Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon has reached an impeccable balance of dedicated friendships, unexpected romance, coming of age, and personal growth. The heroine, Evie, is a senior in high school trying to face the challenges that the divorce of her parents has caused in her world. Her dad was her rock and she found him cheating on her mom. Evie was a huge romance book fan and now believes that love is unattainable.

Evie has an unexpected meeting when she donates all of her previously beloved romance books. She is given an unexpected gift or perhaps even a curse depending on your viewpoint. Evie has a great support system of true blue friends that are worried about her. In the midst of her trying to navigate her new normal she meets X and ends up becoming his partner in an important dance contest.

Nicola Yoon has created a world where the characters are fully fleshed out and perfectly imperfect. This is not pegged as a love story and is far from a happily ever after, but what it is is a true literary gift. I am not the target YA audience but I have loved her other two books so I was eager to read Instructions for Dancing.

This book provides the perfect blend of magical realism, amusing hijinks, and pushing away your previously held beliefs. The gyrations between Evie and X will have you rooting that they can find their own happily ever after, but it is far from a sure thing. Instructions for Dancing met all of my must haves by engaging the reader, tugging at my heartstrings, and keeping me guessing.

I was provided a free advance reader copy from Random House Children’s Delacorte Press in exchange for my honest review on Net Galley. The opinions shared in this review are my own.

Wow – I have loved all Nicola Yoon’s books but to me this one packed even more of an emotional punch than Everything, Everything or The Sun is Also a Star.

Yvette “Evie” Thomas is cynical about love since the break-up of her parents’ marriage. She’s even ditching all her favorite romance books at a Little Free Library! A mysterious woman urges her to take a book in return. The only one there is about ballroom dancing, so Evie takes that. Afterwards, she can see the romantic future of couples she sees kissing, a power that makes her feel even more pessimistic about love.

Since I was a kid, I’ve LOVED books in which characters have magical Freaky Friday-style experiences that turn their lives upside-down. So I really enjoyed this aspect of the book, and the mini-chapters that chronicled the romances of the couples that Evie sees.

But then Evie, desperate to undo this strange and disturbing power, ends up at a local dance studio. She receives a free lesson and, before she knows its, she’s entering dance competitions with the attractive grandson of the studio’s owners. As Evie falls in love herself, all her cynicism about romance will be challenged.

Instructions for Dancing had a lot of elements: Evie’s family relationships, her friend group, her visions, and the dance lessons and competitions. The ending was not what I was expecting. But I definitely recommend Instructions for Dancing!

Instructions for Dancing had me when I saw the main character;'s name was Evie. What can I say? I'm biased.

This book was a true delight, and although the first lines say that the book is not a love story, I would beg to disagree. It was a love story, in that it was about learning to love, even when it's scary, even when you could get hurt, it was about loving in the moment. It was platonic and romantic. The love between a parent and child, between lovers, and between friends.

Yoon wrote a book that pulled at my heartstrings, showed vulnerability, and created joy. And it all felt real--the loss after feeling betrayed, the pain from the loss of love, but still remembering all the tender, sweet moments from when you were in love.

One of my favorite lines was from Evie's mom: "You think because your father and I didn't last, our love was any less real? Once a upon a time, your father and I loved each other enough to make you and your sister. That alone makes all the other nonsense worth it."

What a very real way to say, no matter what happens, what you have in the moment is still real, and true, and doesn't make the love anything less than love.

Nicola Yoon knows how to write swooping, sweet stories about teenagers; her newest venture, Instructions for Dancing, is wonderful. Evie is a sympathetic and believable character who is wrestling with some Big Things, and her story is one of heartbreak and redemption and (*extremely Huey Lewis voice*) the power of love.

I was not emotionally prepared for this lovely, heartbreaking, uplifting book! First of all, the plot is just adorable. Evie used to love romance novels, but after her parents' divorce, her heart is hardened and her belief in love is all but gone. As she dumps her romance books into a little free library, she finds a weird book that leads her to dancing lessons and to a hot dancing partner that will put her feelings about love to the ultimate test. I will leave it at that but I loved it just as much as The Sun is Also A Star. Evie is hilariously snarky and stubborn, her dancing instructor is classic, and the story is so touching.

