This is a lighthearted fantasy about a popular high school performer who dropped out of school to move to New York, certain that she would be a Broadway success. When her plans didn't go as expected she had to get a job as a nanny with a family that moved to Montana. Losing confidence as her musical abilities aren't appreciated, she takes up reading, and finds herself immersed into fantasy worlds suggested by the books she reads. At risk of losing her best friend and long-term boyfriend, she increasingly finds solace in her fantasy worlds. There is plenty of disbelief for the reader to overcome, and a final battle between the real and imaginary is too long and overwrought, but this is a fun diversionary read during pandemic times.

While I'm generally a fan of Hale's, I didn't like this book as much as some of her other works. While I could tell the author was having fun exploring the side genres that appear in the novel, the protagonist hid her backstory too much from the reader. I'm OK with an ambiguous ending but this one didn't seem to set the protagonist up for much growth.

The description of this book sucked me; however, this book ended up being a disappointment and was hard to finish. I just couldn’t get into the book, and the main character, Josie, isn’t likable at all. This book just wasn’t for me, but I’ve noticed it has plenty of 4-5 star reviews. It could just be a personal preference. Also, I don’t think my middle school students would enjoy or connect with this book.

Creative, imaginative and engaging, this book is a fun escape while also being remarkably thought-provoking. Kind of a Big Deal focuses on a universal question - what if the best life has for offer is in the past? What if what comes next is nothing like what was expected? A quick and entertaining read.

Ever start a book and know it just isn’t for you? That was Kind of a Big Deal for me. I was drawn to the book due to the concept of the main character, 17 year-old Josie “Pie” Sergakis jumping into actual books and becoming part of the story. Who hasn’t wanted to do that? I certainly loved it in Austenland. But unfortunately, no matter what role in any story Josie is playing, she’s still completely and utterly unlikable--and no more so than in the reality of her own, convoluted story with a depressing message.

“Sometimes younger students stopped Josie in the halls to ask for her autograph. ‘In a few years, this signature is going to be worth a lot of money,’ said a freshman girl with a sincere smile. Josie laughed the laugh of a confident upperclassman and thought, Yeah, it probably will be.”

Josie, as she repeatedly tells herself and literally anyone who will listen, was “kind of a big deal” in high school. There, she was the popular star of all the musical productions, beloved by all. Because apparently in some universes, theater kids are popular and get stopped for autographs. They also get encouraged to dropout of high school by their teachers in order to audition for Broadway, which you know, isn’t competitive or anything.

“A surge of anger tingled in her toes and rushed up through her middle, into her face bringing both a hot flush to her cheeks and a feeling that, if she were a cartoon, her eyes would be blazing red. Don’t they know who I am? Came the sincere but also instantly ridiculous thought. No, Josie Pie, they don’t know who you are, because you aren’t Millennial High School’s precious rising star Josie Sergakis here. Or anywhere, anymore.”

That is what exactly happens to Josie. She finds herself with no job--let alone a starring role on Broadway, ample credit card debt, and no return in New York City, at age 17, nonetheless. Somehow, with no experience, she’s hired as a nanny to a five-year-old girl and moves to Missoula, Montana to work there in the hopes of paying off her debts. There, she’s miserable, as no one but her knows what a star she was in high school, and her best friend and her boyfriend have seemingly moved on with their lives that are actually going somewhere reasonable, like college.

“There is nothing worse than peaking in high school. And no one knew that better than Josie Pie. Eighteen years old and already a flop.”

Books soon become Josie’s only method to escape, as she can’t even get a role in community theater. After a visit to the local bookstore, she finds herself living out a romance novel. But what I hated the most was that every time she jumps into a book, be it romance, dystopian, or historical fiction--she always ends up singing the Spice Girls to exit? I’m sure it had something to do with female empowerment, but it was just baffling, random, and irritating. 

