Now a Major Motion Picture by Cori McCarthy is a beautifully written, comedic, and endearing story of a girl – Iris Thorne –who wants to break free from her responsibilities as her brother’s caregiver and to “blaze her own path.” But being the granddaughter of the famous author behind the fictional book series Elementia – the “feminist response to J. R. R. Tolkien” – causes Iris to doubt whether she’ll ever be able to live her life without being shrouded in the shadow of her dead grandmother’s books. This – combined with the fact that her negligent father has sent her and her brother on a 10-day trip to Ireland, where their grandmother’s story is being brought to life on the big screen – causes Iris to believe that this will be the worst ten days of her life.

The fact that “Jaded Iris” happens to be an honest-to-God pessimist does not bode well for her perspective on the up-and-coming movie. But, when Jaded Iris meets the cast and crew behind the film – the feminist director who is putting her blood, sweat and tears into making this movie a success; the pansexual, Filipino female star of the film who aches for acceptance; the romantic and fetching 20-year-old movie star; and the boyishly-charming young Irish actor who Iris may or may not be crushing on – she finds herself swiftly falling in love with the world of Elementia. When the film is on the brink of cancellation, Iris has to make a choice of whether she’ll stay inside her shell of doubts and worst-case-scenarios, or if she’ll stand tall and fight for the people who have inspired her.

When I opened this book, I was expecting a simple story with simple characters and a simple plot. Cori McCarthy clearly had bigger and better plans for this novel.

Not only were the characters gorgeously fleshed out from the beginning, the humor was on-point from page one – and Iris, the star of the story, was an amazing and exceptionally relatable character throughout. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book where the main female character is a pessimist – and if they are, the trait isn’t emphasized. This trait – combined with the fact that Iris a big sister and a teen trying to figure out how she can turn her passion into a career – made me connect to Iris on a personal level. This kind of characterization isn’t just prevalent in the main protagonist however; it’s prevalent in every single character in the book! Even the characters that Iris seems to be at odds with are fleshed out so beautifully that you can’t help but sympathize and/or wish the best for them in the end!

The story line is written perfectly, the symbolism is on-point, the chapter titles are laugh-out-loud funny, and the ending is more than satisfying.

Now a Major Motion Picture is a joyful ride. I got to dive right into Iris’s world – as well as the world of Elementia – with the diverse cast, the wonderful symbolism and the heartwarming themes of standing tall, being courageous, and being honest.