What if the best days of your life already happened?
Josie Pie peaked in high school. Riding high on the wave of her local celebrity, she drops out of high school to make it big on Broadway. Life has other plans. Broke, in debt and losing her friends that are closer than her actual family, Josie decides to shutter her New York city dreams and take a nanny job in Missoula, Montana. She may not ever reach stardom, but at least she can pay off her credit card debt.
In a new town and knowing no one except the girl she takes care of, Josie slips back into a reading habit but discovers books are more than an escape; they become a literal escape from reality. As she moves from story to story, Josie has a harder time leaving the make-believe world behind. After all, who would leave a place where she can live out all her wildest daydreams. But when one of the stories refuses to let her go, Josie has to choose between losing herself forever in a make-believe world or growing up and facing life no matter the consequences.
Shannon Hale is a popular middle-grade fiction writer. She has a knack for writing modern fairy tales and reimagining old ones. The premise of this story hooked me. Who hasn’t imagined living in a book world? Although I enjoyed the story, the pacing was slightly off, and only Josie was a well-developed character. The reader only sees her point of view, which makes the other characters one dimensional. Kind of a Big Deal is labeled YA, and that fits, but it would have a small market for readers. Fans of her earlier books will surely read and other bibliophiles, but the demand for this story is slight. If you like stories that have a touch of magical realism and feel like a fairytale, this is a great escape.
I received a Netgalley copy for a review. I was not paid for the review. All opinions are mine. I am an Amazon Affiliate, if you click on the picture below it will take you to Amazon, where if you make a purchase I will receive a percentage of the sale.
This book is for sale on August 25, 2020
Happily Ever After (Or something like it) 
Leave a Reply