As was the fact that her best friend, a freshman in college, manages to buy a plane ticket out to see her for one night, just to leave. How do these kids have all this expendable income and freedom to do whatever they want without anyone to whom to answer? But it takes the entirety of the book for Josie to realize not only is she a crappy friend, who has no idea what’s going on in her friend’s life, but also that there’s more to life than her and her freaking high school experience. Frankly, if she loved school so much, the place she willingly left to follow her dreams and spends 99% of the book longing for, why not just go back? Because she couldn’t stand her classmates and other hometown people knowing that she didn’t make it on Broadway. I’d say that surely a young woman with such determination has more than just her musical aspirations going for her? But Josie really doesn’t. Literally all there is to Josie is high school and singing. 

“If she stayed far away, perhaps Justin wouldn’t notice what she really was. Perhaps he’d still see her the way he had that night after the school talent show. As a star.”

Even her boyfriend is more of a groupie than a support system. For most of Kind of a Big Deal we are treated to flashbacks of how much he supposedly used to care for Josie, but really just focused on how he looked at her like she was a star and how because of him, she felt like one. We are told how they were the king and queen of high school. He’s noticeably absent from the entire novel, except for in Josie’s book-hopping fantasies where he's more fictional character than her actual boyfriend, and it’s hinted that he’s cheating on her. But lo and behold, he shows up at the very last minute of Kind of a Big Deal and the two laugh about her failed career and everything’s just hunky dory!

After reading Kind of a Big Deal I can honestly say that I think the biggest deal of the novel was not Josie or her failed Broadway career, but the profound lack of parenting. Why did Josie’s mother let her be influenced by a drama teacher to the point that she let her daughter dropout of school to move to the city to predictably have her dreams crushed? It’s a miracle that the worst thing that happened to Josie was that she ended up with credit card debt. Just wanting her male drama teacher, who believed in her only to ditch her just like her actual father, to be her real father screamed, young, impressionable and dangerous to me. It is beyond me that no one preyed upon her, a girl from a small town in New York City who was desperate enough to yell, “I can do anything!” at several auditions. 

Josie had absolutely no good judgement whatsoever, which she demonstrates by her complete lack of care for anyone but herself, and the kid for whom she nannies, Mia. Plus, I think she really only cared for Mia, because she saw the kid as herself as a young girl--no parents who cared, an absentee father, etc.  It would have been so easy for someone to take advantage of Josie. I was also horrified that at the end of the novel, her mother told her not to come home, but to pay off her debt, give up on her Broadway dream, and to become like, a “hairdresser” or something.  Um, what? No “finish your high school education?!” No, “if musicals and drama means so much to you pursue a higher education after high school that might better equip you for that?”

“Even worse than peaking in high school was to never peak at all. To treat life like a big waiting room, idly reading whatever magazines were available playing a game on your phone, killing time till your name was finally called. It wasn’t in Josie Pie’s nature to wait. Broadway was never going to call her name. Community theater was barely even bothering. Time she got out there herself and started re-peaking. And she couldn’t do that until she let it go.”

For the life of me, I have no idea what the moral of this story was--give up your dreams? Settle for a mediocre existence? Don’t go back to high school? All I know after making it through this novel, was that Josie was most definitely Not. A. Big. Deal. And apparently, neither were her dreams, since she had no problem giving them up when she wasn’t some teenage prodigy. I feel that it would have made more sense if Josie discovered a love of writing musicals or screenplays through all the reading/novel-hopping she did in this story, or some other career that was musical-adjacent that she could hope to accomplish, but instead, she just completely gives up and the novel leaves her future up in the air, stating maybe she’ll continue being a nanny or get her GED. Regardless, it seems clear that Josie will be taking the easy route of quitting her dreams and staying with her high school boyfriend, even though Kind of a Big Deal tells readers multiple times that high school sweethearts never last. 


Besides having no idea what the purpose of this novel was,  I am not really sure who the intended audience for Kind of a Big Deal was. As someone who experienced high school for herself, I found Josie’s experience there completely unbelievable--as was her experience in every single novel she jumped into, her dating life, her friendships, and literally every other facet of her existence. The author seems horribly out of touch. I cringed at the things Josie said and did in her real life--even though I think they’re supposed to be funny or relatable--or the things she fantasized about in her novel hopping.


