I was pretty excited a see a new book by Shannon Hale. I've really loved so many of her earlier books and the premise for this book sounded intriguing. Unfortunately, I didn't love this book quite as much as I had hoped.

Josie was a difficult character for me to connect with. I didn't really like her so it made it hard to stay focused and really care about what was happening to her. Her character did show growth by the end so that was good. Josie definitely felt like a teenager so the author nailed that. The little girl Josie was a nanny for was cute! I think she was my favorite character in the book.

I will admit to doing a bit of skimming, especially when Josie becomes the character in the books she is reading. I get what the author was trying to do and the purpose behind it, it just didn't click in with me how she intended, I think. I really wanted to like this book but I just didn't.

- I received a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

One of the very few books in my life to DNF. The story line simply felt like it didn't know where it was supposed to be going. Josie's character felt difficult to relate to, and I believe she will be hard for teens to relate to as well. Switching between two story lines can be such a great way to tell a story, but in Kind of a Big Deal, I felt the author was trying too hard to switch between realistic and fantasy (?), and it just felt confusing. The stories the Josie would get caught up in felt like they took too much time in the story.

Overall, a fun idea, but unfortunately its execution just didn't do it for me.

I'm a fan of Shannon Hale's novels, so I really wanted to love Kind of a Big Deal. The premise fascinated me, the whole idea of literally escaping into books to escape the stresses of daily life, but once I actually started reading the scenes where Josie was in the books, it just didn't really work for me. I was more interested in what was going on in Josie's real life so the other scenes were a distraction. I think it's just a case where this wasn't the right book for me. I'm sure others will love it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for a review copy in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Typically, I am a Shannon Hale fan. So when I saw she had a new book, I was excited to get my hands on it. I was disappointed.

This book was wonky. Really just...odd.

Josie Pie peaked in high school. She was the "It" girl - popular, star of all the shows, etc. But when she dropped out of high school to pursue a career on Broadway, reality sets in. It is not a reality she likes. Then she learns she can escape into (literally, INTO) books. Will this bring the success and adoration she craves?

I don't know that I can say anything about this book other than it was odd. Josie jumps in and out of different genres and story lines interspersed with flashbacks of high school and Broadway as well as current day interactions with the girl she nannies and others. There's this whole thing with the Muses. It was just weird.

I love books about books. This premise appealed to me. I think the book just failed in carrying it out. It was all over the place. Josie was whiny and depressed. Lots of making out and talk of making out. It was like so much of her character revolved around that. Family dynamics that were over the top. An extra weird conclusion.

I was not a fan.

I liked this book, I didn’t love it.
The story line was enjoyable, I liked the characters but there was just nothing that drew me in. I enjoyed the writing style and descriptions. I think the pacing was maybe just a little slow for me. I did feel that in the beginning I was just plopped into the story. There were a lot of pieces I was trying to figure out at first.
There were times in the story that I felt confused of whose perspective I was in and following. The author would talk about Josie for example and then it was like we were Josie, it had me lost quite a few times.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Children´s Publishing for allowing me to read this ARC. I have read other Shannon Hale books with my elementary-age daughter, so I was excited to read this book. The concept was alluring, but I did not enjoy this book. Josie Pie was not an appealing character to me, and I felt confused in the beginning by some of the decisions made to establish her character. She is a high school dropout who was ¨kind of a big deal¨ but struggled to make it further than high school stardom. Now as a nanny for a five-year-old, she finds herself in debt and doubting her decisions. She has some serious pressure for someone who discovers a love for reading at a time when escape into other literary worlds would be enticing. (On a side note related to the character confirming her interest in reading faltered after being required to read The Scarlet Letter in high school: Can we stop with that message to teens? It is possible and okay to love the classics, especially ones still relevant to today´s world.) I just can´t buy Josie Pie as a caretaker of a five-year-old. I did not enjoy the romance story she was drawn into in the first book she read, and I quickly lost interest in the story. I ended up skimming portions of the book (mostly the scenes in which Josie is pulled into the literary worlds). I was interested in Josie Pie´s realistic journey, but for me, the fantasy storylines did not work. This is not one I will add to my classroom library or recommend to students, but I´m sure some readers who love the combination of realistic fiction and fantasy will enjoy it.

DNF 28% - I found Josie to be very whiny and slightly unsympathetic. This may be an accurate depiction of an 18-year-old in her situation, but it still wasn’t pleasant to read. I think some of it may just be that m I’m older than the target audience. I could imagine my high school self really liking this book, but as it is I felt myself rolling my eyes at Josie a little too often.

I have read seveal other books written by Shannon Hale but this one falls short. Unfortnatley, I don't think I am going to be recommending this to the kids that visit our library

I got about 9%, put it down and didn't pick it up again. There were so many things wrong with this book. I didn't like the writing, it was just off, I didn't like the main character, she was too much about herself. Josie is a nanny and a bad one at that. While Josie was talking to all these adults her charge was off running around with no supervision what so ever. To me that is the beginning of a Law & Order show. All of them, especially SVU. Josie also kept telling us and others that she was a big deal in high school. Ok, we get it. There are some people who live in their past. Get over it and get on with life. So 9% and I couldn't take any more.

I received this book as an ARC from the publisher through Netgalley for an honest review.

