So cute. You’ll cry a bit but not out of sadness (well not only in sadness) I would recommend for grades 8 and up and for adults who don’t need sex in their romance books!

This is by far my favorite novel written by Nicola Yoon. This is a beautiful story that will stay with me and impact the way I look at the world. Evie is a sassy, smart protagonist who learns some valuable life lessons that everyone can relate to. There will be multiple copies of Instructions for Dancing in my high school library :)

“‘You have any philosophies I should know about?’
Does 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘶𝘺𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳𝘴 count as a philosophy?”
— 𝐼𝓃𝓈𝓉𝓇𝓊𝒸𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝒟𝒶𝓃𝒸𝒾𝓃𝑔, Nicola Yoon

Rating: 💧💧💧💧💧/5

After her parents divorce, Evie Thomas doesn’t believe in love. She’s taking her conviction so seriously that she decides to purge herself of all of her favorite novels - the contemporary romance ones. When dropping the last bunch off at a Little Free Library, Evie encounters a woman who somehow gives her the power to see how couple’s love stories play out - and ultimately end in heartbreak. In an attempt to discover how she can rid herself of the visions, Evie ends up at a dance studio where she’s somehow roped into entering a dance competition with the owner’s hot grandson. X. Evie does everything she can to ignore the attraction to X, but the more time they spend together, the more she realizes that maybe the end isn’t as important as the possibility of loving someone and embracing your time with them.

Nicole Yoon is such an insanely talented writer. She’s an auto-read author for me. This book was funny and adorable. It was also a poignant reminder to enjoy every last second like it’s your last and to always, always choose love. I absolutely adored every single character, and the relationship between Evie and X is EVERYTHING. Highly recommend grabbing this one when it comes out on June 1!

𝕋𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕜 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕡𝕦𝕓𝕝𝕚𝕤𝕙𝕖𝕣, 𝕒𝕦𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕣, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 ℕ𝕖𝕥𝕘𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕖𝕪 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔸ℝℂ 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕠𝕡𝕡𝕠𝕣𝕥𝕦𝕟𝕚𝕥𝕪 𝕥𝕠 𝕣𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕓𝕠𝕠𝕜 𝕓𝕖𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕡𝕦𝕓𝕝𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟!

I'll be honest, I was hesitant to pick Instructions for Dancing up. My history with Nicola Yoon is typically that I'm so enamored by her writing that I will rate the book high and then drop the rating after I think about the story longer. However, it has been about a week since I've completed Instructions for Dancing and I am still just as much in love with it as when I completed the magical story.

Instructions for Dancing revolves around high school senior Evie Thomas who has completely given up on the idea of love after witnessing the her father cheating on her mother. However, after trying to get rid of all of her romance books, she discovers that she has the ability to watch the story of a couples relationship when they kiss. Fueled by a desire to end this ability, she is led to La Brea Dance Studio and handsomely charming X.

Staying in her same easy to read and quick paced style, Yoon creates some of the most down to earth characters she's yet to write. It was very easy to sit down and become invested in their personal lives. Yoon also isn't afraid to depict real life in all of its complexity and earnestness.

The one issue I do have with this book was the abruptness in which 1/4th of this book happens at. A major plot twist ushers us into new themes that bring up some interesting conversations that Evie is grabbling with, but less care is given to the last 10 pages of the book than the rest.

Overall, this book hit me in all the right places, making me laugh, think, and even get emotional. While probably closer to a 4.5 than a 5, I still deeply enjoyed Evie's journey from start to finish.

“Happiness is tricky. Sometimes you have to fight for it. Sometimes, though-the best times- it sneaks up behind you, wraps an arm around your waist and pulls you close.”

This is my third Nicola Yoon book and I’ve loved every one of them. You will need to keep the tissues handy for this one. Yoon explores topics of love and loss and all the feelings that come with it. I felt like I was having a conversation with an aunt or a wise loved one about love and that even though it hurts sometimes it is worth it.