Nicola Yoon has done it again. Reading her words get better with every book.
I want to say “don’t go into this expecting a fairytale because my heart hurts.” However, even with the hurt this was still a fairytale. Evie felt so much pain during this book from beginning to end, but she learned so much about herself and love.

I truly enjoyed Evie and X. I think the lesson Evie learned was inspiring.

“Maybe the whole point of love is to make more of itself.”

Nicola Yoon’s highly anticipated novel, Instructions For Dancing does not disappoint. It is where we meet high school senior Evie who is grappling with more than she should have to. Her father and mother have recently divorced (Evie caught him cheating—ouch). Evie and sister Danica are forced to leave their family home for an apartment with their mom and a future that she could not be prepared for. In protest, Evie parts ways with any previous notions of love, romance and happiness and even goes so far as to pack up her favorite romance novels to give away. It is then, on an otherwise normal day, something extraordinary happens. She runs into a woman who encourages her to take a book as she leaves her own behind. After hesitating, she picks up book titled, “Instructions For Dancing”. Considering it a “sign” of sorts, Evie returns the book to its rightful owner, a dance studio where she signs up for a random class that changes her life forever. It is here that she will meet X, her assigned dance partner who will help show her the power of ‘YES’ and that not all love affairs end in heartbreak.

This is not simply a romance novel. It is also a coming of age story about a young woman who is trying to find her place among friends and family and have her faith in love restored. Who has come to know heartache but in time does not allow it to define her. It is also a story about dancing and flowing and sometimes just simply being and enjoying the here and now and I enjoyed it very much. There were quite a few layers unpeeled.

4.5 stars rounded up! Let me just say that I read books oftentimes cover to cover and her acknowledgement section — grab your tissues!! I know I did!

Thanks to NetGalley & Random House Children’s for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest

4/5 Stars

** I received this as an E-ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review, Thank you!**

I really had a great time reading this book. I loved reading about Evie's life and her cynical view of love. I think it's an accurate view that people go through after they've been hurt. Her story is very relatable and realistic. I love the magical element that these visions play with. It was really interesting and I feel like it really added something great to the book. I would highly recommend this book, it gave me all the feels and was quick and easy to read. Honestly, this might be my favorite Nicola Yoon book yet!

This is magical realism. Let me make this clear. I was not informed of this before I went into this book, so I was thoroughly baffled and just pissed off when the magical realism aspect kicked in. Basically (don't worry this happens within the first five chapters, and the chapters are short, so it's not a spoiler), Evie looked at her sister, Danica, and her boyfriend kissing, and she got a flash of how they met and what will happen with their relationship in the future. She predicts everything exactly, that Ben, Danica's boyfriend, cheats on her with his ex. Every single detail was exactly on point. I was disappointed at this point. It was just so unrealistic. I was disappointed. But then, I found out that this was magical realism. And everything made so much more sense.

I was informed that this book would wrench my heart out and shatter it. Sorry, but it didn't. Yeah, there was a sad scene, but it didn't really get to me and make me emotional. So, from my perspective, if you want a sad, sobbing romance, this book is not the one you should go for.

Instructions for Dancing is not devoid from tropes. Nope, definitely not. No, no, no. In the past, I feel like I could just ignore tropes and enjoy the book, but since then, I've read so many more books, that I just can't help but notice them and be annoyed by them. Instructions for Dancing has almost every little YA contemporary romance trope that exists. X is a hot boy. He's perfect at everything. Wow, amazing calf muscles and abs. Smirks and cocks eyebrow a lot... yeah, all of those and more. If you hate tropes, then, well, maybe this isn't right for you.

"The problem with broken hearts isn't that they kill you. It's that they don't."


So far, this review has mostly focused on the bad aspects, but there are so many good things about this book. More, or else I wouldn't have rated this book four stars. The magical realism part added a lot to the book. It did really add something special. The whole premise is amazing, as well. The synopsis only covers half of the whole premise.

