This is an interesting premise that might attract a few of my students if they gave it a chance. I'm afraid that it doesn't start exciting enough to keep most of their attention at first, so that's why I can't rate it higher.

I regret that I won't be able to review this book. I've tried twice to read it and both times I get stuck, unable to push forward. I'm not sure what the issue is, because I like the main character, Josie a lot. She's a bit rough around the edges, but I feel like she'd eventually come around. But there's something that just isn't clicking with me and the author, apparently. I appreciate the opportunity to read this book, but it wasn't for me.

Josie was a talented high schooler and gained much popularity and notoriety from her talent. At the end of her junior year, in much support from her drama coach, Josie drops out of high school and moves from her hometown in Arizona to New York City to make her break into Broadway acting. Of course, New York City was a far cry from what she imagined and she was lost in the sea of other hopeful talents. Josie's pride kept her from returning to Arizona, home and high school. Instead, she takes a job as a nanny and finds herself in Missoula, Montana. She likes her job and loves her charge, Mia, but is stuck in a rut of self-pity and missing the days of being "kind of a big deal." On the way to the park one day, Josie and Mia discover a book store. The book store clerk, Deo, offers her ARC copies of books, and a pair of glasses to help with the "vision problems" she all of the sudden develops. When Josie reads the books with glasses on, she falls into the story and not only becomes the heroine, but can direct the storyline. The books only cause Josie to fall deeper in to self-pity and during her last "fall," she becomes trapped in the story.

I generally like Shannon Hale's work, but this one simply didn't work for me. I love the premise; who wouldn't want to jump into a story and be able to control a storyline and make yourself into who you want instead of who you are? I found Josie a little grating because it felt she wanted everything handed to her on a silver platter. She could not deal with rejection, but she has a history of rejection from her family. The story jumps were very disjointed - it was like trying to pack every genre into a single book and that made it weird. The ending devolved into some kind of Greek god odyssey that came out of nowhere. (One more genre to throw in, I guess.)

I liked the concept and I liked the uniqueness of the effort, but there were just too many conflicts and story arcs, and unresolved storylines (Nina, the sister, the dad, the community theater, the coffee shop owner, Misty....was the intention a to leave openings for a sequel?)

Sadly, I had to DNF. It was strange, and a little difficult to follow, and just not very interesting. I'm a huge fan of Hale's work so I was so sad to see this one flop.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book. Unfortunately, I stopped reading about 35%. The story and/or writing just wasn’t for me.

WHY DID I LISTEN TO KIND OF A BIG DEAL BY SHANNON HALE?
I like that Shannon Hale has tried her hand at writing a variety of genres. Goose Girl was a fantastic read. Dangerous was okay too. Kind Of A Big Deal seemed ambitious and like it would blend a lot of genres. The concept of genre bending and blending is what interested me. And as you all know, audiobook definitely means sooner rather than later for me.

WHAT’S THE STORY HERE?
Kind Of A Big Deal is about Josie Pie who basically peaked in high school. She drops out to pursue acting in New York City, because she was a big fish in a small pond in Arizona. So, Josie thinks that she can just live the dream in NYC. As it turns out though, she crashes and burns. So, to pay down her credit card debt she takes on a nannying job which she is pretty good at. The job takes her from NYC to Montana. There, she decides to go out for community theater, even though she’s too good for it. Josie is truly struggling mentally – especially with how her dreams did not pan out the way she thought they would. She begins reading books to deal with it. The thing is though, the books come alive for her. As in, she’s actually in the story and pulled out of real life. Oh and there’s a side plot where she thinks her boyfriend is cheating on her.

WHAT DID I THINK OF KIND OF A BIG DEAL?
Unfortunately I just did not gel all that much with Kind Of A Big Deal. Maybe I was expecting something different and to feel more connected with the story. Instead, I just didn’t care all that much while listening. Josie certainly thought a lot of herself and got a much needed reality check. She was a character I didn’t like all that much and it wasn’t because of her complexities or anything. I just couldn’t relate. Maybe because I didn’t peak in high school hahaha, but yeah, this wasn’t the read for me, but that is fine! I am sure other readers will enjoy this much more than I did.


HOW’S THE NARRATION?
The audiobook is narrated by Amanda Dolan. It is 9 hours and 25 minutes long. I listened to it slightly sped up. This was not my first rodeo with Dolan’s narration. I am used to her and think her narration is actually quite decent. If you do pick this up, the audiobook is a fine choice.

