Write what you know: a "Final Draft" review
Writing may seem easy, but it’s a lot harder than it looks. Some authors seamlessly pen novels and get them on the shelves year after year, but with that cycle comes prior years of querying to agents, tons of rejection letters, and self-doubt throughout. What if this next book doesn’t do as well as the last? What if it’s not good enough to even get through the door? I haven’t gone through any of that yet, although I know I will. I’m an aspiring writer with a manuscript currently being revised, and I have big dreams I hope don’t get crushed by the publishing world. But we’ll have to wait and see if it’ll happen young or if I’ll need to put in a couple years. Luckily, for some writers, magic happens when they’re still in school. It did for Riley Redgate. Her ambitious debut, Seven Ways We Lie, published right before she graduated from Kenyon College. I picked it up and enjoyed it, but then her follow-up Noteworthy came along. I fell further in love with it because it showed phenomenal growth in Redgate’s writing and tackled very important discussions of gender and how society defines expression of masculinity and femininity. It made me curious to see what she’d pursue in future books. Imagine my surprise when the synopsis for Final Draft came out last August and it talked about writing! Everything was going to come full circle. When I got my hands on an advance copy, I devoured it eagerly and greedily, ready to be brought into Redgate’s exquisite world. And once again, Redgate has another stunner. Final Draft perfectly tackles the anxiety of high school seniors and writers, those who have no idea what their future holds and those who want to make sure whatever they work on is perfect and is able to impress others. It’s also full of colorful characters and lush and detailed writing that makes it feel otherworldly, even though it’s realistic fiction. It makes an emotional impact, and it’s impossible to tear away from the pages when everything is portrayed so articulately and makes it seem both unreal and yet so achingly real. I’m looking forward to wherever Redgate goes next because I’m going to need it as soon as possible.
Laila Piedra is three months away from graduation. She’s an avid fan of science fiction, has a tight group of friends who love a TV show called The Rest and is very close with her creative writing teacher, who adores her work. But that teacher gets hit by a car one afternoon and ends up replaced with Pulitzer Prize-winning author Nadiya Nazarenko. Nazarenko is harsh and is unimpressed with the state of her students’ drafts, Laila included. Laila, shot down by this, is desperate to do anything she can to improve her work. Nazarenko suggests complete immersion in the real world, and so Laila does just that. She goes to clubs she couldn’t get into without a fake ID, shares her life story to strangers, and goes to a party she’d never thought she’d go to and has her first sip of alcohol. But how much is she willing to risk to have that perfect final draft? Laila’s journey is one I won’t forget anytime soon. She represents the desperate craving inside all writers, the ones who want to keep pushing to make everything perfect. But they’re also the ones who become too involved in their story, who need to take a step back. Laila toes the line so many times and it's horrifying and thrilling. The reader lives vicariously through her and also understands why she’s taking the risks she is. I love her geeking out with her friends, the fact that she’s curvy and biracial and questioning her sexuality (pondering pansexuality) and is just living life the best she can. I love how she and her little sister fall back into each other, the magic she’s able to see and attempts to capture. I also love Laila growing into herself and realizing her worth and her strength but also what happens when she takes things too far. The other characters are just as amazing. I could go on and on about Laila’s friend group, the snarky Hannah and the lovable Leo and the ladies’ man Felix. I could touch on the relationship that grows between Hannah and Laila, how the girls bounce off each other and yet complete a bruised heart. I could mention how heartwarming Laila’s interactions were with her younger sister Camille, how they bickered and made up and even Camille tried to find the magic in Laila’s sci-fi worlds. I could cry about the foundation creative writing teacher Mr. Madison provided for Laila, how it stresses the importance of building relationships with teachers. I could address the momentary fulfillment Laila feels when her crush, Samuel Marquez, joins forces with her. I could talk about the pushing of Nazarenko, how her risks in creating the art she’s renowned for are shocking but reinforce how emotive she wants her students’ writing to be. But ultimately, everyone at the end of the day feels like a real person. No one is a cardboard cutout. Everyone sticks the landing and it allows empathy for all, villain or hero or ambiguously gray. And the writing. I have absolutely no words. It’s a shame I’m not allowed to quote from the ARC, because if I could, I would dump most of the prose onto this review. It’s truly stunning work. Take a look at some of Redgate’s quotes from prior books and you’ll see how stunning her writing is, how articulate and nuanced and magical it feels. The shift from first person to third is a new direction for Redgate, and she handles it well. The distance actually helps with Laila’s novel samples and her real life itself. Things feel like they’re in New York and yet not. It’s truly wonderful. June is going to be awesome thanks to Final Draft. Redgate has an absolutely phenomenal gift and has only grown since that debut two years ago. Her knack for detailed writing perfectly captures the ambition and cracks of a young writer trying to do the best she can, and the result is jaw-dropping and iridescent and something never written before. I won’t be able to stop talking about this book and pushing Redgate’s novels into the hands of unsuspecting strangers. They’re worthy of every starred review, every positive word, every breath I take as I turn the page. Her ambition is unparalleled and will only grow stronger with each project she releases. I will devour each project with the same vigor. Redgate has cemented her voice and I hope she keeps releasing YA novels that bring me someplace where my dormant emotions can come to the surface and throw themselves onto words that understand them, that happily define who they are.