Josie Pie was “kind of a big deal” in high school. Then she dropped out to pursue her dream of Broadway stardom, failed completely and utterly, and at the beginning of the book she’s a nanny in Missoula, Montana. That location doesn’t really matter to the story, it could be any small town but I think the author picked Missoula because “a small town in Montana” sounds more isolated than, for example, a small town in upstate New York...plus the alliteration is pleasing. But that’s the first thing wrong with this book: Missoula is the center of a 120,000-person metro area with a 10,000-student university. Sure, it’s a far cry from Josie’s Broadway dreams, but it’s hardly the one-horse town portrayed in the book (seriously...one bookstore in town?).

Where this book really goes wrong for me isn’t the setting, though, but that it doesn’t seem to know quite what kind of book it is. In the real world, it’s sort of a young-adult teenage angst coming to terms with the idea that you can’t really do or be anything you want. Then Josie starts jumping into the books she reads a la the Inkheart trilogy. Unlike Inkheart, however, each transition between Josie’s real world and each book is jarring and abrupt, essentially starting a new story, and while this may be the author’s intention, but it does nothing to make this book enjoyable.

Then just as I finally was getting into it, the last quarter of this book took a total left-turn and I unexpectedly discovered that it was actually a bit of a horror story. It was better as a horror story than whatever it was trying to be up until then, but again, the shift was so abrupt that I almost felt as though I was reading yet another entirely different book. And then, again, just as I was getting into the horror story...it was over.

Special thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Kind of A Big Deal is a short entertaining read that plays on the idea of books being a getaway for faraway fantastical worlds. This book is not the best with its lacklustre writing, it still manages to be an enjoyable read. Not all of the protagonist's experiences are relatable, but in saying that quite a few are; chiefly the escapist dream of living through the books she reads. If you're in the need for a quick contemporary read with fantastical elements to break the monotony of your TBR, this book might fit the bill.

The final review will be available on Geek Declassified August 24, 2020

I’ve read other books by Shannon Hale that she wrote for children and enjoyed them so I was excited to try this one. Honestly, I couldn’t wait for it to end. I wasn’t a big fan of Joise Pie which is her stage name and also her maybe boyfriend’s last name. As the title suggests, Josie was “kind of a big deal” in high school and left there to make it big in NYC. Although, things don’t go quite as planned and she ends up being a nanny in Montana in huge debt from her time in NYC. To escape her life in Montana she begins reading different genres of books and gets transported into them. This is a great way to kill a few hours until she is unable to leave and return to the real world when she wants. A cross between fantasy and realistic fiction this book just wasn’t for me. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Josie Pie was a big deal in high school: the star of every show, the popular girl who was loyal to her best friend Nina, and Justin’s girlfriend. But her dreams of bright lights in the big city find her in Missoula, Montana as a nanny for 5 year old Mia, she starts to question everything she has known. Is Broadway still her end game? Is Nina still her best friend? Does Justin still love her? Did she peak in high school? She struggles to find herself, and when the handsome bookstore clerk, Deo, offers her a free book and some glasses to help with the altitude adjustment, Josie finds herself captivated by the books he suggests. She is so captivated, in fact, that she ends up in the story, with the people in her life playing the supporting roles around her. Can she live out her fantasy to determine if that’s what she really wants? Or will she get caught up in a good book and never return to the real world?

This wasn’t my favorite book in the world, but I did definitely find it entertaining. I loved the different stories we visited and the main character’s interest in theatre, even if she wasn’t the most likable character.

The description of this book triggered my interest. Throughout the book I was still invested in the main characters, but the whole "becoming part of the book" part didn't work for me. The idea was good and I think it could've worked, but it seemed very cheesy and lost my interest.Ultimately I ended up skimming chunks of the book and was still able to follow the plot line. I cared about the main character to skim, but then the ending didn't match what I wanted either. Great ideas, basic writing that didn't hold my interest.

This was a book with a cute idea and but not a good follow through.. It was quick read and it had its really good points but I just couldn't relate or get into it as much as I was hoping too. I think with some polishing up though, this could be a great read.

Who wouldn't want to be in the setting of a book that they were currently reading every once in a while. Nice to get away from reality. This is exactly what Josie Pie was trying to do. She wanted to be back in high school instead of a high school dropout and Broadway failure. Instead, she was a nanny living in Montana. Her fantasy wanted her to be back with her boyfriend and best friend. The book's characters were her family, friends, and people around her. Playing out the books as she is really looking for something in life. I finished the book because I wanted to find out what happens. It was an okay ending but expected more. This book may be enjoyed by a seventh or eighth grader. I will try to find another book by Ms. Hale as I have been told she is a good writer. Thanks to Ms. Hale, the publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

At first, I thought the concept was super interesting - there are definitely books that it would be a dream to be able to live inside. Unfortunately, the concept was the only thing I enjoyed about this book. I haven’t read any of Hale’s other books, but something about the writing style just didn’t click with me and I found bored early on, which didn’t change as the book continued.

I think my biggest gripe is for a book that centers around one main character, that character should be compelling. Josie dropped out of high school because she was going to go make it in New York, but she ends up in debt and working as a nanny, in Montana. She’s judgmental, comparing women to trophy wives, talking a strange amount about the size of other women’s breasts, and is in general just an unlikable character. Honestly, I just wanted to stop hearing her say “I was kinda a big deal”. It was excessive.

A great book full of mystery and fun. I certainly didn’t see the end coming. I like how Hale played with a lot of different genres when Josie jumped into different books.

Ugh. I’m sorry but this book was so far fetched and terrible. Not even taking into consideration the magic glasses and muses, but the character of Josie was terrible and all the people around her.