Evie doesn’t believe in love anymore. Not after she found her father in the arms of his lover, and her parents subsequently divorced. But then on a trip to a little free library, she comes across an unusual volume – “Instructions for Dancing.” It’s a manual and the flyleaf says it’s the property of a dance studio, so she decides to return it to the studio. The next thing she knows, Evie is paired with a boy named X, learning to waltz, fox-trot and tango. Oh, and she’s acquired an unusual ability to see a couple’s love story just by witnessing them kissing.

This is a charming YA romance with a young couple who have multiple family issues they have to navigate. I like that Yoon gives us reasons why Evie is so reluctant to give herself over to the potential of falling in love. I also really liked X. He’s a steady presence and a genuinely lovely young man – tender, accomplished, forward thinking, a gentleman. These two young people really shine.

However, I think Yoon could have left out the “visions” that Evie has when she spots a couple kissing. They just didn’t really support the story, in my opinion. Although, I suppose I understand the message of enjoying the moment and not over-thinking the future. ( )

Gr 7 Up—Evie, a romantic turned skeptic, develops the ability to see the beginning, middle, and end of people's love
stories when she sees them kiss. Meanwhile, she is falling in love with X, her partner in a ballroom dancing
competition. This romance that centers on a Black love story is sure to pull on readers' heartstrings.

Who knew? This was a Once Upon a Book Club book. And I didn't realize until it came in that it was a YA book...which I tend to try to stay away from. But I absolutely fell in love with this book. I read it in two days and can see picking this up again in a few years and rereading it. Even though the main character was in high school (I think she was a senior), it didn't write like YA at all. The only thing I wish was that it had a little more of the "seeing the future" in it. However, I'm not dinging the book for it. That's just me and I love a little futuristic-ness. But the way she saw all the love stories and how they ended. SPOILER: And then to see the boy she loved and the future that he was going to die. The whole theme of, it's better to have loved and lost than never loved at all, is very strong and comes down to that decision in the end, since she knows he's going to die in 10 months (or 8 months), whatever it was. Anyway, just an amazing story. I thought it was going to be a silly little romance and it ended up being so much deeper than that. I really enjoyed the characters and their banter and how she was a little hard on the outside, but soft inside. The characters didn't feel young and didn't read like a YA. So glad I picked this one up! ( )

A charming read. A meet cute at a ballroom dance studio after the main character, Evie gets a brochure leading her to a dance studio and a sudden power to see the history & future of people's relationships when they kiss (compared to the novel Big by her friend Martin). Evie is soured on love after catching her dad cheating on her mom and their subsequent breakup. Her senior year sees her agreeing to a amateur ballroom competition with the warm, handsome X. The romance is lovely, and Evie's emotional journey throughout the book feels heartfelt. ( )

This is not a book about dancing & a ballroom
Competition. In fact, that’s barely part of the story. Instead it’s about grief and relationships.

This is probably a helpful way for the typical YA reader to think about these things but for a grown up like me this was a lesson I already understood and I was disappointed that it wasn’t a happy little romance. ( )