I've been enjoying Redgate's books, and I really enjoyed this one...until about halfway through, where I kept getting distracted. I literally sat on a bus for four hours in the dark from Baltimore to New York and the light wouldn't work so I couldn't read my physical book, and while I wasn't compelled to abandon this for a different book, I kept getting distracted by literally everything, and I've had 10% left since literally Sunday and now it's Thursday. And now I can't really remember why the first half was good, so. ( )

CW: death of a friend after a car accident, detailed sexual content, underage drinking, drug use, depression, grief, anxiety

Firstly, let’s put a bit more effort into our book covers people! *shakes head slowly in disappointment*

This isn’t what I was expecting and it was a slow burn for me. I thought I was going to be reading a light-hearted book about a teenager with a bruised ego proving themselves to their writing teacher. I suppose that is what I got minus the light-hearted part. It turned out to be a deeper exploration of dealing with grief, depression, sexuality, friendships, falling in love, and making peace with the idea of proving one's worth to oneself and not others. The cast was extremely diverse which was wonderful. This diversity contributed to the conflict some characters felt as they navigated life whilst experiencing it through their various ‘lenses’. There was a lot of worrying in the book. That’s okay and an important part of the characters' journeys. However, when you spend a lot of time reading about people who are in a near continual state of anxiety it can mean you don’t get an opportunity to get to know them. I didn’t dislike Laila, I just couldn’t see much of HER as the anxiety and then depression became all consuming. I didn’t enjoy the relationships that both teachers developed with Laila as they felt ‘off’ and a bit unhealthy. Overall I enjoyed this book because I could relate to the themes and I enjoyed the witty dialogue, but I didn’t feel invested in the characters themselves. I did, however, say a loud "YES!" at the end of her final interaction with her teacher. Reclaim your power! ( )

Final Draft is the story of a pansexual girl in her senior year of high school struggling to find balance between her life and her writing. Struggling with her relationships, the death of her mentor, and criticisms of her teacher, and most importantly struggling to find herself.

It had a slow uptake but was an important read. It definitely made me reminisce on my own high school years, comparing Laila’s choices with my own. While it was a bit underwhelming for my own personal experiences, I would highly recommend this to 16 and 17 year olds- there is much to learn from Laila’s experiences. Don’t be afraid to do things just because they require risk. ( )

I wasn't sure what to expect going into this because the summary doesn't much sound like something I would enjoy a lot, but I thought this was very good!

I especially loved the relationships between the characters and the way sexuality was explored. I liked that the narrative was more episodic than linear, and I always love when there are different media explored (like Leila's stories or her emails and text messages) - it made the whole story feel much more realistic. While some parts of the story that could've been explored more (like Hannah's parents, or Leila's relationship with Camille), I didn't mind at all that they weren't. In a way, this, too, made the story feel much closer to a real life - it's not normal for every meaningful relationship in a life to change in the span of a novel. ( )

Review also posted on my blog: https://bennilovesbooks.wordpress.com/2018/06/22/review-final-draft-by-riley-red...

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This book has content warnings for car accidents (off-page), hospitals, and death (off-page).

This book was really really good, but definitely not one of my favorites. I'm struggling to pinpoint what exactly it is that I didn't like, though -- I think it might have mostly been the writing not clicking for me, especially in relation to Laila's interactions with her teachers. Something about those interactions felt off to me, and the pacing of the book felt incredibly slow through the middle of the book. Tighter writing would have made this a better read for me, overall.

I loved the characters themselves -- Laila is a fat, bi-racial (Ecuadorian), pansexual teen with mental illnesses, and she was such a joy to spend time with. She is a writer and a nerd, and seeing her geek out over her favorite shows and books with her friends was so much fun. Her relationships with her friends were complicated; they loved each other, but they struggled to get everyone to get along all at the same time.

Laila's frustration with the writing and editing process after getting a new teacher really hit me. Writing is something that can be incredibly enjoyable, but certain parts of the process can really suck the fun out of it even though it can make the writing itself a lot stronger. Watching her try to figure out where that line is for her felt very true to me; finding that line is not easy, and it can potentially ruin writing for some people. I also loved seeing how this affected not just herself but also her relationships with those around her.

Though this isn't one of my favorite reads from this year, it had a great story with really solid characters. If you're looking for stories about teenage nerds and writers, this is a good choice for you.

Final rating: 4 of 5 stars ( )