I ate this book up in only a few sittings with the majority being one sitting. I was very emotional throughout the book at Evie grew as a character and learned more about love and the loss of love.

I loved all the characters - even the ones we only meet briefly. This is a new favorite book of mine.

I am a big fan of Everything, Everything and even more crazy about The Sun is also a star. So seeing Nicola Yoon was writing something new I immediately jumped at the chance to read it. Instructions for dancing was truly a unique yet kind of sad read. Evie witnesses her father's infidelity which led to her parents divorce. She then begins to stop believing in love. And after giving her romance books to a strange woman she meets on a corner; the lady gives her a book titled Instructions for Dancing. She discovers she has a newly formed curse (or power) where she can see the beginning of someone's love story and the end when they kiss. Her philosophy begins to change when she meets X. X is passionate, free and happily wants to dance with Evie at a dance competition. But can Evie take a risk on becoming closer to X even though she continues witness heartbreaks, will her philosophy change in believing love is not being real? Or will she learn that even if something doesn't last, doesn't mean it wasn't worth it. I found Evie's character arc really well crafted. Even though I wouldn't say this book has a happy ending which I prefer when it comes to any romance.) I still really appreciated reading this book and continue to be impressed with the intriguing stories Nicola Yoon continue to put out.

Since Evie saw her dad kiss someone else that's definitely not her mom, Evie no longer believes in love. Her romance novels are left untouched on her bookshelf and she's giving them away when another woman exchanges all her books for one that says Instructions for Dancing on the cover.

All of a sudden, whenever Evie sees a couple kiss, she can see how they met, how they fell in love, and sadly, how they break up. This only adds to her belief that all love eventually ends up broken.

A mysterious address in the book sends Evie to a dance studio where she enrolls in dance lessons with X (Xavier), the owners' grandson. Although she tries to not fall for him, knowing how love ends, fate has another path for her.

Another great book by Nicola Yoon! I loved all the characters in the book and their journey along the way of growing themselves. They each have their own struggles but it's what makes them unique and so much fun to read about.

Overall, Instructions for Dancing is a must-read for those that love a good YA romance and contemporary novel as well as an emotional one. The book, especially the ending, broke my heart and I hope to see it adapted into a film soon.

Review will be posted closer to publication date

I loved this book! It tackles complex family issues as well as the value of love as a journey, rather than a forever destination. I will definitely be purchasing a copy for my classroom as I think students will enjoy it!

Oh, my aching heart.

I didn’t really know what I was getting into when I picked up this book. I’d forgotten the synopsis (though I did remember dancing was involved, probably because of the title), and I figured it was romance-related, since this isn’t the first Nicola Yoon book I’ve ever picked up. But truthfully, I didn’t expect it to be as poignant and heartbreaking as it turned out to be.

This is the story about a girl who once swooned over romance novels but doesn’t believe in love anymore—not since her parents got divorced and she found out her father had been cheating on her mother, at least. When she decides to rid herself of all her romance novels once and for all, she meets a mysterious, elderly woman, and suddenly, she seems to develop a new power: she can suddenly predict how every romantic relationship will end. Don’t be fooled, though—there isn’t all sadness here. There is also a lot of love, and a lot of forgiveness, and a lot of hope. There is also a great reminder to live every day fully and to love with all of your heart, even when you don’t know what the outcome will be (and even if you do).

There are so many beautiful little moments in this book, as well as so many wonderful reminders that I think we can all take away from it. If you’re looking for a coming of age story full of dancing, romance, and a hint of magical realism, this might be just for you.

I loved The Sun Is Also A Star, so I had high hopes for Nicola Yoon's third book. Instructions for Dancing is amazing, heartbreaking, emotional, and hopeful.

What I love most about Nicola Yoon's books is that they're about love in many forms. In Instructions for Dancing, Evie is struggling with finding out that her father is in love with another woman, so she decides to get rid of all of her romance books. She meets a mysterious person, and after, she starts to see every part of people's relationships anytime they kiss. With this newfound ability, Evie goes through a journey of learning what love is all about.

