Chance by Tom Ryan & Robin Stevenson
"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."
This book was so sweet! It took me a minute to get into but once I got there I couldn’t stop reading! It’s Canadian, it’s very very queer, there was a crazy adventure to Pride in Toronto and the characters were amazing to watch grow throughout the story. First, there was Mark, who drove me nuts at the beginning of the story. But he definitely grew over the course of the story and seemed to become aware of some of his shortcomings, which I totally understand is a hard thing to do at 17. The second was Talia who I related to a lot. Anxious queer is real and it was so cool to see her stopping and doing something for herself towards the end. Third, there was Paige. Who is amazing and blunt in that way that only at 10-year-old can be. And her view of the world was just so beautiful to see unfold. I read this book as a free digital ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This book will be available on May 4th, 2021.
Genre: ya, contemporary, lgbtqia+
Representation: gay, lesbian
Content Warnings: