Reviews

The List of Things That Will Not Change by Rebecca Stead

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happylilkt's review against another edition

4.0

Battle of the Books 2023-24

Book 1 of 16

Original Review (September 2020):

3.5/4 stars

Bea's parents give her a list of things that will not change when they tell her their decision to divorce. Bea continues to add more items to the list as she identifies them (quite a few items are woven throughout though the list is not shared in toto). I think the author does a great job sensitively depicting a divorce where one parent comes out of the closet at the same time.

Themes include anger management, therapy/counseling, divorce, a parent remarrying, blended families, homophobia, and learning to accept and forgive our own mistakes.

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jenmangler's review against another edition

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3.0

Sweet story. The adults in Bea's life feel a bit too perfect, but I was willing to overlook that because I appreciate that everyone was working hard to help Bea, and this was told from her perspective.

mdevlin923's review against another edition

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3.0

Bea often refers to her List of Things That Will Not Change...originally made by her parents when they told her they would be getting a divorce because her father is gay. Many things have changed in Bea's life since that announcement: her father moved out, Bea started moving back and forth between her mother and father, and her father became engaged to Jesse. Bea is thrilled to help plan the wedding and meet Jesse's daughter, Sonia. But this summer, Bea is going to learn what it's like to create a new family while keeping fragments of your original family.

A very heartfelt and wholesome story with good representation of blended families, LGBTQ+, and mental health.

trin's review against another edition

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5.0

Wholesome, heartfelt, adorable -- but also incredibly real, never sugar-coated. Stead is a master of POV. I flew through this, got choked up, had all the feelings. A delight.