Everything Leads to You

by Nina LaCour

[nannah]

Oops! I checked this book out by accident. I had wanted We Are Okay by Nina LaCour instead, but I couldn’t read the title font of this book. So when I got home, I just decided to read this one anyway. Why not, right? LGBT protags, same writer; it should be good. Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy this book at all -- so much so that I don’t know if I’ll ever read We Are Okay.

Content warnings:
-none-

Representation:
Biracial, lesbian protagonist
Lesbian love interest
Also a black secondary character

Emi, an incredibly privileged fresh-out-of-high school set designer, knows exactly where she’s going career-wise, but in love? Not so much. She just got out of her on-and-off relationship … for the sixth time. And to make things worse, her ex is also her coworker. But when she finds a letter that leads to Ava, a talented actress starring in the movie Emi’s working on, she hopes (rather, obsesses) that her love life will start to look up.

I really wish I would’ve picked up We Are Okay instead. Maybe it would’ve been better than this. Everything Leads to You is supposed to be a mystery, but the book definitely doesn't feel like one, and the so-called “mystery” is over in just about the first 1⁄4 of the novel. There’s no build-up, no tension, no nothing!

The love interest, Ava, ends up being the granddaughter of the late Clyde Jones (not sure if this is a spoiler -- doesn’t feel like one!), an iconic American actor who starred in Westerns. Emi fetishizes the HECK out of her until something happens; that’s the love story. There’s absolutely zero chemistry between them -- just Emi swooning over her looks and (of course) her relationship to the great Clyde Jones.

Then again, Emi gets everything in her life the easy way: her job from her brother’s film connections, money and freedom from her parents (she’s never at home, and her parents never even ask where she’s been), etc. She admits that she’s privileged maybe one time, but then never really checks it again. Besides one time when Ava’s friend, Jamal, gives her a (much-needed!) reality check, she lives with her head in the clouds, dreaming of celebrity connections and a future with the granddaughter of that dang Clyde Jones. As much as I loved Jamal chewing her out, it isn’t enough. Emi is a terribly annoying protagonist, and there are very few times I want to root for her. (After being told of someone's Actual Death, Emi was like, “Yeah, so sad. Are you hungry?” (← actual quote). I thought this was going to be used for character development, but it NEVER HAPPENS. The author just lets her prance around like this, unchecked!!)

The prose is weak and written very much like a first draft: “I don’t know what to do.” “Let’s think.” “Oh, let’s do this.” “That’s a great idea!” “Yeah!”
It’s also VERY dialogue-heavy, without much description. Well, besides the very random heavy description of people eating. Whenever people are eating, everything suddenly stops so you know exactly where and how the characters are holding their fries, how quickly they’re chewing, and if they picked up their food before or after they started eating, etc. Other than that, the book is mostly dialogue with prose there just to move the characters to the next spot so they can talk more.

I also find it hard to suspend my disbelief regarding the characters’ ages and where they are in the filming industry … now if they were just out of college, things would be different. After high school, I myself wanted to work up to become a cinematographer; I wanted to move out to California, become a PA and work up slowly. So when Emi said she had to be a PA in addition to like 5 other positions in that movie they were making during the bulk of the book? It seemed unbelievable, even for a smaller production -- because DANG, this girl had WAY too much free time. She even had time to slack off!

So yeah, not something for me. Two stars because I didn’t absolutely hate it.