cliffesedge's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
mariaburns's review against another edition
4.0
Light romance for summer, great read. Loved the design aspects of it, since I adore design. Solid characters and a fun plot. Happy that the plot wasn't about being gay, just included it. Because that's kind of how life works. Pretty much the epitome of "I want to read a great book on the hammock on a gorgeous summer day." (Many sentence fragments, wow.)
pihaa73's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
beccainabook's review against another edition
4.0
I really liked this book. The story was really interesting and I loved learning about everything that happens behind the camera in a movie. The love story was sweet and beautiful as well.
emw29's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use and Drug abuse
Moderate: Death of parent, Alcoholism, Addiction, Homophobia, and Alcohol
savannahsprice's review against another edition
4.0
This was such a cute and fun read and I loved the writing style (even though it could be a bit confusing at times). It's one of my new favorite contemporaries.
alexblackreads's review against another edition
4.0
I picked this book up because it was written by Nina LaCour, who I love, rather than because I was actually interested in the story. On the surface, it's a little light for me. Emi is an 18 year old getting involved in the movie industry as a set designer and she finds a letter by a recently deceased classic movie star that sets her on a mystery to uncover. It's just a little bit of an over the top, cutesy concept, which I usually would avoid.
LaCour has such a wonderful way of writing that it doesn't feel like too much, though. Despite all the elements, these characters still feel like real people with real lives, and it was easy to get involved with them. I really appreciate books that feel like they're capturing real people's problems and real solutions to those problems. This is one of those books that reminds me of bit of Sara Zarr, how it feels so small scale because it's not melodramatic (again, despite the overall concept). It's just these girls and their lives and romance.
I loved the way set design was brought into the story. The way Emi talked about how each individual piece of the set matters because it's how the audience gets to know the characters was lovely. It's how I see the little pieces and description in books. Even the seemingly unimportant details matter so much. It's one of the reason I love LaCour's writing.
I think the main thing I struggled with was just that this is a light contemporary. I like for my books to have high stakes. Even if things turn out okay in the end, I want to be invested enough in the story that I'm right there worrying about it too. But in a book like this, you know nothing *really* bad is going to happen and because of that, I feel a certain amount of distance. Which isn't a critique on the book itself at all, just my relationship with it.
Otherwise, just a few small things kept me from truly adoring it. Emi and Ava weren't my favorite as a couple and I wish there had been more development between the two instead of just the attraction. I didn't really feel the chemistry as much as I would have liked, especially knowing how well LaCour can write relationships.
I would definitely recommend picking this book up. It's really fun and well written and just an overall lovely story. I don't think it will stick with me as long as her others books have, but I'm still so glad I finally got around to reading it.
LaCour has such a wonderful way of writing that it doesn't feel like too much, though. Despite all the elements, these characters still feel like real people with real lives, and it was easy to get involved with them. I really appreciate books that feel like they're capturing real people's problems and real solutions to those problems. This is one of those books that reminds me of bit of Sara Zarr, how it feels so small scale because it's not melodramatic (again, despite the overall concept). It's just these girls and their lives and romance.
I loved the way set design was brought into the story. The way Emi talked about how each individual piece of the set matters because it's how the audience gets to know the characters was lovely. It's how I see the little pieces and description in books. Even the seemingly unimportant details matter so much. It's one of the reason I love LaCour's writing.
I think the main thing I struggled with was just that this is a light contemporary. I like for my books to have high stakes. Even if things turn out okay in the end, I want to be invested enough in the story that I'm right there worrying about it too. But in a book like this, you know nothing *really* bad is going to happen and because of that, I feel a certain amount of distance. Which isn't a critique on the book itself at all, just my relationship with it.
Otherwise, just a few small things kept me from truly adoring it. Emi and Ava weren't my favorite as a couple and I wish there had been more development between the two instead of just the attraction. I didn't really feel the chemistry as much as I would have liked, especially knowing how well LaCour can write relationships.
I would definitely recommend picking this book up. It's really fun and well written and just an overall lovely story. I don't think it will stick with me as long as her others books have, but I'm still so glad I finally got around to reading it.
alkka's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
emjrasmussen's review against another edition
Everything Leads to You is the book I have been waiting for.
YA offers a plethora of LGBT books about characters coming out, dealing with discrimination from family and friends, or facing their differences in plot-defining ways. I adore these stories—I adore feeling roaring rage toward characters who oppress the protagonists, and although I cannot sympathize, I adore empathizing. However, despite the importance of these novels, I long ago began to yearn for a tale in which a character's nontraditional sexuality is not a huge deal, but simply a part of his or her character.
