The Quick Cut: A young woman stops believing in love ends up in a dance competition, falling for her partner.

A Real Review:
Thank you to Delacorte Press for providing the ARC for an honest review.

As much as it may hurt to hear, love for the most part ends in break. Being with someone means opening up and being honest about what you want in the future. For a girl named Evie, she learns to love again when something unexpected happens.

Evie stopped believing in love the moment her parents split up. After finding out her dad cheated on her mom, she decides to get rid of all her romance books and move on. Except she ends up picking up a book on dancing and a new ability to see how love with play out with couples nearby. Will this new ability and book end up with her heart on the line again?

This is a cute story about a girl who gives up on love when love won't give up on her. As heartbreaking as the story can be, I definitely did finish this one with a smile on my face though. You absolutely need to check your reality meter at the door though.

Evie starts the story feeling betrayed and she has every reason to. Your father just betrayed your mom and upended your entire life. Plus as a teen? Oh yeah, she angled in hard on the betrayal angle. At moments it did feel slightly cartoonish. The upside is that you do get to see her go through the whole range of emotions from rejecting love to accepting that it comes with good and bad.

Fifi the dance instructor is easily my favorite character in the book. Over the top in style and character, she has some of the best lines. I couldn't help but laugh every time she had a new zinger. If she was real, I would take dance lessons for sure.

A cute contemporary that will pull your heart strings.

My rating: 3.5 out of 5

📚 Review: Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon

Thank you @netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Nicola Yoon is the queen of the twist, plot twist, knife twist in the heart, casual, right?

Instructions for Dancing is NOT your typical YA rom com, it’s filled with hope and doubt, making choices, finding silver linings, and taking chances. It’s about forgiveness and living in the moment even when everything you’ve experienced begs you to stay cautious.

Evie drops all her romance novels in a little free library because she’s given up on love. If her parents couldn’t make it work, if her dad decided he could leave her, well then she’ll be better off alone. After a strange interaction at the library, she ends up with a book titled, “Instructions for Dancing” which leads her to a dance studio and X. Xavier is in a rock band, a high school drop out, and the way he looks *really, really good* reminds Evie why it’s important she stay away from him. Until they end up dancing — together.

Will Evie open up to X? Will she speak to her father again? Will her mom be okay? Why does Danica get to believe dad just left — and why is she okay with that anyway? What will happen to her friendships with Martin, Sophie, and Cassidy when the looming graduation comes?

These questions could end in hope or heartbreak, but you’ll have to read this magical story to find out. But be forewarned, the queen of twist does NOT disappoint. Take that as you will, my friends, and order “Instructions for Dancing” today!

5⭐️s

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book! I will be posting my review on social media, to include Instagram, Amazon, Goodreads, and Storygraph!

4.5 rounded up. I love Nicola Yoon. This was one of the most exciting ARCs I’ve received.

This is written so well (no surprise). This will challenge and affirm your heart.. break it and show you, you can handle it. You can handle what comes your way, and it will all maybe probably come your way somehow or another. The grief and hurt is written clearly, but more importantly so is the love. The harmony of the many beautiful-sad threads in life sings in this one.

I was skeptical about the magical realism but it was just a smidgen, a dashing, and it totally worked. It was just the amount for this book to work without jolting me from the plot and being unbelievable. I was relieved and impressed by that.

Rounded up to 5 stars because— I wanted more, and that’s always a feat.
Because black grandparents love rep is GORGEOUS and I didn’t even know how much I needed that and it made me cry.
Because quirky sweet friend group. And queer (F/F).
Because MCs black kids just being kids and living life and so matter of fact normal and no huge scary or racist moment. This is needed!! Important!! this!!!!
Because dancing!
And finally, because the MCs love had actual chemistry.. I’ve been reading so many books recently where that piece has been so flat.
This one got it right.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Evie used to love the idea of love. She treasured all her romance novels and believed in true love, just like her parents. When her parents divorce, Evie is devastated and decides to give away all her romance books. When she does, she meets a mysterious woman who takes her books and gives her a book called "Instructions for Dancing". This book leads her to a dance studio and a handsome stranger X. To help the dance studio, her and X enter a ballroom dancing competition. At the same time, Evie begins to get visions of the entire love stories of people, including heartbreak. As grows closer to X, she has to decide if love is worth fighting for.

This was a very sweet yet heart wrenching book. Evie is such a likable character and her and X had chemistry right away. This was a good mix of a love story but also dealt with family issues such as cheating and divorce and friend issues such as growing apart and moving away. At times, this was a fun light read and at other times it was truly heartbreaking. This will definitely appeal to fans of Yoon's other books who have been waiting for a new work from her. I highly recommend for romance fans of all stripes.

Welcome back Nicola Yoon! For those of you that devoured Everything, Everything and The Sun is Also a Star (like me!), you should be very excited about Instructions for Dancing. With a touch of magical realism and of course, a mediation on love and grief, I was unable to put this book down and read it in one sitting.

