vie has sworn off romance for life after seeing your father kissing another woman while still married to her mother. The parents have sense divorced, and Evie has become more closed off to her family and friends until she meets X. She tries to not like his as they partner for a ballroom dance competition. Can Evie enjoy life in the moment instead of fearing heartbreak of the future? The book started a little slow. Once events picked up, the story turns in a swoon worthy romance! Appropriate for mature grades 7 and up.

Instructions for Dancing is one of those books you can not put down till you finish. If you could see into the future, would you do it? Especially with your relationships? Sometimes you just have to take a chance.

Nicola Yoon fans looking for her usual story-based novels with a romantic thread may have to adjust their lens a bit with Instructions For Dancing, which leans more towards a romance with a more serious undercurrent. At the same time, Yoon plays on the generic characteristics of romance novels in her clever and skilled way so that it feels fresh and very readable. Don’t worry though, Instructions For Dancing has all the YA hallmarks--handsome boy, cute, snarky girl, quirky friends, etc. Evie’s still reeling from her parents' divorce and has sworn off all romance--including her favorite books--when she realizes she has the magical power to see the end of relationships of couples in love. (Did I mention magical realism? Yeah, that, too.) All bets are off when she meets Xavier and they enter a dance contest for his grandparent studio...romance novel, remember? Yoon throws in a few twists, so things may not turn out exactly the way it seems, but readers still get all the feels they expect from her books. Although the very abrupt ending and significantly fewer pages than her last two books left me thinking she rushed to meet a publisher deadline, the honest acknowledgments revealed stress and sadness in Yoon’s personal life that made this understandable. Not Yoon’s best effort, but certainly worth the time for her fans and readers looking for something fun and well-written with themes of love vs. heartbreak, friendship, and family.

Where do I even begin?

This was quite the whirlwind of a book. Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon somehow managed to deal with the heavy topics of death and divorce while subtly weaving in themes of forgiveness and redemption.

The plot flowed nicely and all of the characters had unique personalities, which is always nice to see in a YA book. This novel also featured a diverse cast of characters along with several memorable locations. Yoon has a very visual writing style that will stick with me long after I finish writing this.

I would definitely recommend this fresh and unconventional take on young adult romance. It was a quick, clean read that I can see appealing to a wide variety of ages. Pick it up! You won’t regret it.

I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

This is a sweet, easy YA read. Nothing groundbreaking, but I also wasn't the world's biggest fan of her other two books. Would probably not purchase this with my own money, but it was good to read!

I loved this book. I couldn't stop reading it. High-school senior Evie Thomas no longer believes in romance. She thought her parents had a perfect marriage and can not forgive her father for asking for a divorce and falling in love with another woman. Determined to renounce love, she gets rid of all her romance novels. In the process, she is given a strange book, Instructions for Dancing, which not only give her the gift/curse of seeing how relationships end ( usually badly ) but also leads her to a dancing studio, a dance competition, and X, her partner. Evie must determine whether love is worth the heartbreak is can bring.

This is the first Nicola Yoon book I've read. It was lovely! The story is simple, it's about falling in love and all the heartbreak that comes with it. I love the representation in this book and the cover is so beautiful. However, I don't think the title is a good match for what this book is about. Yes, Evie does dance in it, but it isn't the main plot of this story. Dancing helps start the plot but the true meaning of this story is love.

The main character, Evie, doesn't think of love in the same way because her parents recently got divorced and her dad is getting remarried. Of course, this means in order to understand love she has to fall in love herself. In come, X (Xavier) who she ends up falling in love with.

It's a cute, heartbreaking and emotional story! :)

4.5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's for my ARC in exchange for my honest review. This book will be published on June 3, 2021.

Nicola Yoon is one of my favorite YA authors. This is the third book I’ve read by her and I will likely read anything she writes.

This was a quick, fun, happy and sad read, all in one! 18 year old Evie finds our her parents are getting a divorce and shortly thereafter discovers a superpower (leap of faith here) that she can see how relationships end if she witnesses people kissing. Her love of romance novels goes out the door so she decides to donate her books to a little free library, where she stumbles upon the book Instructions for Dancing. This leads her to a dance studio where she meets X and gets entered into a dance competition. Her ability to see how their relationship *might* end scares her as she thinks all love ends in heartbreak.

