In her deeply bittersweet third YA novel, Nicola Yoon (The Sun Is Also a Star) sweeps readers into a heady world of romance, magic and ballroom dance set against the chill, beachy backdrop of Los Angeles.
Black high school senior Yvette "Evie" Thomas lost her faith in love six months ago when her father left her mother for another woman. When she donates her once-cherished romance novel collection to a Little Free Library with a mysterious keeper, Evie gains a strange power: any time she sees a couple kiss, she has a vision of the beginning and end of their relationship. The keeper also gives her a book, Instructions for Dancing, that leads her to La Brea Dance, where she meets X, the gorgeous 18-year-old Black grandson of the studio owners. The teens enter a ballroom dance competition at the behest of their instructor, Fifi, an "exploding firecracker in human form." The two fall for each other but Evie, who knows "heartbreak = love + time," must decide whether the rewards of love outweigh the risk.
Fantasy and romance meet realism as Yoon combines whimsical elements with a thoughtful excavation of how relationships evolve and inevitably end, plus a nuanced, sensitive look at parental infidelity. Ballroom dance scenes, Evie's visions and X's blue-dipped dreads all create a vibrant, cinematic feel, with beach bonfires and L.A. landmarks grounding the setting. Simmering dance numbers, maturity and a high swoon factor make this showstopper anything but routine. --Jaclyn Fulwood, youth services manager at Main Branch, Dayton Metro Library