Title: Instructions for Dancing
Author: Nicola Yoon
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Release Date: June 1, 2021
Pages: 304
#1 New York Times bestselling author of Everything, Everything and The Sun is Also a Star Nicola Yoon is back with her eagerly anticipated third novel. With all the heart and hope of her last two books, this is an utterly unique romance.
Evie Thomas doesn't believe in love anymore. Especially after the strangest thing occurs one otherwise ordinary afternoon: She witnesses a couple kiss and is overcome with a vision of how their romance began . . . and how it will end. After all, even the greatest love stories end with a broken heart, eventually.
As Evie tries to understand why this is happening, she finds herself at La Brea Dance studio, learning to waltz, fox-trot, and tango with a boy named X. X is everything that Evie is not: adventurous, passionate, daring. His philosophy is to say yes to everything--including entering a ballroom dance competition with a girl he's only just met.
Falling for X is definitely not what Evie had in mind. If her visions of heartbreak have taught her anything, it's that no one escapes love unscathed. But as she and X dance around and toward each other, Evie is forced to question all she thought she knew about life and love. In the end, is love worth the risk?
**Thank you so much to NetGalley and Random House Children's for sending me an Advanced Reader's Copy in exchange for an honest review!**
Since Evie saw her dad kiss someone else that's definitely not her mom, Evie no longer believes in love. Her romance novels are left untouched on her bookshelf and she's giving them away when another woman exchanges all her books for one that says Instructions for Dancing on the cover.
Books don't work their magic on me anymore. It used to be that if I was in a funk or in the barren hinterland between sad and mad, I could just pluck any random one from my favorites shelf and settle into my fuzzy pink chair for a good read.
All of a sudden, whenever Evie sees a couple kiss, she can see how they met, how they fell in love, and sadly, how they break up. This only adds to her belief that all love eventually ends up broken.
It's one thing to hallucinate a vision of the future. It's something entirely different for that vision to come true.
A mysterious address in the book sends Evie to a dance studio where she enrolls in dance lessons with X (Xavier), the owners' grandson. Although she tries to not fall for him, knowing how love ends, fate has another path for her.
And it's strange, because I've seen so many visions that I know to expect all relationships to end. But the ending of our friendship is a heartbreak I didn't see coming.
Star Rating: ★★★★☆ (4)
Another great book by Nicola Yoon! I loved all the characters in the book and their journey along the way of growing themselves. They each have their own struggles but it's what makes them unique and so much fun to read about.
Overall, Instructions for Dancing is a must-read for those that love a good YA romance and contemporary novel as well as an emotional one. The book, especially the ending, broke my heart and I hope to see it adapted into a film soon.
About the Author
Nicola Yoon is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Instructions for Dancing, Everything, Everything and The Sun Is Also a Star. She is a National Book Award finalist, a Michael L. Printz Honor Book recipient and a Coretta Scott King New Talent Award winner. Two of her novels have been made into major motion pictures. She’s also co-publisher of Joy Revolution, a Random House young adult imprint dedicated to love stories starring people of color. She grew up in Jamaica and Brooklyn, and lives in Los Angeles with her husband, the novelist David Yoon, and their daughter.
Nicola Yoon is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Instructions for Dancing, Everything, Everything and The Sun Is Also a Star. She is a National Book Award finalist, a Michael L. Printz Honor Book recipient and a Coretta Scott King New Talent Award winner. Two of her novels have been made into major motion pictures. She’s also co-publisher of Joy Revolution, a Random House young adult imprint dedicated to love stories starring people of color. She grew up in Jamaica and Brooklyn, and lives in Los Angeles with her husband, the novelist David Yoon, and their daughter.
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