Instructions follows Evie, a teenager who was once a hopeless romantic with a book collection to match, now a newly minted cynic after her parents’ divorce. She meets a cute rocker boy, X while learning to dance and well... starts to open back up. The pace in this book is fast — it almost feels like a montage of scenes throughout Evie’s senior year, but it always lingers in the most important moments.

Evie’s relationship with her parents (particularly her dad) seemed spot-on for a child of divorce, and figuring out how to navigate their new relationships and find forgiveness and family. While Yoon is great at sweeping and meaningful statements on love, she is also great at leaving certain strands unfinished, as they would be in real life. There are not always simple answers nor perfect happiness. As Evie says midway thru the book - “Happiness is tricky. Sometimes you have to fight for it. Sometimes, though—the best times—it sneaks up behind you, wraps an arm around your waist and pulls you close.”

The surrounding characters in this book are plentiful and wonderful — I always feel like Yoon tends to focus on the main couple, so this feels like a standout in terms of a fully realized cast, including Evie’s friends, sister, and dance instructor (among others!). I know absolutely nothing about dance but loved the process of Evie learning all of the different ballroom styles (especially the tango, of course!). Prepare yourself for a gut punch of emotions in the last few pages, and then read it all again!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an early review copy, all opinions are my own.

I loved this book and I love this author. The premise was unique and was used in a creative way. For me, I kept coming back to the length of love. Is it worth it if it’s for a day, a week , a lifetime? It’s an interesting concept. Especially if you’ve been burned a few times.
This theme is true for all the loves in our life. Our parents, siblings, friends and lovers. Especially in this time of COVID, are we sharing our love or holding back.?
Now add in dancing, witty dialogue and a budding romance. I couldn’t put it down.
Enjoy!

So cute. You’ll cry a bit but not out of sadness (well not only in sadness) I would recommend for grades 8 and up and for adults who don’t need sex in their romance books!

This is by far my favorite novel written by Nicola Yoon. This is a beautiful story that will stay with me and impact the way I look at the world. Evie is a sassy, smart protagonist who learns some valuable life lessons that everyone can relate to. There will be multiple copies of Instructions for Dancing in my high school library :)

“‘You have any philosophies I should know about?’
Does 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘶𝘺𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳𝘴 count as a philosophy?”
— 𝐼𝓃𝓈𝓉𝓇𝓊𝒸𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝒟𝒶𝓃𝒸𝒾𝓃𝑔, Nicola Yoon

Rating: 💧💧💧💧💧/5

After her parents divorce, Evie Thomas doesn’t believe in love. She’s taking her conviction so seriously that she decides to purge herself of all of her favorite novels - the contemporary romance ones. When dropping the last bunch off at a Little Free Library, Evie encounters a woman who somehow gives her the power to see how couple’s love stories play out - and ultimately end in heartbreak. In an attempt to discover how she can rid herself of the visions, Evie ends up at a dance studio where she’s somehow roped into entering a dance competition with the owner’s hot grandson. X. Evie does everything she can to ignore the attraction to X, but the more time they spend together, the more she realizes that maybe the end isn’t as important as the possibility of loving someone and embracing your time with them.

Nicole Yoon is such an insanely talented writer. She’s an auto-read author for me. This book was funny and adorable. It was also a poignant reminder to enjoy every last second like it’s your last and to always, always choose love. I absolutely adored every single character, and the relationship between Evie and X is EVERYTHING. Highly recommend grabbing this one when it comes out on June 1!

𝕋𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕜 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕡𝕦𝕓𝕝𝕚𝕤𝕙𝕖𝕣, 𝕒𝕦𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕣, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 ℕ𝕖𝕥𝕘𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕖𝕪 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔸ℝℂ 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕠𝕡𝕡𝕠𝕣𝕥𝕦𝕟𝕚𝕥𝕪 𝕥𝕠 𝕣𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕓𝕠𝕠𝕜 𝕓𝕖𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕡𝕦𝕓𝕝𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟!

I'll be honest, I was hesitant to pick Instructions for Dancing up. My history with Nicola Yoon is typically that I'm so enamored by her writing that I will rate the book high and then drop the rating after I think about the story longer. However, it has been about a week since I've completed Instructions for Dancing and I am still just as much in love with it as when I completed the magical story.

Instructions for Dancing revolves around high school senior Evie Thomas who has completely given up on the idea of love after witnessing the her father cheating on her mother. However, after trying to get rid of all of her romance books, she discovers that she has the ability to watch the story of a couples relationship when they kiss. Fueled by a desire to end this ability, she is led to La Brea Dance Studio and handsomely charming X.

Staying in her same easy to read and quick paced style, Yoon creates some of the most down to earth characters she's yet to write. It was very easy to sit down and become invested in their personal lives. Yoon also isn't afraid to depict real life in all of its complexity and earnestness.

The one issue I do have with this book was the abruptness in which 1/4th of this book happens at. A major plot twist ushers us into new themes that bring up some interesting conversations that Evie is grabbling with, but less care is given to the last 10 pages of the book than the rest.

