When You Get the Chance

Gr 7 Up–Millie Price was born to be on stage. From the time she was young, she had a flare for the dramatic, but wasn’t sure who she got that from. All Millie knows about her mother is that she left Millie with her father when Millie was just a baby, and she has some sort of connection to the musical theater world Millie so desperately wants to make her career. After her father dismisses her dreams of attending a prestigious pre-college theater program, Millie is determined to find her mother who will clearly be on her side. Using clues from her dad’s old online journal and help from her best friend, Teddy, Millie is on a mission—her own Millie Mia, a nod to her favorite musical, Mamma Mia. Along the way, she lands a summer internship with her high school rival, Oliver; there is romantic tension between the two despite their constant bickering. Millie also joins a theater group and takes a dance class—all to figure out who her mother is, but along the way she learns more about herself than her mystery mother. Jesse Vilinsky’s narration captures Millie’s emotional voice expertly throughout. Millie is a character full of highs and lows, and the audiobook really takes the listener through her moods, animating the story through the narration.