Thoughts on Everything Leads To You

Everything Leads to You

By: Nina La Cour

//★★★★★//100%//312 pages//

So What's It About?

Just out of high school, Emi Price is a talented young set designer already beginning to thrive in the L.A. film scene. But her artistic eye has failed her in one key area: helping her to design a love life that’s more than make-believe. Then she finds a mysterious letter at an estate sale, and it sends her chasing down the loose ends of a movie icon’s hidden life. And along the way, she finds Ava, and at long last, Emi’s own hidden life begins to bloom.

My Thoughts

All of the characters were very real, and you could tell that Nina had spent a lot of time fleshing out her characters, even before she began writing the story. I admire authors that do that because they really get to know every aspect of their character's personality, even things that aren't needed for the story, because it really shows when authors really know their characters, not just the tip of the iceberg that is shown within the course of the story.

I loved how Emi sometimes knew exactly what she wanted to do, but at others, she had no idea what she wanted to do and she was very confused, making her more realistic. Emi's set designing process was so cool. I love how creative individuals are portrayed in books, and I particularly loved this one. I feel like seeing and artist as a protagonist in YA is rare, so YAY!!!

Charlotte and Emi's relationship was awesome. They were so connected to one another. Charlotte and Emi knew each other so well, and they knew when to help one another, and when it would be the most impactful. I also really liked Emi and Toby's relationship. They had something that was not picture perfect, but something that would be perfect in real life. Toby did look out for her, but also let her experience her own life.

The writing in this book was PERFECT in my opinion. I love fluffy writing that seems to just slip away as you are reading it, and this book was exactly that! I also felt that La Cour's writing style perfectly captured art in its true state. The writing showed the art process of set design wonderfully and made me want to be creative too.

I have never been to California in my life, but the writing was so descriptive - without boring me to death, which can be a problem - that I could picture everything with such ease. I honestly have only experienced a writing style that can put you in the scene with the characters without you even realizing it once before, and that was when I read Harry Potter.

However, La Cour's style of writing does take a while to get used to. It's slow and a bit quirky, so while easing into this type of writing does come naturally, you are a bit confused at first. The story took about the first 25% to get into something truly interesting and something that has a general direction to go. My only complaint is that Ava's mystery was figured out way too quickly to be realistic, but it was believable.

The plot, like the writing style takes a while to get interesting and worthwhile. Until Emi receives her job, you have no idea where the story is going to go. While that can sometimes bother me, in ELTY it hooked me to the story and I was absolutely addicted.

Personally, I thought that the plot went along very quickly, but that might have something to do with how quickly I read it. I only found one scene where I was a bit bored and felt that the story was dragging.

In conclusion, Everything Leads To You has strong, dynamic characters that are also real so you are able to relate to them. There are many amazing relationships in this book, between both friends and family. The writing will strike you on the first page and never let you go, even after you have finished the book. Overall, Everything Leads To You is simply a stunning contemporary. It is very unique both in concept and the actual carrying out of the plot. I would most definitely recommend reading this book as soon as humanly possible.

Have you read Everything Leads to You? If so, tell me if you shared any of my thoughts or opinions. If you haven't read this, have I convinced you to yet? Tell me in the comments below/