I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Josie Pie was kind of a big deal in high school Seriously. She even went to an audition for Broadway in New York. However, after dropping out of high school to hit the big white way, things didn't quite go as planned. Now Josie is living in a small town, being a nanny to a young girl whose mother is traipsing her way around the world. One day, Josie visits the local book store, borrows a book and is given a pair of reading glasses (high elevation messes with eye function, apparently) and is yanked into the book.
So, I've read Shannon Hale's 'Books of Bayern" and loved them. This book, not so much. While the protagonist was an over the top, Broadway hopeful, I feel like the book was the same way. Cute ideas, but the writing just didn't support it.

Highly entertaining and addictive! Read it in one sitting. What a wonderful story this is. very much recommend.

DNF for me, which rarely happens. I think I just didn't like the pathetic main character, nor most of the others, and the fantasy piece was more off-putting than compelling.

I so wanted to like this book. Time travel! BOOKS! Young adult! An author I love already!

What I didn't like? How stuck it was in spots. How I didn't feel that any of the books were relatable. How dragged out each book experience was. And, how completely unlikable and selfish the main character was.

I am not sure I'd recommend this book, despite the concept and awesome author. It took too long, and didn't grab my interest at all.

This might be one of the oddest books I read all year. I did some laughing, I was sad, but mostly I was confused. Once I figured out what was happening... I was confused again. It was a quick read for sure, I was confused for most, but it was cute. An odd ‘girl comes to terms with her life’ story. I’d give it 2.5 but I’ll be nice and round up to 3 stars

I enjoy this authors other work but this was not one I’d recommend to students. Unlike able characters

In all honesty, I wasn't able to finish this book. I read about 33% and decided to DNF it.. I didn't enjoy the pace or the writing. It seemed a bit all over the place. The premise sounded amazing, but I didn't like the execution. I didn't like Josie that much. I also wasn't too keen on her friend or "boyfriend" who seemed very distant. I wasn't sure if the book seller was supposed to be a love interest or not. I couldn't believe that a parent would just let their child stay in another city with no supervision, and then move to another state for a babysitting job.

2.5 stars - Mostly solid to solid

Things I enjoyed: Watching the change in Josie over time as she gained insight and maturity. Nina - great character, would have liked to read more of her story. Mia - struggles presenting as OCD as she deals with her mom's absence, would have liked more of her story, too.

Frankly, I felt like the story I wanted to read with these characters was just different than the story the author wanted to tell. It's not a "bad" story. Josie is "a lot." She has an overinflated view of her own talent and future, she can't let go of the past, and she is self-absorbed. She felt like the stereotypical person at a high school reunion who has never moved on. She was not the character I wanted to spend the most time with of the characters in the story.

As Josie fell into various stories, I wasn't captivated by the new story. I skimmed as much of those as I could in order to still catch whatever she was supposed to learn. When I finally found out what was going on with the story jumping, I felt like I was in a different book.

In the end, I felt like there were pieces of this that could have been fantastic if the focus of the story had shifted. But as it is, this one didn't work for me. (LGBTQ+)

This is kind of...half-baked. There's a really likeable core here, and I think this could have been about 3 different good books but instead it's all mashed together. Like the actual, real-world plot of Josie coming to terms with peaking in high school and confronting the damaged relationships she's come out of high school with...good. The idea of a book about someone getting sucked into books...maybe also good? (Maybe also already done by Between the Lines, which I admittedly haven't read?)

I thought the most interesting part was her friendship with Nina, who transitioned in high school and had Josie as basically her only friend and protector, and then Josie realizing that in college Nina is really shining and coming into her own and doesn't need Josie anymore, and that their friendship had kind of a fucked-up dynamic bc of Josie's heroine complex or whatever? That was very good and interesting and to me, more compelling than the boyfriend trouble. But the Nina stuff is a relatively small part of it.

I also liked all the Broadway/theater references, obviously, and so would a lot of teens. So this also could have just been a book about a talented girl who doesn't make it on Broadway but instead learns that community theater isn't terrible. But again...a relatively small part of the book.

[But then the like...evil Greek Muses scheme about her getting actually literally trapped inside books for...imagination power? IDK, dumb. (hide spoiler)]

The execution of the "hook" of getting pulled into books was just like...silly, and I think the older teens who will be drawn to this older teen, high school dropout story will think it's too silly. Younger teens might go for it but then the rest of Josie's story is pitched a little old for them.

I have been a fan of Shannon Hale and her books for many years but this one fell pretty flat for me. I didn't connect with any of the characters and honestly felt like the story line dragged on. I thought the writing was good so that is why I gave it 3 stars, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it.

I really appreciate being selected to read this ARC- my first on NetGalley.

Unfortunately this book was just not for me. It didn’t land. Not sure if it’s because I’m so far removed from high school or just because I didn’t click with Josie.

Great concept for a book! A readers true dream-to be transported into the stories. A great book will always do that for you when written well. Also really remember that feeling in high school-wishing for an escape. I just didn’t love this book. May be better for a younger audience.

