Final Draft by Riley Redgate
Published by: Amulet Books
ISBN: 9781419728723
Released: June 11 2018 (in the US)
Read: June 11 2018
This is an intense novel, introspective and questioning. Redgate’s protagonist Laila, will feel familiar to other authors. Her constant search for the perfect draft, the dread of sharing her work, and the self-doubt multiplied by spending too much time alone, being safe, writing instead of living must be something a lot of them would know about. I know I understood it, and I just write reviews.
The third person narrative constantly forced me to think deeper. Usually young adult novels are written in the first person, and the drama and angst spills over the page blatantly. But here there’s deliberate distance, careful and considered. Even when Laila is feeling her worst, or her best, the emotions are tightly restrained, but written with such beautiful words, they reverberate for ages.
Laila’s life has been steady and safe. Now she faces uncertainty and risk. But she wants to experience the change because she needs to know the impact it will have on her writing. I worried there would coercion and manipulation by the new creative teacher, but there wasn’t. Sure she suggests, she expects, but she’s also largely there for her own agenda, so she has no qualms about the ramifications these kids might face when they go out to ‘experience life’.
Laila’s relationships with her four best friends is a very strong part of the novel. Hannah, Leo and Felix become as real as Laila, and their support of her is unflagging and ultimately, terribly important. Laila’s family are also authentically developed, although the other three missed out on the supportive parent situation. Felix’s father and Hannah’s parents are pretty unimpressive.
I love Redgate’s Noteworthy, and can tell she is an assured and clever writer. I hope she’s around, writing stories for young adults, for many years to come.
Thanks to Amulet Books and Netgalley for the advanced copy. It’s out now in the US, June 11. Highly recommended for teens who like character study novels, not action-paced thrillers. Laila struggles with many issues, but she’s really thoughtful and rational when she examines her thoughts, actions and motives. She does get up to a few shenanigans, such as underage drinking and drug-taking, but she never goes completely off the rails. There is some discussion about depression and other mental health issues, but we leave Laila in a place where she deserves to be: happy and content, surrounded by people she loves and who love her.
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