Instructions for Dancing

I have been meaning to read this book for a while for 2 reasons: 1) I LOVE dancing and 2) I truly enjoyed Nicola Yoon's other book The Sun is Also a Star and I was excited to try another of her modern romance books. I know her books are targeted more at the Young Adult Audience, but I find myself each time that I have read her stories contemplating big questions about love.

Plot: Instructions for Dancing is a story about Evie Thomas a teenager about to graduate high school who is dealing with the fall out of her parent's marriage. She becomes cynical about love after her parent's divorce and is angry at her dad over that situation. One day when discarding her romance books she develops the power to see visions of people's relationships: beginning, middle, and end. She freaks which anyone should in that situation, but finds her way to a dance studio which might be the key to making these visions stop. In the process, she ends up meeting X a musician who turns her life around and becomes her partner in a ballroom dancing competition.

Thoughts: This book truly brings into light a big question: Is love worth the pain/ heartbreak? I found myself stopping at

multiple points in this book and just thinking to myself "What would you do Megan?" If you could see a friend's relationship and know how it would end would you tell them? If you knew how your relationship would end would you go through with it? Is love truly worth the risk?

I spent much of my youth and even now being a self-proclaimed hopeless romantic and to be honest I still wish to see the world through these rose-colored lenses. I think it would truly break me to see so many terrible endings to relationships like Evie sees in her visions. I know I wouldn't wish her power on myself or anyone else because that is a lot of pressure. I have always felt as though true love is worth fighting for and worth every moment, but I'm not sure how I would feel knowing the ending. Maybe my heart is too big to handle that and that's fine with me. I think that is the beauty of love, you truly don't know how strong it is until you handle the unsuspecting storm.

With that being said Nicola Yoon does not disappoint with this novel. It is a pretty quick read that gets you thinking for sure. I finished hours ago and I am still wondering about our choices and the purpose of love. I enjoyed the story for sure and she does a wonderful job of getting you to connect with Evie during the course of this book.

4/5 Stars, it is a great read if you like: #YA #romance #thoughtprovoking books

#onceuponabookclub