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It's Only Dancing
Not yet published
Expected 6 Oct 26New York Times bestselling author Jasmine Guillory makes her highly-anticipated young adult debut with a Dirty Dancing-inspired contemporary romcom!
It's the summer before her senior year of high school and Katherine (Kitty to her family) wants to be spending it interning for an important organization or doing something impressive--instead, she's spending an entire month with her family at a camp on the coast of southern California.
When she stumbles across a staff party on the first night, she's jealous of their joyful, uninhibited dancing. She hasn't danced like that since two years ago, when the insults forced her to quit ballet, which she once loved more than anything.
When she and a hip hop dance instructor named Jordan start to fall in love, she realizes that getting too close with a handsome and magnetic employee could tarnish her good girl reputation. As Kitty begins sneaking around and lying to her parents in order to spend time with Jordan, she'll have to ask herself--what is she willing to risk in order to finally feel free? And is it possible her love for Jordan could reignite her love for dance?
It's the summer before her senior year of high school and Katherine (Kitty to her family) wants to be spending it interning for an important organization or doing something impressive--instead, she's spending an entire month with her family at a camp on the coast of southern California.
When she stumbles across a staff party on the first night, she's jealous of their joyful, uninhibited dancing. She hasn't danced like that since two years ago, when the insults forced her to quit ballet, which she once loved more than anything.
When she and a hip hop dance instructor named Jordan start to fall in love, she realizes that getting too close with a handsome and magnetic employee could tarnish her good girl reputation. As Kitty begins sneaking around and lying to her parents in order to spend time with Jordan, she'll have to ask herself--what is she willing to risk in order to finally feel free? And is it possible her love for Jordan could reignite her love for dance?
- GenresRomanceYoung Adult
320 pages, Paperback
Expected publication October 6, 2026
About the author
Jasmine Guillory
27 books24.2k followersJasmine Guillory is a New York Times bestselling author of nine novels including The Wedding Date, the Reese's Book Club selection The Proposal, and Flirting Lessons. Her work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Cosmopolitan, Bon Appetit, and Time, and she is a frequent book contributor on The Today Show. She lives in Oakland, California.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 27, 2026
Jasmine Guillory, author of adult romance novels including The Proposal, The Wedding and Flirting Lessons, debuts her first novel for high school readers of romance, especially designed for those who love to dance or have a fondness for the 1987 box office hit, Dirty Dancing.
Katherine/Kat who used to go by Kitty and her dad just can’t get it, was serious about ballet since elementary school but as her body began to develop curves not usually seen on the most successful ballerinas, a spiteful instructor took away her joy of dance with belittling critiques and lesser roles leading to her quitting and swearing off dance of all types. A forced togetherness summer camp family experience just may change that…if gruff Toni and gorgeous Jordan, dance instructors at camp, have anything to do with it! A chance discovery of a staff only hip hop dance party leaves Kat wondering if there is a place for dance in her life and then when Jordan needs a partner for an important performance, Toni is sure of it even with Kat isn’t! Ten days of intense practice results in not only a great partnership on stage but Kat and Jordan find their hip hop heat extends to their hearts, too.
Guillory throws in a variety of relationship complications-staffers not permitted to date campers, Kat’s heart wounds from more than just an ignorant ballet instructor, a bigoted camp director with bad ideas, as well as a protest in town that results in an undeserved arrest and dismissal from employment at the camp. The parallels between It’s Only Dancing and Dirty Dancing are clearly present but Kat and Jordan are not simply a Black Baby/Francis and Johnny. Readers will not be able to predict every scene and will not burst into “I’ve Had the Time of My Life” as they read.
Recommended for high school libraries, especially if there is a large dancing population present.
*Profanity: less than 30 instances of mild cursing with the acronym WTF used once which may sound like a lot, but it really didn’t feel that way to this retired librarian
*Violence: A protest at a bookstore hosting a drag story time gets verbally abusive and patrons were berated and harassed to the point of fear; a camp protest of the firing of an employee and unfair treatment of others is loud but not abusive or threatening
*Sexual content: None, but Kat and Jordan do kiss often and with great passion, there is discussion of how physically attractive he finds her, and Kat definitely toys with the idea of more than just kissing him but neither make any move in that direction.