After ages of wishing, Everything Leads to You finally came along. Nina LaCour's third novel tells a gorgeous love story that builds slowly, tests the characters, and happens to feature two females. LaCour writes the relationship between Emi and Ava as naturally as another author would write a relationship between a boy and a girl, creating a refreshing romance that had my heart from page one.
Because LaCour does not emphasize societal distain for Emi and Ava's relationship, she leaves plenty of space to elaborate on other topics, such as Ava's backstory. The letter Emi finds sets of a chain of events that not only leads Emi to Ava, but leads Ava to information about her past. This plotline gives the story an air of mystery that will keep readers hooked, but it also adds something even more important to the story. Ava's enigmatic history seems like something out of a movie, giving her a larger-than-life image that sometimes seems to overtake her real personality. Emi has to struggle to remember that Ava is more than the tragedies in her past, that it is a treacherous thing to believe that a person is more than a person. This internal conflict strengthens the two characters' relationship and gives the story a message that will stay with readers long after they finish reading.
LaCour accents this plot line with plenty of moviemaking details and film references, giving Emi ambitions as a set designer that perfectly complement the book's message. As a member of the film industry, Emi deals daily with the differences between people's real personalities and their onscreen personas, referencing "the collapse of the fantasy," the moment at which it hits her that an actor is merely a person, not the characters he plays onscreen. Emi experiences something similar with Ava, but on a far more emotional level. Watching Emi's disquisitive feelings about actors evolve against her passionate feelings about Ava emphasizes the emotions between the two characters. To Emi, Ava is worth a million talented actors, and as LaCour proves this fact, she makes the characters' relationship progressively more powerful.
In the tradition of John Green's Paper Towns, Nina LaCour has crafted a brilliant novel about the way we view the people around us. Complete with unconventional but unflinching romance and filmmaking details that make me want to watch a movie and analyze every aspect, Everything Leads to You has it all. Reading this book was love at first sight.
This review originally appeared at www.foreverliterary.blogspot.com.
YA offers a plethora of LGBT books about characters coming out, dealing with discrimination from family and friends, or facing their differences in plot-defining ways. I adore these stories—I adore feeling roaring rage toward characters who oppress the protagonists, and although I cannot sympathize, I adore empathizing. However, despite the importance of these novels, I long ago began to yearn for a tale in which a character's nontraditional sexuality is not a huge deal, but simply a part of his or her character.
After ages of wishing, Everything Leads to You finally came along. Nina LaCour's third novel tells a gorgeous love story that builds slowly, tests the characters, and happens to feature two females. LaCour writes the relationship between Emi and Ava as naturally as another author would write a relationship between a boy and a girl, creating a refreshing romance that had my heart from page one.
Because LaCour does not emphasize societal distain for Emi and Ava's relationship, she leaves plenty of space to elaborate on other topics, such as Ava's backstory. The letter Emi finds sets of a chain of events that not only leads Emi to Ava, but leads Ava to information about her past. This plotline gives the story an air of mystery that will keep readers hooked, but it also adds something even more important to the story. Ava's enigmatic history seems like something out of a movie, giving her a larger-than-life image that sometimes seems to overtake her real personality. Emi has to struggle to remember that Ava is more than the tragedies in her past, that it is a treacherous thing to believe that a person is more than a person. This internal conflict strengthens the two characters' relationship and gives the story a message that will stay with readers long after they finish reading.
LaCour accents this plot line with plenty of moviemaking details and film references, giving Emi ambitions as a set designer that perfectly complement the book's message. As a member of the film industry, Emi deals daily with the differences between people's real personalities and their onscreen personas, referencing "the collapse of the fantasy," the moment at which it hits her that an actor is merely a person, not the characters he plays onscreen. Emi experiences something similar with Ava, but on a far more emotional level. Watching Emi's disquisitive feelings about actors evolve against her passionate feelings about Ava emphasizes the emotions between the two characters. To Emi, Ava is worth a million talented actors, and as LaCour proves this fact, she makes the characters' relationship progressively more powerful.
In the tradition of John Green's Paper Towns, Nina LaCour has crafted a brilliant novel about the way we view the people around us. Complete with unconventional but unflinching romance and filmmaking details that make me want to watch a movie and analyze every aspect, Everything Leads to You has it all. Reading this book was love at first sight.
This review originally appeared at www.foreverliterary.blogspot.com.