Shannon Hale is a must-read for me, so I was thrilled to get a copy of this one. I must say, it's not her best work ever. Having said that, Josie was super-relatable, the plot was a little wacky but kept me interested, and her nanny charge was cute. There were some holes in the plot, but as an overall escapist read, it was enjoyable.

While I love that Shannon Hale is always experimenting and always trying new things, this particular book didn't resonate with me. I didn't enjoy our main character's voice, so what could've been an interesting plot ended up falling short for me. When an unlikable character starts off as unlikable, there's always the hope that their journey will change them--that they will learn some lesson. It didn't feel that way to me. I will continue to recommend Shannon Hale's books whenever possible, and I'm sure there is an audience that can appreciate what Josie is going through, or can suspend their dislike of her to fall into her world, but I just wasn't one of them.

Josie Pie was a big deal in high school. She was always the lead in school productions, her teachers always said she was destined for greatness. Which is why it made so much sense when Josie dropped out of high school to be a star.

Now, almost a year later, Josie is starting to wonder if she made the right choice. Turns out hitting it big on Broadway isn't as easy as hitting it big in high school. After a series of failed auditions Josie is starting to wonder if she was ever star material. It certainly doesn't feel that way while she words as a nanny.

Josie keeps in touch with her best friend, her boyfriend, and her mom. But there's only so much you can talk about without admitting massive failure (and mounting credit card debt).

When Josie and her charge find a cozy bookstore, Josie receives a pair of special glasses that transport her into her current read. Literally. In the books she can save the day in a post-apocalyptic world, fall in love in a rom-com, and more.

Living out these fantasies is the best thing that's happened to Josie in a while. But the longer she stays inside the stories, the harder it is to remember why she should come back to her own life in Kind of a Big Deal (2020) by Shannon Hale.

Hale's latest YA novel is a genre mashup. Framed by Josie's contemporary coming of age story, Hale also plays with conventions in dystopian sci-fi, romantic comedies, and historical fiction (genres Hale has by and large tackled previously in her extensive backlist).

Kind of a Big Deal takes on a lot using these genre adventures to help Josie get a handle on her own life. Unfortunately, the stories within this story are often more compelling than Josie's real life leaving Josie and her friends feeling one dimensional throughout. Stilted dialog and a premise that pushes the limits of plausibility (particularly with eighteen-year-old Josie being solely in charge of a seven-year-old girl while her mother works out of the country) further undermine this otherwise novel premise.

Kind of a Big Deal is a unique take on losing yourself in a good book. The story reads young and might have worked better for a middle grade audience or radically rewritten with older characters for an adult novel. Recommended for readers looking for plot driven genre studies.

Possible Pairings: Jane, Unlimited by Kristin Cashore, The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde, Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld

*An advance copy of this title was provided by the publisher for review consideration*

Thank you to the publisher and author for a copy to review!

I'm sorry to say this book didn't really click with me. I just couldn't seem to connect with Josie whether it was the writing style or her actions I'm not sure. It seems like we were told she was growing up and becoming a better person rather than actually seeing it on the page. Overall the writing style didn't seem mature, it felt more like a middle grade book than YA and this is even more stark with the fact that Josie is at the age she is.

This book had everything going for it, and while I have loved other books by the author, this one just fell flat. Props for the great cover art, but I'll stick to Austenland.

Thank you to Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, FierceReads, and the wonderful people behind the YA, Children's, and Middle-Grade Bloggers for gifting me this e-arc for review.

KIND OF A BIG DEAL by SHANNON HALE is a young adult contemporary novel with a hint of fantasy. It follows Josie Pie who has moved to New York in hopes of achieving her broadway dreams after peaking in high school. Unfortunately, it seems her peak has ended because she doesn't nail a spot in any of the shows she has auditioned for. She ends up maxing out her card, in debt and nannying for a girl Mia. One day they pass a bookstore and decide to go in (not doing so results in bad luck). After some conversation and convincing, she decides to take a book home with her. The first time she reads it, she ends up in the book. Each time Josie reads a book, she's literally sucked into the story as a character and can spend some time there. It's just perfect for Josie: she can live the fantasy she's dreamed of having and have happy endings. However, the longer she spends in these looks, the more she forgets herself and the harder it becomes for her to escape. Will Josie stay in her fantasy world or come back to reality?