The romance overall is comforting, and how Evie narrates is special. She talks about heartbreak and brings so many situations up in a different perspective than how I would view them. It's some great insight and writing style.


This book teaches you about the journey of love, if it's worth the pain or not. Is it about the ending or the expedition? How do we cope with heartbreak and loss?

Instructions for Dancing is a great YA contemporary romance (not unique, though) that has great, funny humor (though I unfortunately didn't laugh out loud). I would recommend this for sure, even though the ending and many events are predictable.

I adored this book! I had very little expectations for this book, it appealed to me because I am currently obsessed with dancing, so I thought it would be a cute YA to sink my teeth into. However, it is a really strong book for which i totally fell for. The characters are adorable, the story is heart wrenching and moving and of course I loved all the dancing. But more than that it was unpredictable and clever in its handling of her visions and what could be a gimmick that is weird to understand is quite beautiful. Totally my type of book and would definitely recommend you read it.

Book: INSTRUCTIONS FOR DANCING by Nicola Yoon

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Release Date: June 1, 2021
Publisher: Delacorte Press
ISBN-13: 978-1524718961

Position in Bibliography: This is Nicola Yoon’s third novel.

Numbered Pages: 289
Chapters: 60
Word Count: Approx. 61,000 words

Jacket Design: Neil Swaab
Jacket Lettering: Jyotirmayee Patra
Interior Design: Ken Crossland
Text Font: 12-point Adobe Garamond

Audiobook Run Time: 7 hours and 48 minutes (Unabridged)
Audiobook Narrator: Narrated by Bahni Turpin

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Setting: Los Angeles
Tense: Present Tense
Point of View (POV): First Person
Themes/Subjects: Love, Heartbreak, Infidelity, Divorce, Trust, Forgiveness, Racism, Relationships, Endings, Choices

Triggers: Grief, Death

Purchase: Bookshop I Barnes & Noble I IndieBound I Amazon
Add it to Goodreads: Here

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Synopsis:

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?

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Dedication: “For my mom, who is still smiling despite it all. And for my father-in-law, who smiled through it all.”
Find the Acknowledgements: End of Book

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Cover Blurb:

“Nicola Yoon knows how to make you fall in love.” – Jasmine Guillory, New York Times bestselling author

Jacket Copy Blurbs:

“Beautifully crafted.” – People

“Gorgeous and lyrical.” – The New York Times Book Review

“Fresh, moving.” – Entertainment Weekly

“Vibrant, thrilling, and, ultimately, wholly original.” – Bustle

“Heartwarming and inventive.” – Mashable

“Powerful, lovely, heart-warming.” – Jennifer Niven, #1 New York Times bestselling author of ALL THE BRIGHT PLACES

“Extraordinary.” – Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times bestselling author of SMALL GREAT THINGS

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Characters + Identifiers (In Order of Named Appearance):

Yvette “Evie” Antoinette Thomas – High school senior, warm complexion, high round cheeks, full pink lips (p. 20)

Mom – Single Mom, ER Nurse, short Afro (page 3), tall and straight (p. 200)

Dad / Larry Thomas – Afro with some gray in it, mustache with some gray in it (p. 153-154)

Danica “Dani” – Evie’s Sister, Jamaican (p. 5), enormous Afro, bright glittery makeup and vintage clothes (p. 9), same warm complexion, high round cheeks, full pink lips as sister but more dramatically on her (p. 20)

Martin – One of Evie’s Best Friends, 18-years-old, white, curly blond hair that grows faster than he can cut it (26)

Sophie – One of Evie’s Best Friends, Mixed – Black French Mom & Korean American Dad (p. 54)

Cassidy – One of Evie’s Best Friends, White (p. 54)

Grandma

Grandpa

Ben – Danica’s Boyfriend, white, tall, muscled, long and messy blond hair (p. 10)