Overall, this book hit me in all the right places, making me laugh, think, and even get emotional. While probably closer to a 4.5 than a 5, I still deeply enjoyed Evie's journey from start to finish.

“Happiness is tricky. Sometimes you have to fight for it. Sometimes, though-the best times- it sneaks up behind you, wraps an arm around your waist and pulls you close.”

This is my third Nicola Yoon book and I’ve loved every one of them. You will need to keep the tissues handy for this one. Yoon explores topics of love and loss and all the feelings that come with it. I felt like I was having a conversation with an aunt or a wise loved one about love and that even though it hurts sometimes it is worth it.

I ate this book up in only a few sittings with the majority being one sitting. I was very emotional throughout the book at Evie grew as a character and learned more about love and the loss of love.

I loved all the characters - even the ones we only meet briefly. This is a new favorite book of mine.

I am a big fan of Everything, Everything and even more crazy about The Sun is also a star. So seeing Nicola Yoon was writing something new I immediately jumped at the chance to read it. Instructions for dancing was truly a unique yet kind of sad read. Evie witnesses her father's infidelity which led to her parents divorce. She then begins to stop believing in love. And after giving her romance books to a strange woman she meets on a corner; the lady gives her a book titled Instructions for Dancing. She discovers she has a newly formed curse (or power) where she can see the beginning of someone's love story and the end when they kiss. Her philosophy begins to change when she meets X. X is passionate, free and happily wants to dance with Evie at a dance competition. But can Evie take a risk on becoming closer to X even though she continues witness heartbreaks, will her philosophy change in believing love is not being real? Or will she learn that even if something doesn't last, doesn't mean it wasn't worth it. I found Evie's character arc really well crafted. Even though I wouldn't say this book has a happy ending which I prefer when it comes to any romance.) I still really appreciated reading this book and continue to be impressed with the intriguing stories Nicola Yoon continue to put out.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Review will be posted closer to publication date

I loved this book! It tackles complex family issues as well as the value of love as a journey, rather than a forever destination. I will definitely be purchasing a copy for my classroom as I think students will enjoy it!

I loved The Sun Is Also A Star, so I had high hopes for Nicola Yoon's third book. Instructions for Dancing is amazing, heartbreaking, emotional, and hopeful.

What I love most about Nicola Yoon's books is that they're about love in many forms. In Instructions for Dancing, Evie is struggling with finding out that her father is in love with another woman, so she decides to get rid of all of her romance books. She meets a mysterious person, and after, she starts to see every part of people's relationships anytime they kiss. With this newfound ability, Evie goes through a journey of learning what love is all about.

During this journey, Evie starts taking dance lessons. Her teacher partners her with Xavier, known as X, for a dancing competition. I greatly enjoyed seeing Evie and X fall in love. One of the running themes of this novel is that dancing and music can bring people together in ways you don't expect.

Nicola Yoon is amazing at writing about life, and how the big moments and "little" moments all impact us as people. Instructions for Dancing asks us to confront the power of love in our own lives. Overall, I left this novel feeling like love is one of the most special journeys we can make.

Nicola Yoon has a special way of breaking your heart while still giving you hope. Evie is a cynic. She doesn't believe in love or happy endings. And she has good reason not to. But then she's given a gift...or a curse: to see how the entire course of a relationship. How can she fall in love when she knows that it's going to end with her heartbroken? How can she let her friends fall in love? Her family? Throw in ballroom dancing and X, her dancing partner, and now Evie really must learn how to fall in love. Will she let herself?

I could not put this down. I devoured it. I was at 15% then I blinked and was nearly done. This was a cute, YA romance. I loved Evie and X so much. I loved their personalities, their banter, and their connection. And the whole concept of meeting your significant other while ballroom dancing and doing it together? Swoon. That is my DREAM in another life.

I'm not sure how to share my thoughts on this while also not spoiling it, but I'll try my best. This book made me happy, it made me mad, and it made me sad. Evie made me so upset, why would you waste so much time!? And while the ending wasn't exactly what I expected, it worked and I am content.

Not the light YA novel I was expecting, but instead a tender and philosophical look at love and loss in all its forms. After her parents divorce, Evie acquires the ability to see visions of the future, namely key moments in a given relationship. The age old ‘is it better to have loved and lost..’ or ‘would you make the same choices if you could see how it ends’ aren’t exactly original, but I was touched by Evie’s emotional journey through such a turbulent time and the cast of characters kept the story fun and prevented the platitudes from taking over.

Another delight from Nicola Yoon. There is a bit of a magical element here which I won't give away too much, but it is fun, and helps you to understand the main character's cynicism about love a bit more. I appreciate that while the love story is sweet (I mean, this is Yoon's forte after all), the friendships are also true, funny, and empowering. This one reads faster than her other novels--I found it light and fun--so a perfect weekend or evening getaway.