A review by alexblackreads
Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour
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.