I would say this novel is more for middle graders who haven’t yet experienced high school and maybe enjoy musicals, but I would hesitate to recommend this to any young reader due to its lack of any kind of a good message. Furthermore, Kind of a Big Deal is written so simplistically that I feel it would actually be better suited for a kid in elementary school, but again the message of giving up your dreams makes that an iffy recommendation to make. Ultimately, if you have a young reader who is really into musicals and singing, they may absolutely love this novel. But get ready to have Kind of a Big discussion about dreams and realistic expectations afterwards.

Sadly, I am so disappointed in this book. I think Shannon Hale is an excellent author. I have read and enjoyed every book she has written. This book has an engaging idea and all of the elements of something I would love, but I don't. That's why I'm so disappointed in it.

The main character is selfish, egotistical, and a terrible friend. I understand character development must occur, but 2/3 of the way through she is still self-centered and awful. The supposed main draw of her love interest is his ability to be there for her? His character does not improve on this. The best friend and child she watches are cute but receive little page time.

The resolution is tidy but didn't redeem the book for me. This one is a miss.

I won't give up on Shannon Hale though, I know she's capable of great things.

I love Shannon Hale's books! However, this book was a disappointment. I really could not get into it. My middle-grade students would have a hard time relating to a student out of high school, so it didn't seem like a good fit for my classroom. However, it seemed kind of juvenile to just read for myself. I understand that the main character doesn't have to be perfect, but I had a hard time liking anything about her.

Got about 25% in. Boring. Gave up. Getting “lost” in her book going on and on with no explanation. It’s too bad because I like Shannon Hale’s middle grade books.

I enjoyed Shannon Hale's Austenland series, but this book wasn't nearly as well plotted. The idea is so amazing, but I think this was the wrong main character for the story. I never warmed up to Josie Pie or found any way to relate to her. This story also didn't feel like a YA story, yet that's what it's being marketed as. Overall I found it disappointing.

What if the best days of your life already happened?

Josie Pie peaked in high school. Riding high on the wave of her local celebrity, she drops out of high school to make it big on Broadway. Life has other plans. Broke, in debt and losing her friends that are closer than her actual family, Josie decides to shutter her New York city dreams and take a nanny job in Missoula, Montana. She may not ever reach stardom, but at least she can pay off her credit card debt.

In a new town and knowing no one except the girl she takes care of, Josie slips back into a reading habit but discovers books are more than an escape; they become a literal escape from reality. As she moves from story to story, Josie has a harder time leaving the make-believe world behind. After all, who would leave a place where she can live out all her wildest daydreams. But when one of the stories refuses to let her go, Josie has to choose between losing herself forever in a make-believe world or growing up and facing life no matter the consequences.

Shannon Hale is a popular middle-grade fiction writer. She has a knack for writing modern fairy tales and reimagining old ones. The premise of this story hooked me. Who hasn't imagined living in a book world? Although I enjoyed the story, the pacing was slightly off, and only Josie was a well-developed character. The reader only sees her point of view, which makes the other characters one dimensional. Kind of a Big Deal is labeled YA, and that fits, but it would have a small market for readers. Fans of her earlier books will surely read and other bibliophiles, but the demand for this story is slight.

If you like stories that have a touch of magical realism and feel like a fairytale, this is a great escape.

I love Shannon Hale, so when I found out she was writing a modern-day fantasy, I snapped it up right away (thank you so much, NetGalley!). This is a lot different from her Books of Bayern. You can see her flexing her comedy writing here, and the whole book is so meta. It's a really clever concept and there was tons of character development. Also, I definitely think Mia has OCD, it was easy to spot but it took Josie longer to figure it out. This is an excellent book to read if you want a rom-com with barely any romance. It made me giggle a lot and appreciate just how witty the writing is. Honestly, 4.5 stars rounding up to 5.

