61 pages • 2 hours read
Nicola YoonInstructions for Dancing
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2021A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 21-27Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 21 Summary: “Not a Date, Part 2 of 3”
At a local club, Evie watches X and his band. With his friends Jamal and Kevin, X lights up the stage. Evie is entranced by his passion and emotional, “melting smooth” voice (99). X reveals a new song with incomplete lyrics called “Black Box,” which she thinks is brave.
After the show, Evie compliments the band, and can’t deny her feelings when X smiles at her praise. She takes X to her favorite waffle restaurant, which feels more romantic at night. She jokes that she usually only comes for brunch, but now, the place has rose petals, candles, and other romantic touches. X insinuates that she brought him there to seduce him, and Evie sputters that she didn’t. When they sit down, Evie tells him that he’s flirting, and X says he likes girls, especially “smart, pretty, snarky, slightly confusing ones” like her (103).
Evie asks about X’s music; X started playing concerts with pots and pans with his father, and his passion grew from there. Now, X and his father disagree about his future. Evie admits that she used to be close with her father, and opens up about the divorce, though she’s only ever told her mother and friends. X is shocked by her father’s cheating and sister‘s ignorance, and Evie appreciates his support.
Evie and X turn back to music and finish the “Black Box” song together. X writes the new lyrics on a napkin and asks for permission to use them, since Evie provided most of the ideas, and she happily agrees.
Chapter 22 Summary: “‘Black Box’ Lyrics by Evie Thomas and Xavier Woods”
This chapter details Evie and X‘s “Black Box” lyrics, about coaxing someone to open up and “nothing surviving” in a black box sent to sea (109).
Chapter 23 Summary: “Fabulous, Excellent, and Copacetic”
Evie texts her friends about inviting X to their next beach bonfire. They all respond with “okay,” and she’s confused as to why they don’t care; in truth, they expected her to bond with X and think the night will be “fabulous, excellent, and copacetic” (111).
Chapter 24 Summary: “Not a Date, Part 3 of 3”
Evie and her friends’ bonfire takes place on Dockweiler State Beach, one of her “favorite places in the world” (112). While Evie’s friends gather by the fire, X arrives. They welcome X with alcohol and food. Cassidy says that according to Evie, X is incredible, which makes his eyebrows shoot up, and Evie clarifies that he’s an incredible musician.
Evie reflects on her many family beach outings, where her father taught her how to tend a fire. Her family used to visit the beach once a week every winter, bringing warm stew and drinks, and telling stories. X pulls Evie to the present, telling her friends about his band. He pleads with them for embarrassing stories about Evie, since they’ve been friends since middle school, and her friends supply. The group then plays “Tipsy Philosophicals,” in which they ask philosophical questions while drinking alcohol, and answer with single sentences. They take turns asking about topics like death and unconditional love.
Evie and X walk along the beach. He suggests that they’ll be better dancers now, like Fifi wanted, since they’ve become friends. He takes her hands, and they dance along the beach; he then admits that he wants to kiss her. Evie scolds him, as dancing doesn’t involve kissing, but she obliges. They share their first kiss.
Chapter 25 Summary: “The Ones You Don’t See Coming, Part 1”
At school lunch the next day, Sophie asks why Evie keeps touching her lips; Cassidy adds that she has a “kissdar.” Evie admits to her and X’s kiss, feeling giddy, but then thinks about her visions, as well as the fact that her friends call X her “boyfriend” and that relationships always end. She suspects her power doesn’t work on her, or that she needs to literally see the act of kissing to trigger a vision.
Sophie and Cassidy leave the table, and Martin questions Evie if she saw a vision of her and X. She explains she didn’t, but Martin believes Evie and X are a fitting pair. He complains that Danica has a new boyfriend, believing he lost his chance with her. Evie feels torn, as she thinks Martin and Danica won’t ever get together. While they walk to class, they catch Sophie and Cassidy kissing. Evie witnesses their love story.
Chapter 26 Summary: “Sophie and Cassidy”
Evie witnesses her friends at Cassidy’s enormous, luxurious house. Cassidy is drunk, trying to fit her key in the lock, and Sophie volunteers to help. The former comments on how pretty Sophie is, even when she’s sober, and Sophie is careful but doesn’t resist their first kiss. Next, Cassidy takes Sophie on a private tour of the local observatory. Being interested in science, Sophie is amazed and touched that Cassidy used her parents’ money on the private tour. Then, Evie sees their current kiss.
At a late-night pool party around Christmas, Cassidy stumbles and almost falls in the pool. Sophie catches her and comments that she’s too drunk. Cassidy snaps that she needs to relax. At their favorite waffle restaurant, Evie, Martin, and the couple sit in a booth, planning their road trip. Sophie and Cassidy are clearly upset and not touching. Cassidy suddenly rips pages out of her road trip book and storms off.
Chapter 27 Summary: “The Ones You Don’t See Coming, Part 2”
The vision ends, leaving Evie in shock. Martin whispers that she saw them, and she nods. Since they’ve been found out, Sophie and Cassidy walk toward them, but Evie can’t stay and “pretend to be happy for them” when she understands “how much pain they’re going to cause each other” (127).
Chapters 21-27 Analysis
Evie has a shift in character, as she slowly opens up to X. She reflects on how she’s falling for X, enamored by his upbeat attitude and humor, as well as their flirty banter. After Evie watches X and his band play, she truly believes he can be a rockstar, a farfetched idea she didn’t find realistic earlier. She talks about her father cheating, and X is understanding of her cynicism about love and the world. His compassion develops his character and allows Evie to feel comfortable sharing her deepest thoughts and feelings. Their continued flirting and sharing of stories deepen their connection and heighten the stakes, as Evie is no longer as protective of her heart, even though she knows she’ll likely get hurt.
When X and Evie write the “Black Box,” song together, it’s symbolic of their relationship, a creative partnership. Their writing lyrics mirrors their romance and teamwork on the dance floor. They’ve become partners in music, and are well on their way to becoming romantic partners. The lyrics are also representative of their past losses and feelings of love, grief, and searching for meaning.
In this section, Evie and X finally start dating. Despite Evie‘s denial, X always considered their outings as dates. When they share their first kiss, Evie’s inner romantic shines through: “...[he] kisses me again, and it’s more than good. It’s excellent. Stupendous. Phenomenal. Prodigious. Every synonym for excellent ever conceived” (121). However, Evie still fluctuates between fully opening up to X and avoiding love. This conflict will continue until she resolves her issues with her father and her visions.
The “Tipsy Philosophicals” game is important, as its messages about death and love are key themes. The characters’ philosophical questions range from knowing about one’s death to the existence of unconditional love, which relate to Evie’s struggles and foreshadow X’s premature death. Later, Evie will remember that X didn’t want to know how and when he’d die, informing her decision to withhold her vision from him.
In an unexpected twist, Evie witnesses Sophie and Cassidy kiss. Their romance elicits personal heartbreak, as Evie realizes their break-up will affect the friend group as a whole. In other words, Evie’s visions reveal both romantic and platonic conflict. Since Sophie and Cassidy don’t know about her power, Evie simply states that someday they’ll break up and ruin their friend group. She doesn’t consider her friends’ feelings, only her own heartbreak, when she could be happy for them in the moment; like with X, she can’t conjure the empathy or maturity to quell her own judgment. Later, Evie will learn that others’ feelings are just as important as hers, and to stop using her own pain to justify hurting others (i.e., avoiding Sophie and Cassidy, and later pushing X away).
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By Nicola Yoon