During this journey, Evie starts taking dance lessons. Her teacher partners her with Xavier, known as X, for a dancing competition. I greatly enjoyed seeing Evie and X fall in love. One of the running themes of this novel is that dancing and music can bring people together in ways you don't expect.

Nicola Yoon is amazing at writing about life, and how the big moments and "little" moments all impact us as people. Instructions for Dancing asks us to confront the power of love in our own lives. Overall, I left this novel feeling like love is one of the most special journeys we can make.

Nicola Yoon has a special way of breaking your heart while still giving you hope. Evie is a cynic. She doesn't believe in love or happy endings. And she has good reason not to. But then she's given a gift...or a curse: to see how the entire course of a relationship. How can she fall in love when she knows that it's going to end with her heartbroken? How can she let her friends fall in love? Her family? Throw in ballroom dancing and X, her dancing partner, and now Evie really must learn how to fall in love. Will she let herself?

I could not put this down. I devoured it. I was at 15% then I blinked and was nearly done. This was a cute, YA romance. I loved Evie and X so much. I loved their personalities, their banter, and their connection. And the whole concept of meeting your significant other while ballroom dancing and doing it together? Swoon. That is my DREAM in another life.

I'm not sure how to share my thoughts on this while also not spoiling it, but I'll try my best. This book made me happy, it made me mad, and it made me sad. Evie made me so upset, why would you waste so much time!? And while the ending wasn't exactly what I expected, it worked and I am content.

Not the light YA novel I was expecting, but instead a tender and philosophical look at love and loss in all its forms. After her parents divorce, Evie acquires the ability to see visions of the future, namely key moments in a given relationship. The age old ‘is it better to have loved and lost..’ or ‘would you make the same choices if you could see how it ends’ aren’t exactly original, but I was touched by Evie’s emotional journey through such a turbulent time and the cast of characters kept the story fun and prevented the platitudes from taking over.

Another delight from Nicola Yoon. There is a bit of a magical element here which I won't give away too much, but it is fun, and helps you to understand the main character's cynicism about love a bit more. I appreciate that while the love story is sweet (I mean, this is Yoon's forte after all), the friendships are also true, funny, and empowering. This one reads faster than her other novels--I found it light and fun--so a perfect weekend or evening getaway.

Another great coming of age story by Yoon. This one focuses on loss and the change that comes from that. How do you forgive a parent who makes a terrible mistake? How do you let go of that anger and learn to trust in love again? Is it true that it is better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all? All of this and dancing too.

An interesting twist of fate brings two teens together to learn how to ballroom dance so that they can compete in an amateur dance competition. One is the grandchild of the dance studio’s owners. The other recently began to have visions of the life cycle of people’s relationships. When she sees that her own relationship ends in tragedy will she avoid the relationship in its entirety or will she enjoy the time she has with the man she loves? Fans of Sarah Dessen will enjoy this heartfelt YA romance.

I have read Nicola Yoon's "Everything Everything" and "The Sun is Also a Star", yet this has been her most touching book yet. I knew she could pull off complicated and even sad romance, but she surprised me with the depths yet again. I cried and laughed and thought about the deep meanings of life and love. Though it involves many tropes, they are well pulled off, and enjoyable to read. I stayed up late to finish this book, and read it all in one sitting.
4.5 stars!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book before release. This book took me a while to get into but overall I enjoyed it. For me it seemed to drag at the beginning then wrap everything up too quickly at the end. If you are looking for a lighthearted read this is the book for you.

Instructions for Dancing has all the hallmarks of a great YA romance, but with a few added twists on identity and the risks of love. This feels lighter than Yoon's other novels, but it's a fun read that will appeal widely, and boasts an honest own voices point of view.

DNF: I enjoyed the rep so much and the coming of age story, but I just didn't expect it to be magical realism and wasn't sold on the idea of it. still a great read!! just not what I expected