Alright now for the hard part of this review. As the story neared its end, I noticed that the narrating was telling readers that things were getting better/the story was ending. However, I didn't feel that the main character actually learned anything. It was more implied that she learned from her behaviors and mistakes than it seemed that she learned. Also the character relationships, especially romantic, did not feel like there was a lot of growth or connection. Overall, multiple elements of this book felt underdeveloped compared to the many young adult and adult books that I'm used to reading. That could be a me thing (not used to this form of writing) or a book thing (it's actually what I think it is).

I don't think this should have been marketed or told to people that this is a young adult book because it read more of a middle grade. I think this would be enjoyed a lot more by children between the ages of 10 and 15 years old, especially since parts of this book isn't as developed or detailed compared to most young adult books. With that being said, it's still a fun read if you're looking for something quick and light.

This was such a fun book! Shannon Hale wove mythology and fantasy in with contemporary fiction so well. We enjoyed reading this book and will recommend it to our high school students.

Im always a sucker for an illustrated cover and i was so excited to get this ARC!

I really wanted to like this book. The concept is so unique. But it read far to young for my tastes and the book went into way too many directions for me.

I loved the cover of this book, along with stories of going inside books, so that's why I decided to give this one a try. But after reading just the first few pages, it felt too bizarre and weird. I think it would have been better if it took place while the character was still in high school.

While the plot concept is brilliant and creative, and there are some points - especially when it comes to the overall message - that I am 100% behind, I just could not connect with the main character and thus the greatness of the idea never meshed with what I was expecting.
That's not to say that Josie Pie isn't a solid character, I just couldn't connect to her totally giving up on life and thus just couldn't connect to the story as I usually do. And yes, I do get that the whole point of the story is the main character finding her way in life, I just couldn't make myself care enough for this particular lead character.

Josie has always been told she has what it takes to make it big. At the encouragement of a high school teacher, she leaves school and heads to NYC and Broadway, only to be faced with the reality that a girl from Arizona is but a blip in the big city. She finally takes up nannying to a family that divorces and she moves to Montana with the mom and daughter. I liked how Josie started to find out more about herself as she jumped in and out of novels. Is it magic, glasses, the park bench? Hale really wrote cute stories inside of the story to carry out her theme of growth for Josie.

I almost let the reviews deter me from this one, but it was actually enjoyable!

Sometimes it was hard to remember Josie was 18 cause this felt like a younger YA, but I think her age really helped contribute to that feeling of being in-between childhood and adulthood. I also think the backstory of how she ended up in Montana was really interesting and realistic for a lot of actors trying to make it. The story itself was funny and self aware at times. I like that the different book scenarios helped her examine her friendships and relationship with Justin. I also thought the different book plots were engaging and the comic one was especially cute.

Josie could be a tad insufferable because she was so self-important, but it was kind of funny, and I liked her growth over the course of the book. Nina was probably the best character in this book though and she was preaching for real with her advice to Josie.

The story got really fantastical toward the end which was an interesting choice, but I didn't hate it, and I liked the last chapter, so overall I had fun reading this. Was it the best piece of literature ever? No. But I would give it a try before you judge it too harshly.

This book was pretty bland, and the MC was unlikable (and there were not many supporting characters, as the plot revolves around Josie exploring her failed Broadway fantasies through magical books). I love Shannon Hale, but this book was not for me.

Going in I had no idea that this was a contemporary fantasy. I thought it was just contemporary and honestly…. it might’ve been better that way.

The magical part of the book really left me wanting. The big bad is magical, but we don’t really get the full picture of that until well, actually kinda never. There’s no explanation for where they come from, or how the magic really functions, just how they do their evil deeds. And we get to see the magic work for itself over the course of the book.

Josie is a pretty sweet character all things considered. She’s pretty mopey because she didn’t make it big when all she’d been told was that she would make it big. I think most ex-gifted kids can relate to that a little, although Josie was REALLY wallowing.

There was also an exceedingly weird almost-non-existent-but-written-in love triangle looking thing that seemed incredibly forced.

Josie’s adventures entertained me enough to keep reading, and Shannon Hale did manage to make a likeable character out of a washed-up theatre kid which I’m still impressed by.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan for the opportunity to read this ARC.