Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour

This is a beautiful story with wonderful language and romance and sorrow.  The last line in the book is I fell in love.  Em has been involved in theatre as a set designer for a couple of years while in high school, she's good.  She is just 18 and gets a chance to be the designer, not just an assistant for a new film  She gets a chance to perhaps launch a career.  This happens just as a relationship she thought was forever, she thought was love ends.  She was just finishing scouting estate sales for just the right items for her current job when she comes upon a letter in an drawer written by a recently deceased wealthy, famous actor.  It speaks of a granddaughter he never new and money in a fund set up for the girl.  Em sets off to find the girl, hopefully get her money to her and who knows what else.  It doesn't take long to find Ava in a shelter for homeless teens with the help of a friend.  There is an instant connection between the two girls and Jamal Ava's friend in the shelter.  The teens seek out additional information for Ava.  They gather for food and to watch old movies together.  The new movie is in need of a lead female and Em can see that Ava will fit.  Em's older brother has lent her his apartment while he is out of town telling her that she has to make something wonderful happen there.  Toby's apartment is just right for one of the sets in the movie so perhaps filming part of the movie there will be the something wonderful.  While she is scouting items for the sets of this new film, Filming Ava's audition for the movie, helping Ava find out more about her new found family and face her long time adopted mom who has rejected her, Em is also learning a lot about family, love and infatuation and falling in love for real, with Ava.  That, of course is the something wonderful that happened in Toby's apartment.   JDW 9/14