Book Talk: Everything Leads To You Nina LaCour

 Want an “at a glance” look at what I thought? Check out my Review On A Post-It or my “Final Thought”

Emi has been in an off again/on again relationship with her older girlfriend and suddenly she finds them off again and she wonders if this time it is for good. While her love life is a mess, her job couldn’t being going any better as a part time set designer in Hollywood. Film is her life and she’s been given a great opportunity to be part of the design process and put her on the right track when she graduates. On one of her hunts for pieces to use in an upcoming set, she finds a mysterious letter from an old Hollywood legend and it leads her to Ava — a girl who has had a bit of a tough past but has this light that burns so bright and Emi can’t help but be drawn to her as they figure out the mystery behind the letter together.

*adds other Nina LaCour books to my library list*

 My book club friend Katie described Everything Leads To You as kind of a contemporary fairy tale and I didn’t understand what she meant and then I read it and I think that’s fairly accurate…and I mean it in the most positive way ever. It’s realistic but it’s not in other ways — the crazy amazing jobs they have and they haven’t even graduated yet, the way things work out, etc. It had a fairy tale, movie feel to it and I loved it! There was just something very ROMANTIC about the whole story.

So let’s talk about a few things:

1. I LOVED the idea that a famous actor left a mysterious letter and Emi and Charlotte try to find the recipient is: I was definitely intrigued by this mystery and wanted to find out the whole story behind this letter. I loved watching the letter bring Emi and Charlotte in the lives of many different people — and ultimately Ava!

2. HOLLYWOOD: Emi and Charlotte both work in the movie business in various capacities. So does Emi’s brother and her ex-girlfriend. I definitely loved learning about their careers and feeling Emi’s passion towards her set designs. It was just really fun to have Hollywood be such a part of this story — their present careers and then it being twisted up in the story of a Hollywood legend.

3. LGBTQ for the win: Honestly I’ve read maybe one or two YA book with lesbians. It’s not to say they aren’t out there but I just haven’t read them. I loved books where it is about them coming out/coming to terms with their sexuality but I REALLY was pleased to read a book where the main character wasn’t in that place in their life — where they were comfortably out and living life. She had a girlfriend before and there was no “issue” with her being a lesbian. Like I said, those novels are important but I was so ready to read a book where it WASN’T an issue but it was just who she was. She’s dealing with a break-up, the bad decisions she makes because she just can’t quit the girl she was with and then a spark of new love…all while dealing with other normal things 18 years old would be thinking about.  It was just so refreshing to read!

4. Nina LaCour’s writing is STUNNING: Everything about this book was just stunning. The characters were brilliantly written. The prose was BEAUTIFUL. The descriptions always transported me. And just the way the plot unfolded and just seemed so SEAMLESS. I was just very impressed and smitten with the writing on every level.

5. The friendship, romance and familial relationships in this novel were equally important to me: I loved Emi and Charlotte’s friendship SO MUCH and I loved the way that Emi and Charlotte became friends with Ava. But even when there seems to be a hint of something more between Emi and Ava, there’s still a good solid friendship there. I LOVED Emi’s parents and my heart was so warmed to see how different characters started considering family in different ways because of each other. Ava’s past was so hard and watching her gain friends and family was so beautiful.

+ writing, unique storyline, setting, characters
– nothing really.

Re-readability: Potentially!
Would I buy a copy for my collection? It’s on my “to consider buying when I have money” list.

contemporary YA fans, people looking for LBGTQ stories, fans of Hollywood and the movies, readers who like character driven novels with a hint of a mystery element to it

Everything Leads To You was a beautiful read — from the prose to the relationships in this novel — it was all just so great. I love the friendships and the romance equally and really enjoyed watching the paths of the characters cross when Emi finds the letter and the mystery of who the intended recipient is unfolds. It was at times heartbreaking and other times it was incredibly heartwarming. A very refreshing read and one I flew through!

* Have you read this one? What did you think? Similar or different from me? I would LOVE to hear regardless!
*If you haven’t read it, does this series feel like something you’d be into?