When I saw that Nicola Yoon had a new upcoming book, I could not wait to read it - and I was not disappointed. I stayed up until 3am reading this! I simply could not put it down! Instructions for Dancing felt like it was written just for me and resonated with me greatly. I can't wait to put this in customers' hands!

Magical Realism is usually not a style of fiction that I enjoy, however, Instructions for Dancing has just the right dose! The ability to see (in a moment) a couple's love and how it began and how it will end is a unique concept. I immediately connected with Evie and the way her parents' divorce tainted her love of romance books and relationships in general. When the storyline started involving dancing, I was hooked for sure! This is a fast-paced romance that will make you ponder how much you want to know about the future and what it costs to enjoy life in the moment.
Can't wait to recommend this new book from a favorite author. <3

Instructions For Dancing was an creative look at the nature of love and all of its ups and downs. Love isn't easy ever. Whether you are a teen or an adult, you will always face ups and downs, ebbs and flows when it comes to love and that is okay. The characters were endearing and relatable as is to be expected from the Goddess of Romance herself, Nicola Yoon. The setting was serene and romantic and conducive to such a fall into love. I thoroughly enjoyed this passionate story and would recommend it to my students.

A love story for a character who doesn’t want one.
💃🏾
Evie Thomas is over love after catching her father cheating on her mother. One afternoon she comes across a woman who is there one minute and gone the next. Suddenly Evie is struck with the power to see the future of every couple she observes kissing. It only reinforces her ideas that love ends as she sees relationship after relationship come to its conclusion. In an effort to get rid of her new power, she heads to a dance company to return the book the woman gave her. Instead she’s thrust into an amateur dancing competition with a cute guy named X. As much as Evie fights against it, she feels herself warming up to X with his smile and trusting ways. Evie must decide: is love worth the heartbreak that might come from it?
🕺🏾
This is Nicola Yoon’s third novel and if you read the Author’s Note it will break your heart as to why she took a lot of time to write it. It is, however, my favorite book of hers and I already am a HUGE fan of Everything Everything and The Sun is Also a Star. This YA romance was devastatingly beautiful. I hadn’t planned on crying all night reading it, but that’s what this story will do to even the most cynical readers. I sincerely hope it gets turned into a movie like her other books have. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Thank you @netgalley for an ARC of this gorgeous story with an even more breathtaking cover. Grab your copy June 1 and read it immediately.

I received a complimentary copy of Instructions for Dancing from NetGalley.  Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Uplifting and subtly motivational! Instructions for Dancing expresses a great theme to live by: Enjoy the present and live life to the fullest. This story of a young girl’s crippling devastation caused by the trauma of her parents’ divorce (and subsequent coping mechanisms) touched me in such a way that I believe it will stick with me for a while. What a great reminder to love while we still can!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. I loved this book!

Like Nicola Yoon's other two books, Instructions for Dancing did not disappoint and gets a solid 4 1/2 star rating. Evie is a young lady on a journey to find herself. Due to her parents' recent divorce, Evie has sworn off love until she meets X at a dance studio where there's an immediate spark between the two. Will Evie give in to love or continue to fight against it? I couldn't stop reading because I wanted to find out if Evie and X live happily ever after. I was a little skeptical about the small magical realism element in the book, but it worked due to Yoon's incredible writing.

While this is a young adult book, it is best geared toward a more mature reader as it does contain some swear words and sexual situations that younger readers may find offensive.

This book hits you in the feels just as you'd expect with a Nicola Yoon book.

I loved that throughout she makes fun of romance tropes while playing out said trope.

I laughed so much in the first 2/3 of this book. Even though there was sad themes, divorce and infidelity etc Evie and her friends had a dry sense f humour that I loved! Then I cried real snotty tears because love is rea and snotty and nicola Yoon writes it so well!

Did they love happy every after? Probably not... But they loved. Happily! 🥰

4 stars

The gripping cover misleads here; the suggestion is that readers are opening up a lighthearted YA romance with some sort of dance-related motif happening. Only some of that is true as this is a more complex read than meets the eye.

Evie, the m.c., is struggling with her parents' divorce, some related insider info she has on her dad, and her general feelings that love isn't worth the trouble, since every relationship ends in heartbreak anyway. This situation gets worse when early in the novel, she happens upon a fun moment of fantasy: encountering a mentor archetype, getting the book _Instructions for Dancing_, and gaining the sudden power or curse to see people's romantic futures under very specific circumstances. The narrative continues with Evie meeting X, dancing, and navigating her family and friend-related issues. She also learns some important lessons.

