

She doesn’t do much other than writing and occasionally see her friends outside of school. Writing seems to almost be problematic for her. I think that’s because I am also someone who really enjoys writing. Laila, the main character, was pretty unlikeable at first. Nazarenko has led Laila to believe that she must choose between perfection and sanity-but rejecting her all-powerful mentor may be the only way for Laila to thrive.

Soon Laila is pushing herself far from her comfort zone, discovering the psychedelic highs and perilous lows of nightlife, temporary flings, and instability. But before long, Laila grows obsessed with gaining the woman’s approval. But three months before her graduation, he’s suddenly replaced-by Nadiya Nazarenko, a Pulitzer Prize–winning novelist who is sadistically critical and perpetually unimpressed.Īt first, Nazarenko’s eccentric assignments seem absurd. Her creative writing teacher has always told her she has a special talent. The only sort of risk 18-year-old Laila Piedra enjoys is the peril she writes for the characters in her stories: epic sci-fi worlds full of quests, forbidden love, and robots.