This book reminded me very much of a cross between Hale’s Austenland and The Actor and the Housewife, I think because of both the voice and the wish fulfillment aspect, but for a younger audience and with a touch of magic. I don’t think the appeal for this book is quite as broad as some of her other books, but I think for the right reader, the story will hit just the right spot. It’s very much a story about figuring out what you want to do with your life and learning how to “adult”.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of Kind of a Big Deal by Shannon Hale.

Shannon Hale is one of the few authors that has managed to slip through my "fantasy radar." It seems that no matter how amazing a fantasy book is, I can't do it. But maybe Hale's are just human enough to handle. Plus, I have enjoyed quite a few with my daughter, so that helps.

Josie's life has not turned out the way it was meant. She was meant to be on the Great White Way. Everyone in her life said so. But when she returned from NY to her hometown, not at all more famous, she feels disgraced and disappointed.

Now she is a nanny for Mia, who she loves, but also living in limbo, not sure who she is or where her life is going to go. Until she stumbles into a bookshop and buys a very unique set of reading glasses. Suddenly her daily reading has turned into something else entirely.

Ok, the reviews so far have not been kind to this book, which surprises me a bit. Is it a bit disjointed? Yeah. Does it hint to a few different genres without actually nailing any down. Sure. And are the characters totally like-able? Not always.

But this is so readable and fluffy, and feel good. I kind of like that it doesn't seem to know what it is. I liked all of the weird, zany adventures. I liked the flawed and awkward characters. Being a young adult is so funky and weird that I actually thought the author succeeded in portraying the inconsistencies with that stage of life.

I enjoyed this book. Josie's growth was very believable and I generally liked what Shannon Hale was doing. It ended up skewing far more fantasy than I expected and even than I particularly liked considering it's only hinted at the fantasy elements - through the book diving. I will also admit that having Zombie-esque creatures and part of a horror story caught me off guard as someone who doesn't like either of those genres. I liked the subplots with each of the friends - Nina, Justin, Mia and even the trio of friends from the park. I also enjoyed most of the book sections because it was when Josie grew the most. All in all, a pretty good book and one I will buy for my library because it'll definitely have an audience.

This book held a lot of promise but for me, it failed to deliver.
I just couldn't really connect with the story and it just wasn't for me.
I still highly suggest others give this book a try though because although it missed the mark for me, it may just be what you love.

Josie Pie is a star in her high school drama program. She leaves high school early to pursue her dreams on Broadway. The fact that she doesn't succeed is realistic. As a nanny to a young charge, she deals with her own failure and the absence of her charge's mother. As Josie reads books from the neighborhood bookstore, she begins to fall into the stories.

This fantasy just did not do it for me. I didn't really like Josie Pie. There was a lack of adults with any kind of wisdom. I would have a hard time recommending this book to my students. It was such a disappointment as I generally enjoy books by Shannon Hale.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this arc in exchange for an honest review.

The plot of this book sounded like an absolute dream, and that's exactly what this book was! The main character, Josie Pie, has the ability to portal into books as she escapes her real life that is falling apart around her.
The concept is so fun and any book lover will definitely admit to wanting to be able to actually dive in to some of their favorite reads.
The writings was so vivid and the storytelling was done very well, I just felt at some points that the author was trying to do a bit too much in one book and some things weren't as fleshed out as they could have been.
Josie does start off a bit immature, but the reader gets to see her learn and grow throughout the book which was really nice! I thought that the character development was good -it just takes a little time.
This book was so creative and a joy to read overall!
Thank you to Netgalley, Roaring Brook Press and the author for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Am only about 12 chapters into this and sadly, don't really care for it. I don't have much sympathy for the protagonist and am waiting for something more to actually happen.

Josie Pie is lost. She is wandering through life without a plan. She was a "big deal" in high school...a fact she manages to bring up too ofter. She copes with this lack of direction by falling into the setting of different books she reads.
I just could not get into this book. The age of the character did not match up with the age of the writing. It felt young adult/middle grade, but told a story of a college aged new adult. The main character was unlikable. It would be difficult to think of a library patron that would be an audience to this title.

This wasn't what I expected at all and was really odd, but also pretty great. I definitely recommend going in without much knowledge of the book because it's a ride.