A little bit of magic and a lot of dancing.....the characters are fresh, the romance is real, but the backstory is that Evie doesn't really believe in love since her parents' divorce. She can also sometimes see how a love story will end, just by viewing a kiss. This leads to some cynicism and mistrust.

This was a book that I ended up not finishing due to lack of interest in content. For that reason I was unable to rate more than one star.

4.5⭐

My poor heart will never recover from this book... I had no idea what to expect going into this book (this is my first Nicola Yoon book!) but I definitely got more than I bargained for.

I fell in love with the premise from the moment I read it on Goodreads. I love when books explore love in unique ways and this definitely did just that.

Let's start with the characters. I loved how each and every character was flawed yet relatable and lovable. Don't be fooled by stunning, bright cover - there are a lot of a difficult things explored in here (death, cheating, etc). Nicola Yoon does such an amazing job of exploring the person behind the flaw.

The formatting was so fantastic and kept the book moving through otherwise slow parts. I loved how we got tiny glimpses of their training to mark the passage of time without having to linger there and slow down the story. It was kind of brilliant.

Also this delved into the complexity of teenage friendship. Without going into spoilers, I think a lot of people (adults and teens alike) will viscerally relate to what this group goes through.

But the real shining star of this book was, of course, the romance. Be still my heart, I adored these two. Again, no spoilers, but the way Nicola Yoon explored love and it's worth tore me apart. And I don't think I'll ever recover. I definitely cried my way through the end (and the acknowledgements).

This might have been my first Nicola Yoon book, but it definitely won't be my last!

3.5
This novel is a mixture of laughs, tears, and dancing. There is an element of magical realism which propels the main plot of the story and causes Evie a lot of uncertainty about love. She develops the “gift” to see the past and future of a relationship when she sees a couple kissing. Evie takes this into the start of her interactions with Xavier (known as X), the good-looking, “seize the day” musician she falls for. It also affects her reaction when two of her best friends, Cassidy and Sophie, start a relationship.
The joys of this novel are the friendship to budding love between Evie and X, the banter with her friends, and ultimately a ballroom dancing competition. This counterbalances the anger and frustration surrounding what she sees as the breakup of her family. Most of the romance is dating and kissing, with one fade-to-black scene described in a vision. Readers should be prepared for a bittersweet ending.

I listened to the released audiobook and in sections, read along with the e-galley. Thanks to Random House Children’s Books and NetGalley for the e-galley.
My reviews and ratings are my own.

TWs and CWs: mentions of death, infidelity, character possibly has a problem with alcohol use

I bought this to read in tandem with my teen daughter as we both love Nicola Yoon. We both loved this novel and were engrossed from the very first chapter.

Nicola Yoon, author of such teen staples as Everything, Everything and The Sun is also a Star delivers again with a novel about teens grappling with real life issues.

Evie is upset by her parents’ divorce and the changes in her life. Disenchanted by love, she decides to ditch her teen romance novels at a local LFL but meets a mysterious woman who gifts her a book on ballroom dancing.

Suddenly, Evie is able to “see” the future of romantic relationships. She is drawn to dance classes at the La Brea Dance Studio and meets the mysterious X-who just may be able to give Evie a romantic future of her own.

Inventive and realistic, this was a unique novel I’d definitely recommend!

YA is not my typical genre of favorite reading material. However, I absolutely love Nicola Yoon’s novels. Instructions for Dancing was absolutely beautiful and another winner in my book.

Evie is having a hard time after witnessing something that makes her question everything about love. But then she finds a book in an LFL and she begins to see how couple’s relationships will end after they kiss. This book is called Instructions for Dancing and it leads her to take lessons at the La Brea Dance Studio where she meets X. They begin as dance partner and maybe more?!

This book deals with teens, but these teens have real issues. Evie’s relationship with her father is very strained and it’s affecting her relationships with her sister too. X also has issues with his father, but those are more related to his choice to not finish HS and pursue music instead. I love the way the author has these mature characters with real issues, but they are only 17. I’ll read anything this author writes.

Thank you to @penguinrandomhouse, @netgalley and @nicolayoon for the gifted copy. Instructions for Dancing is out now! Also check out the Sun is also a Star, my favorite Nicola book.

4.5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

This book was so beautifully written. I love the dance aspect of it and the touch of magic with heart. Nicola Yoon does not disappoint. Pick up this book right now!

Well this one broke my heart in all of the most beautiful and heartbreakingly lovely ways. Nicola Yoon is unmatched when it comes to her ability to tell a story with heart, to explore the brutal and beautiful parts of life and still keep you hopeful. This one was worth every tear and more.

I knew going in that I was going to be happy and sad and heartbroken and in love all within the pages of this book. It's kind of Nicola's thing, and she does it PHENOMENALLY. I listened to her interview on First Draft with Sarah Enni when it came out and immediately went back and read the book again with Nicola's thoughts in mind.

The whole premise of this book, and the story of love without being a "love story" is executed so well. The magic powers? Beautiful. X? Amazing. Love him. The addition of the powers took what could have been an average contemporary YA romance and took it to the next level.

Instructions for Dancing is a young adult contemporary romance with a touch of magical realism by author Nicola Yoon. I am so incredibly excited about this book because I have been in a reading slump for a couple of weeks now, and I just haven’t been able to find anything that wowed me. I tried fantasy, I tried romance, I tried contemporary ya, nothing was doing it for me. Until I picked up Instructions for Dancing. This book grabbed me within the very first chapter. I loved this book so much. It made me laugh and it made me completely bawl! If you are a fan of emotional and heartfelt young adult, you must read Instructions for Dancing. Thank you Nicola Yoon for bringing me out of my reading slump.

