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lennie_reads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Thanks to NetGalley & Penguin Random House for my ARC.
I feel like this book is different to Yoon's others. Maybe it's because of the reasons stated in the author's note (which made me tear up tbh) but it wasn't quite what I was expecting.
We meet Evie as she is still coming to terms with her parents divorce and subsequently has lost all her belief in love. She goes to donate all of her romance books and is given a book in return (Instructions for Dancing) by an unusual old lady. From that day on she can she the trajectory of people's relationship when she sees them kiss. This results in her seeing a Lot of heartbreak and only furthering her belief that people who fall in love are basically stupid.
I did like Evie but she could be very naive and also kind of arrogant in her attitude to love and people who entered into relationships sometimes. She's 17/18 and thinks she knows better than everyone about their own relationships.
But throughout the book she does grow and mature and learn to see her friends and family more clearly which I really enjoyed seeing.
However, my favourite parts of the book were Evie's relationship with X.
Now if you've read Nicola Yoon before you know that her books often have bittersweet endings but I wasn't prepared for this one. Even though I guessed what was going to happen about 3/4 of the way in it didn't make it any easier.
It's kind of an odd story. A lot of the book is just Evie and her friends finishing their last year of high school whilst she is learning to dance with X to enter a competition to help X's grandparents dance school get some promotion. There are also issues with Evie's father that she has to confront and deal with. And for a while I really didn't know where the story was going or where the conflict would be and then in classic Yoon style she drops a bomb on you!
I really enjoyed the book and I LOVE X, he's the sweetest lil cinnamon roll but it wasn't what I was expecting!
CW: death, divorce
I feel like this book is different to Yoon's others. Maybe it's because of the reasons stated in the author's note (which made me tear up tbh) but it wasn't quite what I was expecting.
We meet Evie as she is still coming to terms with her parents divorce and subsequently has lost all her belief in love. She goes to donate all of her romance books and is given a book in return (Instructions for Dancing) by an unusual old lady. From that day on she can she the trajectory of people's relationship when she sees them kiss. This results in her seeing a Lot of heartbreak and only furthering her belief that people who fall in love are basically stupid.
I did like Evie but she could be very naive and also kind of arrogant in her attitude to love and people who entered into relationships sometimes. She's 17/18 and thinks she knows better than everyone about their own relationships.
But throughout the book she does grow and mature and learn to see her friends and family more clearly which I really enjoyed seeing.
However, my favourite parts of the book were Evie's relationship with X.
Now if you've read Nicola Yoon before you know that her books often have bittersweet endings but I wasn't prepared for this one. Even though I guessed what was going to happen about 3/4 of the way in it didn't make it any easier.
It's kind of an odd story. A lot of the book is just Evie and her friends finishing their last year of high school whilst she is learning to dance with X to enter a competition to help X's grandparents dance school get some promotion. There are also issues with Evie's father that she has to confront and deal with. And for a while I really didn't know where the story was going or where the conflict would be and then in classic Yoon style she drops a bomb on you!
I really enjoyed the book and I LOVE X, he's the sweetest lil cinnamon roll but it wasn't what I was expecting!
CW: death, divorce
Content Warnings
Minor: Death and Infidelity
cheesepuppy's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Beautiful storytelling and a great takeaway
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Child death, and Grief
megloveswords12's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infidelity
Minor: Death
zythnillawafer's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
One of the important side characters isn’t American, and her dialogue along with her outfits feels like a caricature or stereotype.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Infidelity, and Grief
mollyanne624's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity
Minor: Grief
kenziewol's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
I was like aww a cute ya romance what a fun cute read it will be, but no it actually ripped my heart out & had me sobbing. Like this hurt. But 100% worth it, I loved this book.
I honestly just really enjoyed this book, so much that finding the words to describe why is kind of hard?? I just loved the characters and how raw & reel they felt. I just felt the situations & feelings Evie was experiencing was really relatable and I loved that.
I also really enjoyed the visions aspect, I thought it was a cool way to further the plot and tell the story. I also really liked how the author used romance books throughout the story because I’m a sucker for those & found it relatable.
Overall 10/10, absolutely loved, left me emotionally destroyed but 100% worth it.
I honestly just really enjoyed this book, so much that finding the words to describe why is kind of hard?? I just loved the characters and how raw & reel they felt. I just felt the situations & feelings Evie was experiencing was really relatable and I loved that.
I also really enjoyed the visions aspect, I thought it was a cool way to further the plot and tell the story. I also really liked how the author used romance books throughout the story because I’m a sucker for those & found it relatable.
Overall 10/10, absolutely loved, left me emotionally destroyed but 100% worth it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Infidelity and Grief
ashesbrooke's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Infidelity
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Car accident
serendipitysbooks's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I didn’t read a single YA book in July which is unusual for me. It probably explains why I had a hankering for one. Thankfully Instructions for Dancing proved to be a good pick.
It features Evie, who no longer believes in love and romance after discovering her father has cheated on her mother. A trip to a Little Free Library to donate all her no-longer wanted romance novels leads her to a dance studio. The Little Free Library also seems to be where she picks up a magical ability to see the past, present and future of any couple she sees kissing. At the dance studio she meets X, an aspiring rock musician, and the two of them end up agreeing to enter a dance competition to hopefully gain publicity for the dance studio which is owned by X’s grandparents.
I liked the diversity in this book - Evie and X are both BIPOC characters (who have great chemistry) and two of Evie’s friends are in a lesbian relationship. I also liked the positive, supportive relationships between Evie’s friends and X’s band mates. Fifi, the no-nonsense dance instructor was hilarious while Martin, Evie’s nerdy friend was a quirky delight.
This story has plenty of joyful elements such as romance and dancing, but there are also tougher topics like grief woven into the plot so it isn’t totally feel good. And the ending is very bittersweet.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Grief, and Infidelity
hansbookshelf's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity and Death
2freads's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Infidelity
Minor: Grief