*Representation: Kat’s family is Black as are Jordan and his father. Other staffers have names indicating diversity and several staffers are noted as being racially discriminated against by the camp director. Toni’s partner is non-binary and their identity is a significant factor in the storyline.
Thanks for the eARC, Edelweiss and Scholastic Press.
Katherine/Kat who used to go by Kitty and her dad just can’t get it, was serious about ballet since elementary school but as her body began to develop curves not usually seen on the most successful ballerinas, a spiteful instructor took away her joy of dance with belittling critiques and lesser roles leading to her quitting and swearing off dance of all types. A forced togetherness summer camp family experience just may change that…if gruff Toni and gorgeous Jordan, dance instructors at camp, have anything to do with it! A chance discovery of a staff only hip hop dance party leaves Kat wondering if there is a place for dance in her life and then when Jordan needs a partner for an important performance, Toni is sure of it even with Kat isn’t! Ten days of intense practice results in not only a great partnership on stage but Kat and Jordan find their hip hop heat extends to their hearts, too.
Guillory throws in a variety of relationship complications-staffers not permitted to date campers, Kat’s heart wounds from more than just an ignorant ballet instructor, a bigoted camp director with bad ideas, as well as a protest in town that results in an undeserved arrest and dismissal from employment at the camp. The parallels between It’s Only Dancing and Dirty Dancing are clearly present but Kat and Jordan are not simply a Black Baby/Francis and Johnny. Readers will not be able to predict every scene and will not burst into “I’ve Had the Time of My Life” as they read.
Recommended for high school libraries, especially if there is a large dancing population present.
*Profanity: less than 30 instances of mild cursing with the acronym WTF used once which may sound like a lot, but it really didn’t feel that way to this retired librarian
*Violence: A protest at a bookstore hosting a drag story time gets verbally abusive and patrons were berated and harassed to the point of fear; a camp protest of the firing of an employee and unfair treatment of others is loud but not abusive or threatening
*Sexual content: None, but Kat and Jordan do kiss often and with great passion, there is discussion of how physically attractive he finds her, and Kat definitely toys with the idea of more than just kissing him but neither make any move in that direction.
*Representation: Kat’s family is Black as are Jordan and his father. Other staffers have names indicating diversity and several staffers are noted as being racially discriminated against by the camp director. Toni’s partner is non-binary and their identity is a significant factor in the storyline.
Thanks for the eARC, Edelweiss and Scholastic Press.
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
Guillory has penned her young adult debut and it's a modern Dirty Dancing retelling! This is not a drill! Katherine is reluctantly headed to a family summer camp with her family for a month of family bonding. But the last activity she's up for is hip hop dancing. Or dancing of any sort really, after having quit ballet a few years ago. But her big heart (and a tiny crush on one of the dance instructors) has her offering to sub in for a big dance in a few weeks. However, she's going to have to get her hips and face to show some emotion if she's going to succeed. This fun retelling is the perfect summer read!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Great YA debut! Fun and funny romance inspired by the movie Dirty Dancing. Kat and Jordan were great main characters, and I liked all the secondary characters as well.
Side note, I did think the entire time that maybe a character from her other novels would pop in like they do in her other books. Just for a bit of overlap haha But not that I noticed.
Thanks to Scholastic for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. Watch for It’s Only Dancing to come out October 6, 2026.
Side note, I did think the entire time that maybe a character from her other novels would pop in like they do in her other books. Just for a bit of overlap haha But not that I noticed.
Thanks to Scholastic for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. Watch for It’s Only Dancing to come out October 6, 2026.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
oh how i love dirty dancing. Jasmine takes us along on Kat’s journey of self discovery and love at a “forced family fun” summer camp trip. I cried throughout the entirety of this book, watching Kat grow into herself and find her independence. Absolutely beautiful book that i will be recommending to everyone.
Dance, love, and sticking it to the man. 10/10. 🫶
Dance, love, and sticking it to the man. 10/10. 🫶
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
Modern, California version of Dirty Dancing.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews