Shannon Hale

Dropping out of high school to pursue her Broadway ambitions, a talented performer lands in a directionless job before a visit to the library catapults her into the plotlines of the books she reads.

Kind of a Big Deal

From bestselling author Shannon Hale comes Kind of a Big Deal: a hilarious, deliciously readable YA novel that will suck you in—literally. There's nothing worse than peaking in high school. Nobody knows that better than Josie Pie. She was kind of a big deal—she dropped out of high school to be a star! But the bigger you are, the harder you fall. And Josie fell. Hard. Ouch. Broadway dream: dead. Meanwhile, her life keeps imploding. Best friend: distant. Boyfriend: busy. Mom: not playing with a full deck? Desperate to escape, Josie gets into reading. Literally. She reads a book and suddenly she's inside it. And with each book, she’s a different character: a post-apocalyptic heroine, the lead in a YA rom-com, a 17th century wench in a corset. It’s alarming. But also . . . kind of amazing? It’s the perfect way to live out her fantasies. Book after book, Josie the failed star finds a new way to shine. But the longer she stays in a story, the harder it becomes to escape. Will Josie find a story so good that she just stays forever?

First of all, did not expect the comic part coming to life. So a plus point for that. Second of all, I picked up this book due to its summary, it reminded me of ‘the midnight library’. Except I would feel like some parts of the writing in this book feels a bit too kid-like(?). But still enjoyed it nonetheless. 

tiffany 

I’ve always been a big fan of Shannon Hale and her book ‘Princess Academy’ has always been a favorite of my younger self. So when hearing that she had a more modern book that came out recently, I immediately borrowed it to read.

Personally, I really did enjoy this book. I thought it was an excellent character study and shows how someone can grow. Not all characters are made likable, so if you need the main character to be likable, this really isn’t the book for you. Although I would argue that Josie does have her own charm, no person is perfect and it’s those traits that are accentuated and explored. The book is about how a person can grow from who they were before, and how we communicate with those who we may have wronged.

There are some snippets where Josie goes into another story which is typically a different genre such as horror or romance. A balance is necessary here of making the story fit in that genre for its humor but also still fitting in the author’s writing style. These were done pretty well in my opinion. Although I understand the complaint that some people will find these stories happening too frequently and/or being too long, overall I thought the stories were good enough that it didn’t bother me too much. Similar to how the general story is a character study, these snippets become a genre study where we see the familiar trends or tropes that exist within the specific genres while providing us some insight. These stories may have some parts that don’t quite make sense and those parts are subtly pointed out mixed in with the control that the main character does have. I do think that they could’ve been more effective in terms of furthering the plot, however it wasn’t terrible. 

That being said, I thought the ending was awful. Perhaps this is personal preference but considering how realistic the rest of the novel felt, this specifically felt like an antithesis to all that. It was too optimistic and made Josie ‘too special’. I believe in the reality of failures and that some failures will remain failures. Yes it may get better but it’s not something that is handed out to you. Here, everything really repairs itself too easily and while there are obstacles, it doesn’t really show how difficult it can be to fix your own life. Perhaps this is the plight of it having to fit in the Young Adult genre but this was just unsatisfying to me.

maddie

I’ve always been a big fan of Shannon Hale and her book ‘Princess Academy’ has always been a favorite of my younger self. So when hearing that she had a more modern book that came out recently, I immediately borrowed it to read.

Personally, I really did enjoy this book. I thought it was an excellent character study and shows how someone can grow. Not all characters are made likable, so if you need the main character to be likable, this really isn’t the book for you. Although I would argue that Josie does have her own charm, no person is perfect and it’s those traits that are accentuated and explored. The book is about how a person can grow from who they were before, and how we communicate with those who we may have wronged.

There are some snippets where Josie goes into another story which is typically a different genre such as horror or romance. A balance is necessary here of making the story fit in that genre for its humor but also still fitting in the author’s writing style. These were done pretty well in my opinion. Although I understand the complaint that some people will find these stories happening too frequently and/or being too long, overall I thought the stories were good enough that it didn’t bother me too much. Similar to how the general story is a character study, these snippets become a genre study where we see the familiar trends or tropes that exist within the specific genres while providing us some insight. These stories may have some parts that don’t quite make sense and those parts are subtly pointed out mixed in with the control that the main character does have. I do think that they could’ve been more effective in terms of furthering the plot, however it wasn’t terrible. 

That being said, I thought the ending was awful. Perhaps this is personal preference but considering how realistic the rest of the novel felt, this specifically felt like an antithesis to all that. It was too optimistic and made Josie ‘too special’. I believe in the reality of failures and that some failures will remain failures. Yes it may get better but it’s not something that is handed out to you. Here, everything really repairs itself too easily and while there are obstacles, it doesn’t really show how difficult it can be to fix your own life. Perhaps this is the plight of it having to fit in the Young Adult genre but this was just unsatisfying to me.