If you knew how you were going to die, would you want to know? This book challenges us to live in the moment and embrace it.

Review also posted on GoodReads.

#InstructionsforDancing

I initially had a different plan for my TBR order, but as soon as I got approval for this brand new Nicola Yoon book, all that went out the window because I had to read this as soon as possible! Yoon is a master at what she does and creating compelling contemporary YA of which I've loved both of her previous books.

Here, the main character Evie doesn't believe in love anymore after her parents' divorce. The girl who once devoured romance novels now can only see how couples' love stories end instead of the actual loved-up parts. After some fated encounters, she ends up at La Brea Dance Studio and finds herself learning to dance with the spontaneous, adventurous X. Xavier, who goes by the nickname X, is the total opposite of Evie but the two of them are thrown together to pair up for a local ballroom dance competition. As they practice together and get to know each other, she has to confront if love is really worth the risk sometimes. An emotional Yoon read that's also a dance romance, yes please!

As I read, this book is full of engaging language and I can truly get inside bookish Evie's head. There is a magical, fantastical element of sorts that explain how some things occur and connect. Overall, this doesn't feel quite like her other books, but rather something completely new and I equally love this one as much as her previous ones. The characters are relatable and authentic, too, and Evie+X has such a squeal-worthy, precious connection and romance. Then, there's a big bombshell reveal in the second act that took me totally by surprise and hit me right in the feels. This book's so vulnerable and surprisingly profound and actually made me cry. It's a beautifully written book and so authentic because, hey, not everything lasts forever but that feeling and association of love can. This book is romantic, fantastical, authentic, vulnerable, bittersweet, and heartfelt. I loved it so darn much. Yoon effortlessly blends the contemporary with the fantasy in this sweet YA read about the power of first love. This book is just so flipping good, Yoon's done it again. Brava!

Read this book in one day. Though the main character loves romance novels, this is not your typical love story.

Evie Thomas has about given up on romance when she meets a mysterious woman who changes the course of her life. We watch as Evie struggles with all of her relationships: friendships, family, and romance with the mysterious "x" all while learning to ballroom dance.

Nicola Yoon never disappoints with her YA books. As soon as I see her name, I know I have to read what she writes. The relationships is this novel were rich and well developed. And the ending will stay with the reader long after the last dance has taken place. She has another hit on her hands with Instructions for Dancing!

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the advance copy of this book. The publish date is June 1, 2021 and I am looking forward to re-reading this book then. This is going to the top of my list for best Romance and/or best YA in the GoodReads choice awards.

So very few books bring tears to my eyes. I was trying to figure out why I was tearing up; I think I was sad to have finished the book. I downloaded the pdf yesterday and listened (almost) non-stop and finished the following day. [I finally figured out how to get my iphone to convert the pdf to audio, yeah me. Siri has nothing on some of my favorite narrators, but better for me than reading.]

There is really a lot going on in this book.

Evie's parents divorced recently; Evie (a high school senior) stopped by her dad's work and walked in on Dad kissing a coworker. Oops. So in the process of purging her romance collection she obtains a superpower that allows her to see major milestones of a relationship when she observes a couple kissing. To learn more about this superpower, she agrees to dance lessons and enters a dance competition and is matched with a super hunky budding rock star.

I'm a huge Nicola Yoon fan. It has been 5 and 6 years since Everything, Everything and The Sun Is Also a Star were published. Both were amazing and still niggle around in my brain. Just love Nicola Yoon's writing.

OMG! So happy to have the opportunity to review the advance copy of Nicola Yoon's latest book, Instructions for Dancing. Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher (Random House Children's) and Nicola Yoon for the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an honest review.

I don't know why I expected a fun, light-hearted contemporary from Nicola Yoon of all people, but this book punched me right in the gut when I least expected it. I love contemporaries with a magical twist, and this was no exception. I thought it was such a cute and fun story that pulls right on your heartstrings in all the right places. One thing that rubbed me the wrong way were that there were a few odd lines interspersed throughout the book that were a little too sexualizing of the love interest for my liking, especially one that came from an adult, however, I'm not the target audience of this book so I don't know that it will bother anyone else. I'm sure when this book comes out, it will be an instant best-seller!