This is a quick read, and I was struck - really upon completing the novel - by how powerful the messaging and symbolism are here. I've enjoyed Yoon's previous novels - and even taught one of them - but this one still surprised me. I recommend this in general but especially for those looking for something a little deeper than expected.

Kay this book was SO cute and I devoured it. I love the characters and I love the lesson learned by the main character. I did find the main character's cynicism annoying at times but also understandable given what she had gone through with her dad and then her sudden "power" probably only made it worse. I loved the growth we see in her and while the end was a tad bit sad, I also loved it and will love to see more from this author.

I am feeling so many things about this book right now. There were happy parts where things were fun and sweet and sad parts where I bawled my eyes out and wanted to throw my phone. I will say, be prepared for an emotional roller coaster with this one.

Evie doesn't believe in love, not after she discovered her dad was cheating on her mom and their family broke apart. She's ready to shut romance out for good when she's granted the ability to see couple's relationship history and future. All Evie sees are future breakups, which reinforces her theory that love doesn't last, but then she falls for her dance partner and she questions everything.

I really liked Evie and Xavier's relationship. They were adorable together and he was a great guy. X made Evie smile and treated her well and I was rooting for them early on. It was fun watching their dancing skills progress and how it brought them even closer.

Evie's relationship with her dad was very relatable and I completely understood her reluctance to let him back in her life. It was nice to see them have father daughter moments and I didn't want Evie to hate him forever, but the decisions she made regarding him and whether to go to his wedding weren't what I wanted and I was kind of disappointed that it went in that direction.

The visions of relationships weren't what I thought they would be. I was hoping they'd be helpful in another way and with the way the ending played out, I was a bit disappointed. Still, it was hopeful and I was happy for Evie that she experienced love and is a more positive person.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for the copy.

This book had the power to both break my heart and make it whole at the very same time. When Evie stumbles across a mysterious book that leads her to a dancing studio and to a social dilemma, she doesn't know how the universe can possibly heal the hurt caused by her father. At its core, this is a book about love--but also about faith, trust, and the willingness to take a risk, even when it means you might break your heart.

Evie Thomas has never taken dance lessons but is willing to try when peculiar situations occur that lead her to a small ballroom studio owned by a sweet couple. Evie has come in touch with a bit of magic. She consults her best friend to see what advice he will give her. He convinces to visit the dance studio. She meets the owners’ grandson, X who will become her dance partner in an amateur dance competition. Will the dance couple win and save the small dance studio or will the studio have to close or love elsewhere?

The characters are fantastic, the storyline is fascinating and every word and scene will captivate you. I think that everyone will love this story and the main character Evie. The story makes a person want to have powers and see beyond what is in front of them.

I believe people of all ages will be captivated by this story.
Nicola Yoon delivers with this story. You will love this book if you love The Sun Is Also a Star and Everything Everything. They are both fantastic books and I recommend them to anyone that loves YA.

-Rebeca

This charming book is not for the faint of heart! It starts out with a cynical teen, wounded from her father's cheating and parents' subsequent divorce, and then turns into a magical journey of love and understanding and, at times, heartbreak—some of it the reader's own. I could not have loved this more.

This was a cute story, with a lot of heart. I didn't htink it would all tie together in the end, but it did.

Best book I’ve read in 2021. Deserves 10 stars out of 5. Such an important lesson for readers. A hot summer read. A sweet YAro,since. An epic plot with the best characters. I w loved every single page and could not put it down!