Rebecca Briesemeister

I thought this book was ok. I thought it touched on some important themes and was a lot of fun to listen to. The plot twist at the end kinda ruined it for me since I was really rooting for the character it mainly effected.
Josie Pie was kind of annoying. At the beginning of the book she is the epitome of peaked in High School, but I found her struggle and resiliency interesting as she developed. 
The way this book was set up was interesting because of the wide array of scenes and genres that were included. 
Recommended for anyone who needs a good character development story.

Jana Jenkinns 

My only comment currently is that I did really enjoy the narrator of the audio book. As for the book contents, I'll get back to that another day.

The third star is strictly due to the narrator of the audiobook I listened to.

I thought this book was ok. I thought it touched on some important themes and was a lot of fun to listen to. The plot twist at the end kinda ruined it for me since I was really rooting for the character it mainly effected.
Josie Pie was kind of annoying. At the beginning of the book she is the epitome of peaked in High School, but I found her struggle and resiliency interesting as she developed. 
The way this book was set up was interesting because of the wide array of scenes and genres that were included. 
Recommended for anyone who needs a good character development story. 

From Shannon Hale, bestselling author of Austenland, comes Kind of a Big Deal: a hilarious, madcap story that will suck you in—literally. There's nothing worse than peaking in high school. Nobody knows that better than Josie Pie. She was kind of a big deal—she dropped out of high school to be a star! But the bigger you are, the harder you fall. And Josie fell. Hard. Ouch. Broadway dream: dead. Meanwhile, her life keeps imploding. Best friend: distant. Boyfriend: busy. Mom: not playing with a full deck? Desperate to escape, Josie gets into reading. Literally. She reads a book and suddenly she's inside it. And with each book, she’s a different character: a post-apocalyptic heroine, the lead in a YA rom-com, a 17th century wench in a corset. It’s alarming. But also . . . kind of amazing? It’s the perfect way to live out her fantasies. Book after book, Josie the failed star finds a new way to shine. But the longer she stays in a story, the harder it becomes to escape. Will Josie find a story so good that she just stays forever?

Hannah Hoskins

Candyce Kirk

Alexis 

2.5/5 Stars 

** I was provided with an E-ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review** 

I really wanted to love this, the initial concept had me intrigued. The execution was not great. I found myself asking a couple of times while reading " what is the point of this book". I just didn't understand the purpose. Sure there were moments where I felt for our main character but It wasn't enough to connect to the book. I will say it was a very easy and quick read, unfortunetly it just wasn't for me.

Heather Harrington

**I received a copy of this via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

Josie Pie was once at the top of her game. She was a theater star in her high school and dropped out to pursue her Broadway dreams. When things don't go exactly to her plan, she becomes a nanny instead. If her dashed dreams weren't enough, her best friend keeps distancing herself, her boyfriend never seems to have time for her, and her mother is getting way into energy readings. Josie decides she needs an escape, and after stumbling upon a bookstore, she knows falling into a story is exactly what she needs. What she wasn't expecting was actually falling into whatever she's reading. Whether it's a 17th-century maid in a corset, a post-apocalyptic badass, or a star of the stage, whatever Josie reads she's suddenly thrust into the main character's shoes. At first, she's freaked out but after a while, her confidence returns and she finds life in stories better than reality. But the longer Josie stays in fictional worlds, the harder it is to escape back to the real world.

I thought the premise of this sounded right up my alley, but I think the execution was a bit sloppy. I didn't connect to Josie as a character, I actually found her a little annoying at times, and I couldn't help but cringe or roll my eyes at a lot of what she did. The plot and pacing felt slightly clunky, and I don't feel like it hit its stride until over halfway through. Then once it did pick up, it was resolved rather quickly so it didn't feel that impactful. I wish we had gotten to see more of Deo, the mysteriously charming bookshop worker because I think that would've made the big reveal of his part in the whole thing better. Usually, I'm all for books about books, but this one just tried to do too much that it really hindered my enjoyment of it.

Abby N. Lewis

Josie Pie was kind of a big deal in high school. The star of the school play, she is encouraged by her theater instructor to travel to New York to audition for a role on Broadway. Josie Pie is going places!

But.

Turns out, being a big deal in high school doesn’t guarantee you a spot on Broadway. Scared of returning to school a failure, Josie stays in New York, racking up debt on a credit card and living in a hostel, then briefly on the street, before getting a job as a nanny for a rich woman.

Continue reading: https://freeairforfish.com/2021/06/13...

K.J. Haakenson

This book was a wild ride. Very weird, surprisingly funny, and oddly touching. Not one of the best books I’ve read but the themes of being content where you are and being okay with not knowing what you’re doing in life actually spoke to me in a very personal way. Also I feel like Josie is an enneagram type 4w3 so I related to her in some of her longings and hopes (I’m a type 4w5).

Tania Joana da Silva Monteiro

I really enjoyed this one. I think the fact that the main character hold on so tight to the past was well crafted and I loved the idea that she went into books to escape her own feelings and reality. It might not be a healthy thing, but she come to that conclusion. And escapism, even tho isn't the answer, is definitely necessary. And this is what books are for too. So seeing that developed in a story was pretty cool. TW for possible ocd symptoms tho.

Kind of a Big Deal

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