Nina LaCour

While working as a film production designer in Los Angeles, Emi finds a mysterious letter from a silver screen legend which leads Emi to Ava who is about to expand Emi's understanding of family, acceptance, and true romance.

Everything leads to you

Kritika Narula

I just finished reading this book, and it has been such a positive and lovely read. 
The story starts from when Emily and Morgan have broken up for the nth time. And the reader had all right to expect this to be one of those cliched stories. 
But this book comes as a surprise when it takes an altogether different tangent and path, and mystery and exploration and broken identities become the major themes. 
I'd certainly recommend this book

Moth

I honestly loved this book. I finally sort of see what people enjoy about romances now that I wasn't spending the whole time feeling awkward and a little grossed out. I loved that the whole story wasn't just about being gay. Instead, it was given a beautiful plot and a story that made it impossible to put the book down. It did add some to the fact they were both gay women, the aftermath for one of them, but it wasn't the main focus. I wish more books would do this, because we aren't just gay, we're people and being gay isn't the most important part of us, just one small thing. I loved the writing and the characters. The only reason why this isn't a full five stars is simply because there was a few moments that I wish had been faster or had gone into more details. The rating is more of a 4.5 if I could do a half on here. I recommend this book to anyone and everyone who might find an interest in the subject.

Katherine Yang

[there may be spoilers ahead but i'm not sure what counts so read at your own peril!]

The love, the love, the love!

He’ll grin, say, You made a movie, of course, how perfect. And I’ll say, No, that’s not it. He’ll cock his head, waiting for more. I’ll take my time, keep him guessing.

Then I’ll say, I fell in love.
For Emi, love is first her on-/off-again girlfriend Morgan; when the relationship is off with finality, it's Clyde Jones' mystery, with all the adventure and secrets that mystery entails; eventually, it's enchanting, heartbreaking Ava; but always, it's cinema, the je ne sais quoi of those moving pictures with their painstakingly designed sets and lights and props, all in service of character, story, and emotion. (The ending made me smile, because Ava—in family, life experiences, and ambitions—is wrapped up in the world of movies, and Emi's breakthrough into production design is inextricably tied up with Ava, so, of course, Emi says "I fell in love," and means both Ava and movies.)

We love films because they make us feel something. They speak to our desires, which are never small.
As a fellow cinephile and filmmaker, I was so delighted with how much this novel focused on filmmaking and Emi's devotion to her work. Definitely a happy surprise, because I was worried from reading the blurb that the aspect of filmmaking might just be a simplistic device to set a scene of glamour and glitz. 

Indeed, this seemed to be one of the central themes of the novel: imagining people and their lives as stories, and how, in fact, "the illusion pales in comparison to the truth". I was reminded of John Green's Paper Towns, a vaguely similar romance/mystery/realistic-fiction type criticism of the 'manic pixie dream girl' trope. In this novel, the protagonist, Q, after having finally tracked down Margo Roth Spiegelman in an unexpectedly underwhelming finale, acknowledges:

What a treacherous thing to believe that a person is more than a person.
Emi goes down the same path of equating the human and hurting Ava with the grandiose ideas of mystery and love. (She can't help it; grand gestures and notions are the vernacular of cinema, an art that, through movie magic, can literally make things make things larger than life.) Ultimately, she works through some of her heartbreak and hang-ups, realising that she had thought "we could pinpoint dramatic events on a time line and call it a life", but "[t]here are no scenes in life". She calls Ava up to say, among other things:

The best things aren’t perfectly constructed. They aren’t illusions. They aren’t larger than life. They are life. Part of me knew that all along, but I got it wrong anyway. […] I just want to know you.
A lovely sentiment, and expressed well with both characters throughout the last section of the novel, but I don't know if I was entirely sold by the transformation/lesson. I definitely enjoyed the novel as a whole, but I'm teetering between 3 and 4 stars because I wanted more in two aspects.

The first was the romance. I love, love the natural acknowledgement of homosexuality in the characters' daily lives, just as much as I thought Ava's experience with homophobia in her family and community was dealt with well. However, their relationship didn't necessarily have the spark or chemistry I was hoping for, and that made their eventual get-together feel a little less genuine, and a little too inevitable.

(An example:

Emi calls Ava great.

"Don’t you think she’s so great, though?"

[…]

"It’s not like I’m going to do anything about it, I just think she’s—"

"Really great,” Charlotte says. “I know. She’s really great."
Ava calls Emi incredible.

