Reviews - Instructions for dancing

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5.77k reviews for:

Whoa... OK, this one hurt a bit. I was expecting a nice light YA romance and this one is a lot more than that - in an amazing way! If you have ever lost someone in your life, no matter the circumstances (break up, moving away, death), then you'll relate to this one for sure. I don't wan to give much of this one away, so I'm not going into the details, but this is one of those where we go back to the age old Tennyson notion of it's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all... I really appreciated the author's note at the end as well!

Read this! And bring a tissue!

jamelyn's review against another edition

3.0

i will forget this book in three months

wolkenval's review against another edition

2.0

lighthearted sad fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

saltsandandink's review against another edition

4.0

I am not a romance reader typically. I get bored with the clichés and roll my eyes at the over-the-top descriptions of appearances and love and mushy-gushy stuff, but I have always liked Nicola Yoon's writing, so I was excited when I got an ARC copy of Instructions for Dancing.

It contains a bit of magic and a bit of romance and a bit of tragedy. Evie used to believe in true love, soulmates, and all the rest - that is until her dad cheated on her mom and they divorced. Since then, Evie hasn't believed in love at all and she decides to donate all her romance novels to the little free library. As she's placing them in the box, an older woman appears out of nowhere and insists Evie must take a book since she's donating so many. The only book in there is a dancing instruction pamphlet, which Evie begrudgingly takes. Soon after, Evie starts having visions - every time she sees a couple kiss, she sees their entire love story (beginning, the moment they fall in love, the moment she sees them kiss, and how their relationship ends). This only goes to reinforce Evie's belief that love is not worth it as it always ends in heartbreak.

Eventually, Evie meets X, and despite herself, falls for him. Every time they kiss, she closes her eyes so she doesn't see their end. Until one day, she forgets, and the brutal heartache is revealed. The big question is: will Evie agree that love is worth the heartbreak?

This is a semi-typical YA romance novel with all the sappy descriptions and insane teenage lust, BUT I was surprised by the ending, which I always appreciate. Definitely recommended for teens who are looking for a little love.