I read this book during yet another bout of insomnia, and I'm so so glad I did. You risk a bad ending ruining your ability to sleep, but this book, it didn't really even feel like it ended, even though I know how it'll end, because our main character sees her near future! The dancing component really wasn't a big focus, but as a non-dancer that worked for me. The complicated and messy relationships Evie has, especially with her dad and her dad's new partner, felt so real and filled out. Nicola Yoon knows how to write a book, I still can't get "The Sun Is Also a Star" out of my head and now those memories have a new buddy with scenes from "Instructions For Dancing" for me to keep it company! Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin for a chance to read it early, wow was I not disappointed!

Evie Thomas is pretty certain she doesn't believe in love anymore- not after seeing her parents split because her father had cheated on her mother. If that wasn't enough, she suddenly begins to see the future of a couple's relationship after seeing them kiss- and all she sees is heartbreak after heartbreak.

When the world seems to lead her to La Brea Dance Studio, it seems like a good way to take her mind off of all the things that have been bothering her. But when she meets X there, her determination to avoid romance may be tested sooner than she imagined.

This is another lovely story by Nicola Yoon. This one feels a little more light-hearted than its predecessors but still takes the reader on an emotional journey with Evie as she is forced to decide if she will forgive her father or shut him out, as she witnesses heartbreak, and fears her own heartaches. The little bit of magic in the story gives a fun twist on resistence to romance.

4.5 stars.

I thoroughly enjoyed this galley edition of Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon. It explores the emotional components of love- the risk, joys, losses and gains involved when one loves another. There is a mystical aspect involved as Evie has visions of the trajectory of others' love stories. This is intermingled with her feelings about her parents divorce and her father's remarriage.

A light read, time wise, with some emotional underpinnings that will definitely make you pause and think.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House/Delacourt Press for the free galley edition of this book in exchange for an honest review.

If you loved The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon, you're in for a treat, because I'm positive you're going to love this too.

It's a beautiful YA romance that delves into the question of if love is worth it if you know it will end - does the happiness outweigh the pain when it's over? I think this is a question a lot of people struggle with, and it's one that's raised for the main character when her dad cheats on her mum and they get divorced. Then she starts seeing the course of people's relationships, including the ending, when she sees them kiss, which leads to a journey of character development that I think was so well crafted. In the end, this is a melancholical but uplifting story.

2.5 stars— I was actually really enjoying this one for the most part! I finished it all in one go because I found the characters to be charming and cute. But I just really wasn’t a fan of the twist. I didn’t come into this expecting to leave a broken mess and though the overall message is nice, it’s not something I particularly enjoyed. But other than the ending it was a good book!

What a remarkable story! Dynamic characters like Evie...I love her character. How would you feel if you could see how a relationship starts and ends? WHAT?! An interesting premise that kept me involved the whole time. My heart went on an emotional rollercoaster the entire time. I highly recommend to this who loves a new, fresh YA novel.

This is exactly the kind of hopeful gem we need in 2021! Nicola Yoon writes wonderfully complex female protagonists (I saw some similarities between Evie and Natasha from "The Sun Is Also a Star"), and she handles the pain of divorce and second love with sensitivity and grace. Even the acknowledgments made me tear up!

My mind right now... it’s just so much to take in.

Evie Thomas is still suffering from her parent’s divorce. She doesn’t find the joy she used to in reading romances and she doesn’t believe in love, period.
All of a sudden she’s able to see couples' futures and how their love will end: death, distance, loss of love, etc.
This freaks her out and she goes on a journey of “going with the flow” to get rid of this new power! THIS BRINGS US TO X (we unconditionally love X. He’s perfect in all ways btw).

Guys. . . this story was beautiful. I was definitely gasping for air at 3am whilst crying by the end.

Instructions for Dancing makes you think about choices that, when asked, have a very obvious answer but, when having to live through it, suddenly aren’t so simple anymore.

My brain and heart are still slightly recovering so if you could just give me a minute to heal and go snatch this book on it’s publication date (JUNE 1ST, 2021!!!!!!), thanks.

Obviously I’m a huge fan of Nicola Yoon so I was over the moon to find out that she’s releasing a new book! WHOOP WHOOP!!