by Nicola Yoon
Delacorte Press, 2021. 285 pages. Young Adult Fiction
After picking up a book, Instructions for Dancing, from a local little library, high school senior, Evie--who has given up on love--gains the ability to see how other people's romantic relationships will end. When a couple kisses, she can see how the relationship began, how it is going now, and how it will eventually end. At first these visions just solidify Evie’s resolve to not believe in love. Then, in an attempt to understand the visions, she follows the address in the book she picked up from the library. The address leads to a dance school. And suddenly Evie is enrolled in dance classes with a charming and handsome boy. Will dancing lead her to her happy ever after?
This book is love note to romance novels, ballroom dance, and complicated family relationships. With engaging and well-crafted dialogue, Yoon weaves a tale of character driven, magical realism that has you rooting for the couple in the end. I was swept away in the romance of the story and left pondering the end for days after I finished it.
If you like Instructions for Dancing, you might also like:
by Kristina Forest
When Chloe Pierce's mom forbids her to apply for a spot at the dance conservatory of her dreams, she devises a secret plan to drive two hundred miles to the nearest audition. But Chloe hits her first speed bump when her annoying neighbor Eli insists upon hitching a ride, threatening to tell Chloe's mom if she leaves him and his smelly dog, Geezer, behind. So now Chloe's chasing her ballet dreams down the east coast--two unwanted (but kinda cute) passengers in her car, butterflies in her stomach, and a really dope playlist on repeat.
by Abigail Hing Wen
Ever Wong just wants to dance. She has been on dance squad and color guard; she choreographs all their dances, and she lives and breathes ballet. But Ever Wong has very determined parents who have decided that she is going to be a doctor. Her father was a doctor in Taiwan, but his degree didn't carry over when they came to the US. Her parents have scrimped and saved for Ever to get into medical school. And Ever does! She makes it into Northwestern University. But she also makes it into dance school. Ever knows her parents will never approve of her dancing so she ends up declining dance school. Before she can grieve too deeply, her parents send her away to a Taiwanese immersion program that will take up the rest of her summer. While there she discovers that the program is nick-named the Loveboat because everyone hooks up during their stay in Taiwan. Every kid is smart. Almost every kid is rich. And all they want to do is sneak out at night and go to dance parties. Ever thought that she would hate the program, but she soon makes a circle of friends, including several very handsome boys. Normal teenage drama ensues, including the obligatory love triangle, and Ever has to decide how to deal with this drama while also trying to figure out who she really is and wants to become.
AGP
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