3.5 Stars
This is one of those books that definitely falls in the -it's me not you- category. Having just finished I feel a bit gutted and emotionally spent. I went in fairly blind thinking this would be a romance about two characters meeting at dance class yadda yadda. It was so much more complicated than that and that's where the distinction lay with me. I'm a bitter judgy person normally so hearing her father cheated on their mother and Evie the MC caught him in the act just automatically put him in the loser category. It would have taken an act of God or the equivalent to make me change my mind and sadly all I felt we got were excuses. I can't blame the heroine for being mad and giving up on love. Not to mention her parents then try to force his new relationship on her and that was all kinds of wrong. The oddest thing happened when Evie was trying to dispose of all her fictional romance books, why have them if you no longer believe in the concept of love at all, right? However on that trip something happens that makes her have visions. Visions that show the entire relationship of a couple when she sees them kiss. All but one of the visions she sees end in heartbreak. How this was supposed to repair her belief in love or work as a gift, I really do not know. In fact I think this would have made me give up altogether and turn into a stereotypical spinster cat lady. Evie though, somehow manages to make all this work for her and I still can't believe it. She's a pretty tough and strong character for still being a teenager I will say. In many ways I'm beyond thrilled she finds her happiness as fleeting as it may be but I can't help but die inside over the bittersweet end we are left with. <spoiler>Evie learns that her new love and dance partner will die in 11 months. Now she initially breaks up with him to save herself the pain and I don't blame her. The day of her father's wedding she realizes she doesn't want to live without him and I was so happy for her that they will at least be able to live out their relationship till his untimely death. But ughhhh that just hits me in the feels. I think what hurts the most is the not knowing if they would have had that long lasting soul mate connection. His death changes everything and I almost wish we had another book on the horizon because I want to know how she'll actually carry on once that moment comes to pass. ---In my defense I think a lot of my grief with the book lays with a personal loss in my own life. The loss of possibility and a chance for a HEA almost makes me question the whole thing. Evie is convinced that all that matter is the right now, but what's so wrong with hoping and having a happy future as well?</spoiler> If this book was anything it was emotionally powerful. It will bring about many emotions and some deep thought and in that sense I really did enjoy it. I just don't love having my splintered heart broken. I'm sure I will be the rare outcast when it comes to this book but I am still glad I read it because it was a wonderful insightful read.

I requested this one because I've been a huge fan of Nicola's last two books and while I wasn't disappointed, this one just didn't have the same magical feeling I got from her other books. I liked reading this one and read it pretty fast but when I finished it, it just felt meh. X and Evie were just okay, the stakes for the dance competition felt very low and almost pushed to the side, and I didn't find anything else super attachment worthy. That's not to say that this book wasn't bad, it just wasn't anything special.

The sort of magical element wasn't really anything special either. Now, I'm not a huge fan of magic elements thrown into contemporary books because they feel really out of place but the way this one was handled was... not great. It almost felt brushed under the rug because it happened a few times, went away for a big chunk of the book, and then came back for a kinda important but eh twist. I probably should have been more emotional at the end but like I said, the characters just felt meh to me.

I wish I had enjoyed this one more because I've had a really great experience with her other two books but unfortunately it just fell a little flat for me.

This book was amazing. I finished it in 3 days, Nicola Yoon is one of he best in YA. I just hate hat she guts me to the core when i read her books. Spoiler: i hate death of young people and it just makes me weep at the end of books.

I felt this young love between X and Evie . It was palpable the pain and love they shared. I don’t want to give anything away with the twists but living in the moment was the true lesson to be learned. Evie’s pain surrounding he end of her parents marriage, her friend group and her dance partnership and love affair with X are just so heartbreaking, i love that in X we get a different kind of black guy who falls for a different kind of black girl.

I can’t give this enough stars to be hones f

hat a perfectly sweet and heartbreaking (in the best way) YA romance! Nicola Yoon does such an impeccable job in her books of capturing the heady feeling of first love, and I am fully expecting this one to get picked up for a movie adaptation in 0.3 seconds because it was made for the screen.

I loved Evie. I loved Evie’s family. I loved Evie’s friends. And I LOVED Evie and X. Seriously, the characters and relationships in this book are everything. And while magical elements can be hit or miss for me, I honestly enjoyed the part where Evie starts having visions of people’s love stories (start to sometimes ugly finish) when she sees them kiss—it wasn’t overdone, but gave a unique additional depth to her conflicted feelings about love in the wake of her parents’ divorce. Overall, a quick and easy YA read that I would easily recommend!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced look at this novel in exchange for an honest review.

When Evie is cursed with a blessing, she begins to see things as they could be in the future. Her negative slant on life and love stem from her parent's divorce, her father's upcoming nuptials. Her wrong attitude continues to drive her to bad decisions all around.
However, as is typical of seniors and high school graduates, she begins to grow apart from her BFFs and be drawn to her ballroom dance partner. (Not something I thought would be in a YA novel, but very nice!)
What she knows about the future makes her hesitant to share her life, but in the end, Evie decides to live in the present, take the bull by the horns, and live life to its' fullest.