"And you’re this incredible person who does all of these amazing things. […] It might sound crazy, but even though you’re this incredible, artistic genius of a girl, I do feel worthy of you."
Somehow [an issue with the characters?], those adjectives fall flat for me, and I don't particularly feel the greatness or incredibleness, especially with Ava.)

The second was the character development and the lesson learned. I feel like LaCour has a convincing ear for dialogue and inner monologue, but throughout the last section, it sometimes felt on the verge of explanatory—a little too easy, too straightforward.

Nonetheless, I had a real fun time reading this, and I'd definitely recommend it if you're interested in movies, art, precocious teens, and/or YA LGBT books (especially the underrepresented F/F genre!).

Jamieson

“We love films because they make us feel something. They speak to our desires, which are never small. They allow us to escape and to dream and to gaze into the eyes that are impossibly beautiful and huge. They fill us with longing. But also. They tell us to remember; they remind us of life. Remember, they say, how much it hurts to have your heartbroken.”


This is such a Classic in the lgbtq+ fiction scene, especially for wow & YA LGBT lit. I thought this was really sweet, and I actually liked it more than I thought I would. I guess I had it in my head it would be kind of stereotypical, but it actually had some really unique aspects. The main character, Emi, is a set designer, and I thought the descriptions of her job and how set design and what she's making acted as a metaphor for her emotions was nice. 

I also thought the representation was solid. It was nice to have a story about a lesbian who was secure in her identity. It was definitely not a coming out story and the romance actually takes more of a backseat then I thought in this book. But I thought Emi and Ava were sweet and I enjoyed them. 

I really liked the Hollywood mystery/unsolved aspects too. 

The reason for the lower rating is just that it didn't GRIP me. It didn't really capture my whole attention and I felt the characters could have had more depth. I do think it's a book I probably won't think about often now that I've finished it and I don't have a huge emotional attachment. That said, this is a 3.5 rating for me which is quite high for a YA contemporary romance. 

If you like books about Hollywood, Hollywood mysteries, lesbian main characters & wlw fiction definitely you'd enjoy this

3.5 stars>

aisha

(4.5/5.0)

i’ve never felt so seen. i haven’t stopped crying and maybe i’ll cry myself to sleep over this but i’m fine with that. i read this in one sitting and it’s the best decision i’ve ever made. i should’ve read it the moment i picked it off a shelf at the bookstore because i knew film was part of it and god i love film so much. so damn much. i might curl up and watch a good film after this. maybe i’ll write my next screenplay. thank you nina lacour. i love you.

illya

MY LESBIAN CHILDREN WITH VERY WELL CARRIED PLOT AND VERY WELL WRITTEN CHARACTERS AND DEVELOPMENT I AM CRYING (YES I READ IT IN ONE DAY OH MY GOD THIS BOOK)

As much as I had wanted a love story out of a movie, I know now that movies can only hope to capture this kind of love. 
 

It doesn’t matter that you’re in the movie; I would be thinking about you all the time anyway.  I want to say,  It all leads to you. Not just the letter and the obituary, the articles and your birth date. But also this particular time in my life. The heartbreak and the art and all of the longing.  I want to say,  Every time I add a detail to the apartment I imagine you in it.  

4.75 stars
Such a beautiful book with many meaningful themes and amazingly written charathers. I enjoyed reading it and reccomend everyone to read it!

Wes Michaud

loved this book just like all of Nina's other books the writing is so vivid and the characters were so real

Bhavana N R

Reyna Wren

The film aspect of the book was extremely interesting, and the characters were well developed all around, including minor characters. The mystery section was captivating, and the mixed emotions and moral dilemmas surrounding it were well thought out and realistic. The romance was cute yet believable, and the pacing of the novel was perfect. :)

Alexa Jade

this book didn’t do anything bad like I don’t hate it. but it was just so meh to me. I don’t know. I didn’t ship them at all? and I felt like emi was intense at times where it didn’t make sense to be. I get the whole wlw longing but this was a bit much.

allie

4.5 stars.

RTC! i actually really want to write my review for this. there's just something about nina lacour's writing that just gets to me and i usually end up sobbing by the end of her books. it's not that the endings or even the books in general are overly sad, but it's just the way she writes that makes me feel so understood?? tbh i have no idea if that makes sense because honestly it's almost 3am and i'm still crying but the important thing is that this book just made my heart ache.

KADY BURNS

A decent ya book. I spent the whole time thrown that adults were trusting teenagers to do so much and what they were accomplishing. The Toby and Charlotte plot seemed unnecessary. But I finished the book in about a day, so that speaks for how engrossing it could be.

Grace O'Callaghan

*3.5 ⭐️

This was such a delightful read! I really enjoyed myself reading this, it distracted me from being ill.