This book was a miss for me. I live Shannon Hale and was disappointed in this one. I did t like the main character she did t have any redeeming qualities for me. I unfortunately wouldn't recommend this

I received this ARC from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review

I think the concept was cute, but this book didn't know what it wanted to be or who it's audience really is. Josie Pie is a washout - back home she was "kind of a big deal" so she jumped at the chance to drop out of school, move to Manhattan and try for Broadway. This goes bust, and she finds herself working as the live-in nanny for an absentee career driven mom out in Missoula, Montana. Hijinks ensue when she finds herself drawn into books thanks to a magical pair of specs and Josie must deal with her failing relationships with her best friend and her long distance boyfriend.

This book just had too much going on and their wasn't enough. It was not believable (even for a fantasy-lite book.) Somehow a 17-year old has emancipated herself and is in charge of a young girl while her mother is overseas working? I don't buy it. And what age is Josie really. When she launches into a one-woman show singing Spice Girls songs I wonder what time period we are in or what 17-year old would even know who the Spice Girls are. (I am 39 and remember them fondly of course.) I've seen enough off those "Teen Reacts" on YouTube to gather most 17 year olds nowadays would have absolutely no idea who the Spice Girls are.

I think the story would have been more plausible if Josie was aged up for sure. For a character to feel washed up at the age of 17 is an imaginable stretch.

Not to say this wasn't fun. I love Shannon Hale's writing, it is always fun and hilarious (Her Squirrel Girl books are AMAZING), but I just don't know who the audience for this book truly is.

I really enjoyed this book! It was like a YA version of the Jasper Fford series, Thursday Next, with a flair for theater and music with a hint of magical and fantasy elements, too. I enjoyed this one and cannot wait to order a physical copy and share it with my students!

Mini Review: I really enjoyed reading this! I went into this book thinking what it would be, but it surprised me on multiple occasions. They were good surprises! And this book had a twist towards the end, that I did not see coming, which I loved! (Honestly, most of the time I see twists coming in books, which I don't mind, because it doesn't keep me from enjoying it. But it is always nice when a book manages to surprise me with a twist!) I don't want to say much more, because I don't want to spoil it for anyone! But I definitely recommend reading this YA book!

A very cute contemporary with funny characters and situations. The premis is very cool and unique. All of the characters feel very real, the diaglogue was snappy.

Josie was kind of a big deal in high school. She sang the lead in all the musicals and her drama teacher convinced her that she could make it on Broadway. But life in New York is harder than senior year in Arizona, and the directors weren't casting her for any parts. So she took a job as a nanny and moved with the child and her mother to Montana. Isn't that what everyone does when their life falls apart? Okay, maybe not.

As things continue to spiral out of control...best friend having a great time in college and not always available with a shoulder to cry on, boyfriend acting distant and not answering his phone, mom no help at all, credit card bills to pay...Josie just wants to feel in command of her destiny again. So when a book recommended by the sales clerk at the local bookstore actually pulls her into the story and lets her become a character, is it a mental breakdown or magic?

The sense of life spiralling out of control is familiar to many of us, even in the teen years. Trying to decide on college and career, friend and dating drama, money problems, it can all add up. But imagine that combined with the gut-wrenching fear that you have peaked in high school and it is all downhill from there. Somehow, becoming the lead character in a tawdry romance or a post-apocalyptic adventure might seem tempting, especially if you can use your will power to steer the course of the story and affect its outcome. It might even be tempting enough to make you want to stay in the story permanently.

As we read along and watch Josie floundering to figure things out, we want her to make all the right choices and stay in the real world to face her fears. Somewhere along the way, we realize that we have been pulled into the story - Josie's story. And we don't want to leave it until we know how it will end.

Be prepared to read this in one sitting.

This book blew me away! I was unable to but it down. Perfect, dazzlingly, very well written. The details the author described throughout the book was so amazing. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick.

SPOILERS: I wanted to like this book because I love Shannon Hale! I wanted to like it when the main character discovered that she had given herself a stage name that is also the name of a character from Anne of Green Gables. I wanted to like it when Josie Pie discovered she could jump into books and chose to sing a Spice Girls number in the middle of a medieval village. But by the time Josie was discovering the little girl she nannies had turned into a creepy toy bear and then she found herself dueling with Muses wearing bookstore aprons, I was resigned to the fact that this just wasn’t getting any better. I commend Shannon Hale for trying to write something a bit more YA, and also for casually making Josie’s best friend from high school trans, but unfortunately, it fell flat... for me, at least.

Kind of a Big Deal by Shannon Hale is an interesting and creative story. There is a little bit of magical imagination. The main character has the ability to “fall into” books she is reading. Intriguing! As a reader, I was trying to follow how this was happening right along with Josie. I found myself wanting to know more about Josie’s story but it was a little more fantasy than I usually read. I know there is an audience for this book and many YA teen readers will find this book interesting. Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.