Hardcover, 307 pagesRelease Date: May 15, 2014Published by: Dutton Books for Young ReadersStand-aloneSource: LibraryFor fans of: #WNDB, LGBTQIA, Contemporary, Realistic Fiction, Romance, YA
A love letter to the craft and romance of film and fate in front of—and behind—the camera from the award-winning author of Hold Still.
A wunderkind young 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-glamorous 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.
*MY THOUGHTS*
With this being a diverse book, I wanted to love it. I wanted to love it and sing it's praises from the rooftops. But unfortunately I won't be doing that. In the end it was just ok for me. Ultimately it wasn't what I was expecting from all the praises that everyone had been singing about it and because of that it fell really short for me.
"...I am a firm believer that important moments in life are best with a soundtrack.."pg. 21
Emi has a one of a kind job. She designs sets for movies. All while only 18 years old. Her work life is so great, but her real life isn't so amazing. She has a great best friend and a great family, but her love life is in shambles. Until she finds the one girl who turns it all around...
"...all the best stories are tragic."pg. 112
What I liked most about this was the way the MC Emi was depicted. She showed so much growth. From her love life to even just her friendships. This is what made me want to keep reading this story. I wanted to make sure the growth she was showing was continuous.
"Fame by association is the emptiest kind."pg. 118
As for the setting, I loved it. I could clearly see all the sets she made and all the LA streets Emi and her friends were cruising. I was able to see everything in my minds eye and everything was beautiful. I wish I could witness something like that in person for once.
"Your life can change as soon as you want it to."pg. 165
What I didn't like was the plot and pacing. The story was draggiinggggg. It felt way longer than it had to be. And to make it worse, there wasn't much happening. They find out most of the "mystery" early on in the story and I thought that meant the romance would kick it up a notch then, but it still didn't. There wasn't any romance in it until the end. Only ONE scene. This was where I began to lose interest in the story. Towards the end I found myself reading so fast I could tell I was barely skimming the words just trying to finish. I was expecting some super romantic, epic love story (because Emi is proclaimed as a romantic in the synopsis) but what I got was just someone finding this epic love story. I think if someone had told me this is what I was getting, I would have liked it more than I did.
"It was a terrible day. [...] But look. You grew up anyway."pg. 217
In short it was a good story, but at this time it wasn't what I was looking for. And because of that I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would have. But at the end of the day, this diverse title needs to be recognized. Even though I didn't like it, it could truly change someone's life.
Overall, I give this
