Author: Nina LaCour
Published: May 15, 2014
Hardcover, 307 pages
5 Gold Stars
(summary from Goodreads)
A wunderkind set designer, Emi has already started to find her way in the competitive Hollywood film world.
Emi is a film buff and a true romantic, but her real-life relationships are a mess. She has desperately gone back to the same girl too many times to mention. But then a mysterious letter from a silver screen legend leads Emi to Ava. Ava is unlike anyone Emi has ever met. She has a tumultuous, not-so-glamourous past, and lives an unconventional life. She's enigmatic... She's beautiful. And she is about to expand Emi's understanding of family, acceptance, and true romance.
Emi's brother wants her to do something meaningful this summer while he's out of the country and she's living in his apartment. Emi has no clue what he means, but when she finds a mysterious letter at the house of an old celebrity, she's suddenly on a mission to get the letter to its rightful owner. Working in the movies allows her more access than others, but nothing prepares her for what she'll find when she meets his granddaughter, Ava, a girl who knows nothing about her connection to Hollywood royalty. Emi is quickly infatuated with Ava, especially since her heart has been through a rough time after getting dumped by her girlfriend. With Hollywood as the backdrop and beautiful sets and movie productions all over, this book has a quiet romantic quality of old movies and made me want to be part of the film world so badly. LaCour captures the beauty of filmmaking and the romance of new love while trying to get past the hurt of old ones.
Emi is a wonderful character. She's an intern at a movie company, a job she mostly got because of her ex but one she wants to prove herself at nonetheless. She has tons of ideas of her own and wants desperately to design her own sets. I loved reading her thoughts as she tried to find the perfect additions to the room she was designing for a movie. I fell in love with the movies just like she did and starting daydreaming about being a set designer as well. A lot of things come her way because of the people she knows, like the independent movie that she becomes head designer on, but she works her ass off and knows what she's doing. It's nice to read a book about someone who has a lot of potential and is getting things handed to her but she never acts like she's above it all. She does it because she loves it and she just happens to be good at it as well. Yes, at times I wish I had her life or those kind of opportunities, but I loved reading about it anyway without jealousy. Ava hasn't lived a good life and when she finds out she's the granddaughter of a Hollywood legend, it takes her some time to come around. She's sweet and thoughtful and it's no wonder Emi falls head over heels for her. Her journey is just as intense as Emi's and they go through it together. Their love story is truly realistic and well played out and everything about it was so romantic. LaCour writes beautifully, using the perfect words for perfect moments and I fell just as in love with her words as I did with her characters.
Emi is a lesbian. She likes girls and we find this out right away when we meet her ex, Morgan. But that has no matter to the story at all and I loved that about this book. She is already out of the closet, every accepts her for who she is and she is dealing with a break up just like anyone else. At no point in the story did her sexuality play any sort of part. It was wonderful to read a book about a lesbian character where the plot was not about her sexuality. I fell in love with Ava along side her and the moment they kissed it felt like any other kiss I've read about. Kudos to LaCour for bringing that part of the world into YA without preaching about it.
This book was pure magic. The beauty of the movie world and the intenseness that goes along with it filled this book to the brim with enchantment and mystery. A beautiful book for anyone who loves movies, romance, and a bit of mystery. LaCour is a beautiful writer and I can't wait to read what's next from her.
“The best things aren't perfectly constructed. They aren't illusions. they aren't larger than life. They are life.”
No comments:
Post a Comment