Dwayne – Evie’s First Boyfriend

Shelley – Sheldon’s Girlfriend

Sheldon – Shelley’s Boyfriend

Dwight – Joel’s Boyfriend

Joel – Dwight’s Boyfriend

Mr. Armstrong – U.S. History Teacher

Archibald Johnson – La Brea Dance studio co-owner, Maggie’s husband, Black (p. 37), tall, thin, bald head, salt and pepper mustache (p. 40)

Maggie Johnson – La Brea Dance studio co-owner, Archibald’s wife, Black (p. 37), regal, thick gray dreads, bright brown face (p. 40)

Jess – X’s Ex-Girlfriend

Xavier “X” Darius Woods – Archibald & Maggie’s Grandson, 18 years old (p. 223), Guitarist & Singer for X Machine, Brown skin, dark eyes and cheekbones, gratuitously tall, long skinny dreads dripped in blue, giant hands (p. 44), tattoo on the back of his biceps (p. 45), small gap between his front teeth, hipster-hot (p. 46), nice calves that are wide and muscular with just a modicum of hair(p. 67), eyes are bright black (p. 159)

Archer – Danica’s New Boyfriend

Fiona “Fifi” Karapova – Dance Instructor, White, tiny, severely cut jet-black bangs (p. 38), heavy Eastern European accent (p. 39)

Clay – X’s Late Friend, Former Bassist for X Machine

Jamal – X’s Friend, Drummer for X Machine, taller than X (p. 101)

Kevin – X’s Friend, Keyboardist turned Bassist for X Machine

Ricky – Owner of Ricky’s Club, thick English accent, white, short, mohawk, covered in tattoos (p. 98)

Shirley – Evie’s Father’s Fiancée, short and curvy, big & wild Afro (p. 200)

Bob – Mom’s Date, Oncological Pediatrician

Aunt Collette – Dad’s Older Sister

Denise – Evie’s Cousin, Collette’s Daughter

Ms. Gene – Shirley’s Mother

Dr. Bob – Mom’s New Boyfriend

Kevin – X’s Friend

Jamal – X’s Friend

Olivia Cortez – Valedictorian

Principal Singh – Bevshire High School Principal

Uncle Allan

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Fun Facts:

There are pop culture references to Peter Tosh, Jimmy Cliff, Big, Swing Time, Mad Hot Ballroom, Alicia Keys, Emily Dickinson, Edgar Allan Poe, Abba, The Roxy, Whisky a Go Go, Bob Marley and the Wailers, George Benson, Jane’s Addiction, The Doors

This might be my favorite Nicola Yoon book yet. I love how creative Yoon is with her romance concepts, and this was wonderfully written. Instructions for Dancing is a realistic, heartfelt ode to the abstraction of love itself and I heartily recommend it!

Nicola Yoon does it again with another impeccably told YA story about love. I adored the different variables in this story of being able to see the ending of other's love stories and how the main character worked through them.

Nicola’s writing just gets better and better. This book like all her others has relevant topics that many youth can relate to. Evie is living through her parents rocky divorce and worse is she caught her dad with another women. This changes Evie’s perspective on relationships. She once swooned over romance novels and love stories. Now she does not believe in happily ever after. Is love worth it if it only ends In heartache in the end?
💃🏻🕺🏽👠
This book makes you think about how you live your life and the view you take on life can in the end change your experience. This story weaves topics in a swoon worthy story that builds and will leave you impacted and still lingering over the last pages for days.
💃🏻🕺🏽👠
I definitely cried at the end of this one. This story has a magical twist that keeps the story moving quickly. I could not wait to read what Evie would see next. I highly recommend Instructions for Dancing! 5 out of 5 stars.

I loved this book so much! Everything about it was perfect. I loved Evie and her crew, especially Martin. He was such a great friend to Evie. And X was just the best! 🥰 I immediately connected with these characters and just fell in love with all of them.

I really love Yoon’s writing. I loved both her previous books, but this one is def my favorite so far. Yoon did such a good job incorporating magic into this contemporary story. I don’t always like magical realism but this book had just the right amount.

If you are looking for a YA contemporary romance to fall in love with this summer Instructions for Dancing is the book for you!!