We follow Emi, an aspiring production designer, as her brother leaves his LA apartment to her for the summer as a graduation present, on one condition. Emi and her best friend Charlotte have to do something epic with it while he’s gone.
When Emi and Charlotte find an intriguing letter from a dead Hollywood icon, a mystery ensues, as well as a bit of romance.

Whilst I overall enjoyed the story, I couldn’t help but feeling there was something lacking where the characters were concerned. I enjoyed their stories but I didn’t really feel empathetic to them.

I really enjoyed the mystery aspect to the book. I thought it added another dimension to the story and made it a bit more compelling. It was interesting to learn about Ava and her family.

I was also very intrigued by Emi’s job and what goes into making a movie. I think it made me appreciate more than just the actors, but all the people behind the camera and how hard the work to make their visions a reality.

All that being said, I was really in the mood for romance, and there just wasn’t enough in my opinion. The romance was cute enough I was just expecting a little more.

Overall, this was such a fun read. Whilst it lacked a bit on the romance side, it was intriguing and compelling enough. I’d definitely recommend it if you’re passionate about film like Emi, there were plenty of references and whilst I didn’t get half of them, I’m sure that you’d appreciate them if that’s your sort of thing. I’m excited to read more of Nina LaCour’s work.

"I want you to do something with the place. Something epic." After being entrusted with her brother's Los Angeles apartment for the summer as a graduation gift, Emi Price isn't sure how to fulfill his one condition: that something great take place there while he's gone. Emi may be a talented young production designer, already beginning to thrive in the competitive film industry, but she still feels like an average teen, floundering when it comes to romance. But when she and her best friend, Charlotte, discover a mysterious letter at the estate sale of a Hollywood film legend, Emi must move beyond the walls of her carefully crafted world to chase down the loose ends of a movie icon’s hidden life, leading her to uncover a decades’ old secret and the potential for something truly epic: love.

Everything Leads to You

Jimena Vázquez Oliver

This book combines two of my greatest loves: the gays and the movies. This is such a sweet love letter to movie making and it makes me SO happy that the main characters are techies. Ask anyone I know and they’ll tell you I truly believe techies to be a higher species and should be given control of the world. I’m so glad we get a story from the perspective of techies that makes us movie lovers understand and appreciate the intricate decisions that are involved in the making of a movie.

Marie S

Olivera Mitić

Ljubavno pismo filmskoj industriji i Los Anđelesu.

Nina LaKur je ovde imala materijal da napravi izvanredan roman, samo da je malo preuredila kockice. Ovako svakako ostaje sasvim fina, ali ipak dosta lagana priča koja se čita brzo i bez previše razmišljanja. Vidi se da joj je ovo jedan od starijih romana, jer se u Everything Leads to You LaKur minimalno dotiče mračnijih i težih tema (u kojima po mom mišljenju briljira), dok se tome tek potpuno prepušta u njenom kasnijem delu We Are Okay.

Emi je bila simpatičan, ali pre svega naivan protagonista koji živi život u balončiću. Iako je autorka našla balans u pisanju njenog lika, pa samim tim Emi nije bila iritantna kako to ovaj tip junaka inače ume bude, u njenom pripovedanju falila je neka gorčina ili možda oštrina koja bi od ove knjige napravila nešto mnogo dublje i upečatljivije. (Ideja: ili samo da nije bilo Emi u knjizi i da je radnja iz perspektive nekog drugog lika?) Kerolajn mi je bila najzanimljiviji lik i, mada se zapravo ne pojavljuje, da je ceo roman bio u duhu segmenata koji se bave njenim životom, dala bih 5 zvezdica bez razmišljanja. 

Takođe, mislim da bi knjiga bila jača da nije bilo romantičnog elementa. (view spoiler)[ Odnosno, nije smetalo što je tog elementa bilo, već što je na kraju sve ispalo fluffy. Ava je dosta kompleksan lik i sa životnom pričom kakva je njena ne mogu da je vidim sa Emi na duže staze. Mislim da bi efektnije bilo da su se samo razišle na kraju ili da im veza nije otišla dalje od puke uzajamne simpatije.  (hide spoiler)]

Mnogo bih volela da pročitam neku mračniju varijantu ovakve priče, a i generalno neku mračniju knjigu Nine LaKur. Žena ima sjajan potencijal i zapala mi je za oko kao autor čiji ću rad mnogo pomnije pratiti u budućnosti.

