Kind of a Big Deal*The review below is being done on a Netgalley Advanced Reader's Copy of Kind of a Big Deal. This review is my own, and I have written it in my honest opinion.
The first time I read Shannon Hale was in middle school, my book of choice- Princess Academy. I must admit that other than that series world I have not kept up with Hale, so when I got the opportunity to read Kind of a Big Deal I was excited at the prospect. Kind of a Big Deal revolves around Josie Pie, a popular high schooler who has her heart set on Broadway, not to mention the voice to get her there. When Josie drops out of high school to take her shot on Broadway, she realizes that she may not be cut out for that life after all. In order to avoid returning to her hometown in Arizona, Josie becomes a nanny and moves to Missouri with her new employers. We follow Josie on her journey as she tries to overcome loneliness, heartbreak, and shame. This book has so many things that I want to discuss because I feel that it has a lot of potential, so please keep in mind that although the small summary I gave in the previous paragraph sounds like it is a Realistic Fiction book, it actually falls into the Fantasy genre. What I didn't mention earlier was that Josie Pie tries to take up reading as a hobby, but as she tries to read a book she ends up going into the actual story, literally. As she continues to story-jump she finds that it is becoming harder and harder to return to the "real world." I really wanted to love this book, but I had a hard time staying engaged with the story. The plot line became very repetitive in that Josie would get sucked into a story, she would see familiar faces playing the characters, and then she would try to get back home. This cycled at least three or four times even though the genre of the book would change. In addition to the repetitiveness, Josie was a very difficult character to love because for the majority of the book she didn't grow as a character; she was stuck in the mindset of "I'm kind of a big deal," and "I shouldn't be going through this setback." As much as I tried to sympathize for her, I just couldn't feel bad for Josie because I felt she created those conflicts for herself. Finally, the ending of the book felt very rushed because Josie was battling her demons head on in one moment and then before you knew it, the story ended. (I know this sounds vague, but I do not want to give spoilers). I feel that a character should have flaws, and believe me Josie does, but the way the flaws combine with the story make it very frustrating to get through. I am still a fan of Shannon Hale's, but this was not one of my favorite books of the year. Kind of a Big Deal will be released on August 25, 2020. You can pre-order your copy below: Amazon Audible Barnes and Noble Powell's
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