Loved this book! I love the breakdown of the romance genre tropes and heroic types. It was easy to root for X and Evie as a couple. But what I really enjoyed about this book is the overall idea that it’s the middle that matters.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this digital arc in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

If you are looking for a read to start your summer off with, I definitely recommend Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon, even if romance isn’t your usual read. This one got me… on multiple levels. Look, I walked into this book ready for a romance. I walked away from this book with a new philosophy on life. No, I am not being dramatic. Nicola Yoon literally had me looking at life differently after I finished the book. 

Honestly, it felt like romance is the side character. The main attraction of this book is actually the grief the main character, Evie, is working through after the divorce of her parents. She catches her dad in the act of cheating and her world is blown away because of it. A girl, in her senior year, who loved reading romance novels so much that she has them categorized, is thrown into a state of disillusionment. What is the point of love if it always ends in heartbreak? 

Enter, a random book on dancing instruction from a little free library and a mysterious lady ala Zoltar in the Tom Hanks movie Big. Now our MC suddenly has the power to see the beginning, middle and end of a couple’s love story just by seeing them kiss. The plot thickens and Evie ends up at a dance studio and meets soon-to-be love interest, X.

I came for… the romance and dancing. People often think the tango is risqué but that bachata is dangerous too when you do it right.

I stayed for… the complexity of the main character and how she processed her parent’s divorce. 

Why I picked it up: Let’s not lie to ourselves...the cover is absolutely gorgeous! Plus it makes me want a blue raspberry slurpee every time I look at it. 

Hot Cocoa Moments: Fifi the dance instructor is hilarious!

honestly, i don't have the best track record with Nicola Yoon books in the past, i dnfed the sun is also a star and just hated everything everything, so i didn't have high hopes with this book. i mean, i really liked this book, since it just felt so emotional and raw and just really good and i honestly really liked the plot and the characters.

honestly, i really liked the whole premise of Evie seeing how people got together and also how they broke up. like i honestly thought it was so cool to see the break up, since i don't think i've ever really read a book like that, so i thought it was just so cool. and i mean, i feel like seeing how everyone broke up added so much into the story and it just added so much more depth to the romances. only got like 4, with people had their own chapters and to have actual plot with them. but, i mean, there definitely was a couple chapters were they were talking about the whole visions. but, i still wish we got to see more visions and got more than just the important people in her life, and maybe more strangers.

i also kind of liked that this wasn't your typical HEA romance book. like, i feel like a lot of romance books have these HEA and after the book, everything is supposed to be okay and nothing bad is ever going to happen to break them up. but, i really liked that this book showed and really told you that it isn't always happy and sunshine and roses after the book, and once you fall in love, your going to be happy forever. so, i really liked that we got to see that everything isn't going to be happy forever. and i mean, it being a more of a bittersweet story, i feel like it added so much. like, for me, i think that it was just so amazing that it was bittersweet and that we got to see it. like i already said, i feel like to much of YA books are happy, so having this book be more bittersweet was so much more cool and i really enjoyed it not being that adorable and cheesy. since there is so much that are very cute and happy, so having it be bittersweet really worked.

but, with that being said, i do wish we got to see more dancing plot. like, i feel like it was such a big part of this story, hell it even is in the title. so, i do wish that we got to see more of them dancing and also just to see them starting to dance or just to see them falling in love while they dance and i think that would be so cool because not many books have a lot of plot with dancing, or any books anything like this.

This book was spectacular. I loved all the characters. And I liked the realistic elements a lot. This was a beautifully written book.

This book reminded me of that saying it is better to love and lost then to never have loved at all. I think that is a really good quote for this book. The main character is dealing with the idea not to take a chance on love since her dad had an affair. And let me tell you sometime love sucks. You give it your all but its just not enough and that love leaves. And then you are left a fraction of yourself, hollowed out, and stripped of a part of you.

This book is like that in parts it was kind of hopeless but also inspiring. The writing style was interesting as you are kind of on the outside looking in. It was definitely a different feel to a love story. But overall it really worked out. I loved the story and its characters.