Kath Lau

This was my first read from Nina LaCour and I really enjoyed it. As far as I can remember, I've never read any books with lesbian main character and now, I want to read more. Emi is the protagonist but the story doesn't focus entirely on her. Honestly, she annoyed me in the beginning but thankfully her character develops throughout the story. Charlotte, Emi's bestfriend, is very loyal and talented as well and I like her more than Emi. I wished we get to know more about her. They both have an amazing jobs, by the way.

Aside from the setting, I also loved the concept of this book. It tells us more about the behind the scenes of the movies which was really impressive. Like those little details on the set which sometimes the viewers didn't even notice. They're not there for nothing. The people behind this thought really hard about it. This book made me appreciate movies more.

The writing was cinematic and I liked it. There was a bit of mystery in the story but it was very predictable and I wasn't sure if it meant to be like that. The romance was there but the chemistry wasn't, in my opinion. I still recommend this book if you're looking for a fast-paced diverse YA Contemporary.

Kayla Smith

Not much happened that grabbed me but it was a sapphic romance that wasn’t all about the main character “finding herself” or coming out so three stars for that alone.

adria

really enjoyable read. great character interaction and development. also emi has what has got to be the most amazing job ever: set designer. that's just awesome. but what tipped the balance for me was the relationship development. it didn't seem forced or rushed in any way,just purely lovely.

There is something about the way LaCour weaves a story and develops her characters that makes her writing just so engaging. This is my second book by this incredibly talented author and, while it was not my favourite, I couldn't help falling in love. 



  
    “The best things aren't perfectly constructed. They aren't illusions. they aren't larger than life. They are life.” 

  



This story follows the story of some extraordinarily written characters with some awesome jobs in movie making, a backdrop of California and the world of Hollywood, a mystery involving a movie star and, of course, a good helping of finding one's self. 

While I have seen this book marked as a YA story, I would venture into saying it could also fit nicely into the New Adult genre. The MC, Emi, and many of her fictional peers, are in between high school and venturing into college. The book largely revolves around their jobs in the movie industry and while her parents are present, Emi also lives out of home for a portion of the story. 



  
    “There are no scenes in life, there are only minutes.” 
  



Unlike the last LaCour book I read, 
  We Are Okay
, I wasn't thrilled with the MC. In fact, Emi seriously drove me nuts sometimes and I wondered if I was going to have to deal with ridiculous tendency to view the world as make-believe movie that revolved around her for the entire book. Fortunately, she does eventually sort out some of her egocentric views. 

Despite what irked me Emi, I adore how LaCour used this as part of her story and I do truly admire her character development. Similarly, there were times when I truly was not a fan of Ava, a main side-character in the story. But again, the progression of the character was purposeful and so well done. 

I also loved almost all of the side-characters; from Jamal and Charlotte, the side-kicks to the main story; Morgan, the ex-girlfriend who has her own minor character development; to Emi's whole-hearted and adopt-me-please! parents.



  
    “I think that sometimes people want something so much that they manifest it. Or at least they try to.” 
  



While this book is such a gem when it comes to diverse lit - so many ah-mazing LGBTQIA+ and POC characters - this is ultimately a book about being human. The emotion, the struggles, and just the journey to a future while dealing with and embracing your past is what is key to this beautifully written story.




  
    I read this for Sapphicathon!

Nikki Fowler 

soooo cuteeee! 
This book is so unique, I don't really have much else to say, to be honest. Just read it! You'll thank me later!

Hayley 📖🌈💜🌸

This was really beautiful, and although I wish I had read it sooner, I’m glad that I waited to read it bc it was lovely. 
I really liked most of the book, sometimes the characters acted like teenagers and sometimes they didn’t, which I guess is how teenagers act. I really liked Charlotte (best bff) and Emi was a really good protagonist. Ava felt a bit flat sometimes, but I think that was the point? I loved all the secondary characters too! I want to work with Theo and Rebecca, and eat plain cookies with Frank and Edie. Emi’s parents were the greatest, and Jamal was handsome and charming. 
It wasn’t perfect, but I think it was realistic. Which is probably better anyway.

Linn 

"it's an ache. a heavy sadness. the kind that's brought on by heart break and then perpetuated by everything that remains you of the way it's broken. the kind of that feels impossible to shrug off or tuck away"

a wonderful book about two simple girls in hollywood and their beautiful love story. emi, a bisexual girl that just wants to be loved and ava, an orphan that just wants to belong in the world. together they travel around Los Angeles, looking for answers while making a small but beautiful indie movie. a simple, cute summer read with an amazing lgbtq+ couple as the main focus. 

"as much as i had wanted a long story out of a movie, i know now that movies can only hope to capture this kind of love"

Everything leads to you

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