I enjoyed this a lot. It's very introspective, and overall it's a small-stakes story. There are moments that feel like they're going to be higher-stakes, and then they aren't, but that also ends up feeling like a feature.
Laila has two writing teachers/mentors in the book, Mr. Madison and Nazarenko. I mostly liked her relationship with Mr. Madison; I recognized a lot of aspects of it from my relationships with important teachers and professors. There were a few times that I thought Laila crossed boundaries and Mr. Madison didn't really call her on it, even if he didn't similarly cross boundaries.
Laila's relationship with Nazarenko wasn't healthy. It's not that Nazarenko's writing advice is bad; a lot of it is reasonable, but the recommended implementation is... not, often. Nazarenko also mixes with Laila's perfectionism in a really bad way. There's a moment when Nazarenko asks Laila whether her opinion is the only one that matters to Laila, and Laila truthfully says no, it's just that Nazarenko is "the only other person who wants [the piece] perfect." (There's also a dynamic where, in taking Nazarenko's advice, Laila pushes away from genre, but I don't think that was intentional on either person's part. It just happened; it's still interesting.)
I really liked Laila's relationships with her parents, her sister (especially this; it's a small part of the book but ends up being so important), and her three best friends. In Laila's family, her parents take up very different space on page and have very different personalities, but they still feel like a couple; the family feels cohesive. Laila's sister, Camille, is four or five years younger and not that close to Laila but trying to be closer, bit by bit. They snark at each other and fight and don't share much, but they know each other. All four people in the friend group are again really different, and they acknowledge that, acknowledge the sometimes awkward mix of it, the way they don't obviously fit and yet do. They look out for each other so much, and they fight, and it all feels very real. Related to the friend group: I don't know how I feel about the friend-to-romance part of the story overall, but by the end I was rooting for them.
Laila grows so much, in all kinds of directions, and some of the things she thinks are growth aren't.
There's a conversation between Laila and her mom that made me squirm a little bit. Laila's mom loves the idea of Laila dating her friend Felix (something that isn't going to happen), and when asked why she likes the idea so much, Laila's mom says, "Because he's a good friend." Laila views this as kind of ridiculous, but the conversation turns a bit, and that part's not really addressed again.
CW: motor vehicle accident, character death, drug-related blackout, depression and anxiety, on-page sex, mentions of people saying/teaching anti-queer or racist things (all called out).
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Join or create book clubs
Choose books together
Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required. Learn more
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Flip to back Flip to front
Follow the Author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.
| Price | New from | Used from |
|
Audible Audiobook, Unabridged
"Please retry" |
$0.00
| Free with your Audible trial | |
- Read with Our Free App
-
Audiobook
$0.00 - 42 Used from $1.18 23 New from $10.14
- 13 Used from $2.25 8 New from $7.77
Frequently bought together
- +
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Choose items to buy together.
What other items do customers buy after viewing this item?
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
About the author
Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Top reviews from other countries
Casey Carlisle
What I thought to be a cute contemporary turned out to be writing motivation.
Reviewed in Australia 🇦🇺 on May 30, 2019
Casey Carlisle
Reviewed in Australia 🇦🇺 on May 30, 2019
Laila has some great character development, a diverse protagonist facing some truths and realities through the prism of her writing, fear, and eventually loss. For a goody-two-shoes teen Laila could have been laconic and uninteresting, but Redgate let the main character’s imagination and narrative shine through, adding a dynamic to the writing style that had me captivated.
It was great to see Laila challenge herself and explore without judgement shine through in the narrative, or from her peers.
There were a few brief moments were these inner lamenting’s dragged a bit, but on the whole, the pacing of ‘Final Draft’ is excellent and I completed the novel in just two sittings.
With many themes popping up in this coming of age contemporary, there really is a lot going on, a lot to hold your attention.
On a personal note, I maybe wanted a touch more humour… there was plenty of sarcasm, like an insult comic hiding in the wings, which was amusing, but not really my speed of entertainment. And even though I appreciated the ending and symbolism of those final paragraphs, I couldn’t help feeling like I wanted something more… romantic. In a rom-com sort of way. Sheesh, when did I become so sappy and derivative? But it is what it is.
The secondary characters are just as interesting and nuanced as our protagonist and I couldn’t help feeling that I wanted more of them. This is a double edged sword: one side being the cast was intriguing enough for me to keep reading and get invested in their arcs; and the other side of feeling like there was a missed opportunity and not really fulfilled upon completion of ‘Final Draft.’
I loved the family dynamic, Laila’s parents were present but not smothering. Her little sister Camille represents the doting sibling, just wishing to be included in everything while also carving out her own separate journey into adulthood. Their relationship was adorable. I can’t help but wonder why a more typical sibling rivalry/bickering was not included to make it realistic… but I guess that would have interrupted the tone of the novel.
Predictability for ‘Final Draft’ went out the window. I started to think this contemporary was one kind of story and then it turned out to be something completely different. So I can’t say I guessed to where this novel was going other than some sort of coming of age, write your own novel plot. It is that in spirit, but not in the most literal interpretation. Redgate’s writing style was simple and sophisticated. I was supremely jealous of her sentence structure and word usage. It makes me want to pick this up again and use as a study guide.
Definitely a novel I’d recommend to everyone – especially if you love contemporaries or envision yourself as becoming a writer.
Images in this review