In Instructions for Dancing, we meet our main character Evie. Evie’s parents are recently divorced, and Evie is pretty broken up about it because she walked in on her dad with his mistress, who he is now in a relationship with post divorce with her mom. This has made Evie pretty jaded about relationships and love in general. But when she is out donating her romance books, she get “zoltared” (like from the movie BIG) and now she has this magical ability to see the past present and future of anyone’s relationship when she sees them kiss. Seeing these couples break up reinforces her idea that love doesn’t last. But Evie’s friend Martin is determined to help her get rid of her new gift, which leads her to the local dance studio. Her she finds herself partnered up with a guy- X and they are entered in a dance competition.

I loved watching Evie and X get to know each other because they are great contracts and complements to one another. I also loved Evie’s friend group. Instructions for Dancing is such a great glimpse into the lives of teens and different kinds of relationships and love. Nicola Yoon does such a fantastic job of showcasing different relationships with all of the secondary characters, and all at different stages of life. This book is really meaningful and really heartfelt. It gave me all the feels. Even sad feels. I loved watching Evie’s relationship with the concept of love change. Instructions for Dancing is a beautifully poignant read. I loved this book and I think you will too!

I loved this book from beginning to end and have enjoyed hand-selling it in the Teen section at Politics & Prose. Yoon plays with the romance genre as a whole as she tells the story of Evie Thomas, a girl whose parent's divorce has made her cynical about love. When a visit to a wee-free library to off-load her romance book collection turns magical, Evie has the power to see the rise and fall of an entire relationship in a kiss. Her focus on the painful end of a relationship instead of the joyful beginning and middle resonated with this reader. Yoon's story felt like a gift. The ballroom dancing and enemies-to-friend love affair between Evie and X were delightful. You'll need tissues with this read, but it all the emotions are earned and we're left with hope.

This was more than just a romance story. I loved X’s philosophy of always saying “yes” and the chemistry between him and Evie worked well.

When I was in college, I had a wonderful dance professor who used to tell me that I had to learn how to “throw yourself at the ground”, by which she meant that I had to learn how to get out of my own head and my own way and throw myself full speed into what I was doing. Evie’s journey in this book encapsulates that concept, as she learns to get our of her own way and throw herself full speed into life, into love, and into possibilities…even of by “throwing herself at the ground” she risks getting hurt. Evie really felt like such a real teenager to me, on the cusp of next things and grappling with what it means to be in the middle of so much change. Even in her curmudgeonly “love is dead” ways, she is a joy to spend time with, in part because she is surrounded by such equally complex and well drawn out characters. From X, who starts as a Mysterious Loner Dude and quickly morphs into something so much more, to her tight knit friend group, to her family relationships and learning how to forgive each other even when you cannot forget what happened, to her funny (and accurate) dance teachers…the whole cast was just marvelous. Nicola Yoon paints such a vivid picture of each person and every scene that the book felt alive to me. The only thing that pulled me out of this was the “magical book” which felt like a convenient plot device that didn’t really go enough of anywhere to make me feel like it fit in with the rest of the story. I’m not sure it as needed, and the ending (specifically the epilogue) felt a little rushed to me. But these were small prices to pay for what was ultimately just such a lovely book that I will be recommending again and again to friends and students for years to come. 4.5 stars.

Thx to NetGalley for my copy!

I have read every book from this author and am so happy to add this novel to my collection! The cover is just beautiful and the story is equally enjoyable! The story sucked me in from the first page and made me never want to put down the book! I think it took me less than 48 hours to finish reading this amazing book!

A very different concept! I enjoyed this book a lot and found myself wanting to read it instead of doing things I should be doing. Nicola Yoon does it again!

I really wish I had not read reviews before reading this book. SO MANY GIVE TOO MUCH AWAY! So I will say this book was very good, so go into it with that confidence, but please don't read reviews because they'll spoil it for you without actually spoiling it for you.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

While the cover and title make it seem like this is going to be a lighthearted romance, it really is anything but. It is a story about a girl who has been through hardships and has lost her ability to believe in love. The author does a wonderful job of telling this story and getting the audience to think about whether or not falling in love, or even loving people in the non-romantic sense, is worth it, if it's likely to end in heartbreak or loss. There was a bittersweet ending I was not expecting. All in all, a story very well told.

Ever since Evie caught her dad cheating on her mom and their subsequent divorce, Evie doesn't believe in love. She gives away all her beloved romance novels, and scoffs at her sister's relationships. When Evie is unexpectedly thrown into a ballroom competition with a gorgeous boy, can she follow her heart or will cynicism get in the way of potential love?

Instructions for Dancing is a romance with a twist that will appeal to fans of Yoon's other works. The twist made the story more interesting, and the ballroom elements weren't too much for readers who don't know about dance. My only complaint is that the story wrapped up a little too quickly at the end.

I was very excited to read Nicola Yoon’s new book, as I absolutely loved her debut, Everything, Everything. Instructions for Dancing did not disappoint. It was sweet and heartbreaking, and I sobbed like a baby. Here are some favorite quotes...
“Given enough time, all love stories turn into heartbreak stories. Heartbreak = love + time.”
“I don’t know why we lose the people we love and how we’re expected to go on after we lose them. But I know that to love is human. We can’t help ourselves. The philosopher-poets say love is the answer, but it’s more than that. Love is the question and the answer and the reason to ask in the first place. It’s everything. All of it.”