"Josie let out a breath that she didn't know she'd been holding. And since people only did that in books, this was another irrefutable piece of evidence that she was, in fact, in a book."

That's right, our main character, stage name Josie Pie, has found a way to literally escape her peaked-too-early, careening-downhill life by jumping into books. Who among us could say we blame her? Life is hard. Life for a failed thespian is really hard. Life for a failed thespian high school dropout who blew her big break but still can't really believe it and is now buried in debt and licking her emotional wounds in nearly complete isolation as a nanny in Montana ... is really, really hard. So escapism it is! This is fine! Everything's fine! Until you try to escape from the escapism...

This is a fun, lively, super campy YA book that was just a bit too much for me — just one or two layers too deep in indulgent authorial cheekiness and one or two book jumps too long in Josie's journey to self-awareness. I think I would've loved it if it were pared back a little (and perhaps packaged as a novella, but I know that's a far less marketable product). Musical theater kids in particular and people with a higher tolerance for brash, campy humor in general might very well love this. The representation of the different genres in the book jumps are done really well (including historical romance, dystopia, and a graphic novel set right in the middle of the book!). The narrator's voice is hilarious, even if it goes just a little overboard for me, and there are a number of genuinely surprising and funny scenes and developments. (I laughed in delight when Anne and some cows from Green Gables made a gallant appearance.)

Content notes: some body-shaming references to large-chested "trophy wives" (but body-positive comments about a transgender friend), anxiety in a five-year-old, divorce and latch-key kid in the background, brief flashback to assualt of a transgender character

My thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for a digital #ARC.