Thursday, April 9, 2020

The List of Things that Will Not Change by Rebecca Stead - ADVISABLE

The List of Things that Will Not Change by Rebecca Stead, 224 pages. Wendy Lamb Books (Penguin Random House), 2020. $17.

Content: G.

BUYING ADVISORY: EL - ADVISABLE, MS - OPTIONAL 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE 

10 yo Bea's parents are divorced. But they made a list for Bea which includes things that won't change, like both her parents love her (and they still love each other - just in a different way). Bea is very excited when her dad tells her that he and his boyfriend Jessie are going to get married! A wedding? Also, Jessie has a daughter almost exactly the same age as Bea - Bea has always wanted a sister! But things get complicated when everyone isn't as excited as Bea is; combining 2 families isn't as easy as she'd hoped.

Bea is a worrier, I like that she has a positive relationship with both parents, that they saw the importance of getting her a therapist to help her work through things, and that she has great friends and positive adults with her. I was a bit confused about her age - she's telling the story when she's 13 about when she's 10 and some parts happen even earlier, but her character always seems 10. It reads young for middle school, but would fit nicely in an elementary library. Lots of good advice for anxious kids.

Lisa Librarian

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