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A review by stuckinafictionaluniverse
Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour
2.0
My problem with Everything leads to you is how incredibly one-dimensional and shallow the story is. Everything is either modern! and chic! or vintage! and charming!, polished to perfection. There is very little realism. I always welcome diversity and was happy to see a a lesbian mixed race main character. However, you’re telling me she has never experienced discrimination, rejection or any type of struggle?
I don’t buy it.
We’ve all been there, especially if you're not white, cis and rich. Someone questions your competence because of an irrelevant trait of yours. You can’t do it because you’re a girl, you can’t do it because it goes against the prejudices people have about you. You can’t do it because you’re in a minority and different. Apparently our MC is completely blind and inexperienced with all of this.
Emi is privileged, extremely sheltered and knows nothing else than the glamorous side of Hollywod. She’s given amazing opportunities at random, because she has contacts and never has to work hard for anything. This girl is genuinely shocked when people don’t have the same condition and expectations as her, and that’s what made me loathe her. Ridiculously naive and wide-eyed, she jumps around like a goddamned fairy. None of her flaws are pointed out in the book, although I could find plenty. The same goes for every single character, who is confident, loved by everyone and have a buzzing cloud of creativity around them.
Ask any 18-year-old what they want to do with their lives and get back a terrified look and realize they are lost. Emi has everything figured out, zero real problems. That’s why Ava’s story seems so forced; it’s pitiful but in a tragic sense you see in Hollywood movies without substance. It’s not real, and it pissed me off.
These beautiful people are living their lives in beautiful Los Angeles (I’m not even hiding my jealousy), doing beautiful things. They should be on a kids’ show where everything is lovely and fun and BRIGHT. Not in a young adult contemporary novel. Calling the story shallow is an understatement. Pair that with a slow, boring plot and you have a book I struggled to finish.
I did enjoy how we found out a lot about the world of film-making and how Emi’s sexuality wasn’t the main point of the book. That’s it. It’s fluffy and sweet but feels forced and distant from reality.
I don’t buy it.
We’ve all been there, especially if you're not white, cis and rich. Someone questions your competence because of an irrelevant trait of yours. You can’t do it because you’re a girl, you can’t do it because it goes against the prejudices people have about you. You can’t do it because you’re in a minority and different. Apparently our MC is completely blind and inexperienced with all of this.
Emi is privileged, extremely sheltered and knows nothing else than the glamorous side of Hollywod. She’s given amazing opportunities at random, because she has contacts and never has to work hard for anything. This girl is genuinely shocked when people don’t have the same condition and expectations as her, and that’s what made me loathe her. Ridiculously naive and wide-eyed, she jumps around like a goddamned fairy. None of her flaws are pointed out in the book, although I could find plenty. The same goes for every single character, who is confident, loved by everyone and have a buzzing cloud of creativity around them.
Ask any 18-year-old what they want to do with their lives and get back a terrified look and realize they are lost. Emi has everything figured out, zero real problems. That’s why Ava’s story seems so forced; it’s pitiful but in a tragic sense you see in Hollywood movies without substance. It’s not real, and it pissed me off.
These beautiful people are living their lives in beautiful Los Angeles (I’m not even hiding my jealousy), doing beautiful things. They should be on a kids’ show where everything is lovely and fun and BRIGHT. Not in a young adult contemporary novel. Calling the story shallow is an understatement. Pair that with a slow, boring plot and you have a book I struggled to finish.
I did enjoy how we found out a lot about the world of film-making and how Emi’s sexuality wasn’t the main point of the book. That’s it. It’s fluffy and sweet but feels forced and distant from reality.