I received an electronic ARC from Wendy Lamb Books through NetGalley.
Stead offers a realistic yet gentle look into the world of Bea - a 10 year old fifth grader who is mature beyond her years in some ways and trapped in her anxieties in others. Her parents are divorced and her dad is getting remarried. Bea is delighted to be getting a second father and even more excited to gain a sister. That relationship takes time to build as readers would expect.
The narrator's point of view comes through clearly in the short chapters and letters/emails Bea writes. She shares her world and slowly reveals more of herself to readers. Middle graders will relate to her past foibles and struggles to control her emotions and figure out who she is and who she wants to be. The title comes from the list that her parents presented to her when they told her they were divorcing. It lists the things in their lives that won't change - Mom loves her; Dad loves her, etc. She adds a few items as their lives progress.
A quick read with a lot of emotion and power. Underneath, it's also a story about families and acceptance. Readers see one family that loves unconditionally and one that does not.

The List of Things That Will not Change deals beautifully with the difficult issues related to adjusting to the fact that your life will not always be as you expected. Bea's list of things that will not change, along with many loving adults and loyal friends, help her navigate her parent's split and her father's remarriage to a wonderful man. Instead of mourning what she's lost she becomes excited about what is to be gained, and works through some of the difficult episodes that have recently transpired in her life. Rebecca Stead has artfully navigated a young person through life's twists and turns with kind and caring skill. A very encouraging and life affirming story.

Students interested in introspective, character-driven stories will enjoy The List of Things That Will Not Change. It’s moving story of family and changing dynamics that fans of quieter stories will love.

Rebecca Stead is one of those magic-filled authors, one you can rely on to surprise, delight, and enchant you. She is also a writer that reliably surprises, delights, and enchants young readers. This might seem to go without saying, but in reality, it is no small task. Librarians and teachers especially know how often it happens that what the adult in the room thinks is wonderful, the child is decidedly less interested in. The List of Things That Will Not Change is one of those titles that meets both adult and child reader right where they are.

The List of Things That Will Not Change is about Bea, a girl working through all the layers of her parents' super-amicable divorce and her father's remarriage to his boyfriend, Jesse.

Or it's about only children and sisters and brothers and cousins and uncles and aunts and the ways families build each other and destroy each other in countless ways.

Or it's about identity and uncertainty and the adolescent fear that maybe the bad part of us is the only "real" part of us.

Or it's about love in all its magnificent forms and bravery and happiness balloons.

Like a spiral that extends downward and outward, expanding to fill whatever space it inhabits, this book is much more than it might seem at first glance. Just like life, it is "about" all the things, and we are all the better when we handle them all with care.

I really enjoyed this story about young Bea and her list of things that will not change-- first and foremost, that her parents still love her and each other even though they are not married. This was a comforting theme throughout the book and I can see it resonating a lot with kids. Also loved that at one point Bea goes behind the adults' backs to invite an estranged family member to her father's same-sex wedding, and it doesn't go the way she wants it to. I have noticed a lot of instances like this lately where the child does something without their parents' permission and everything works out perfectly, and the adult ends up apologizing for not believing in the child. I am a huge fan of When You Reach Me, and although this book didn't gel quite as well as that one, I still highly recommend it.

A story of a girl dealing with the divorce of her parents. She is told that they still love each other, but even though they will no longer live in the same house things will not change. However things do change as dad is getting remarried and Bea will finally have the sister she always wanted. Bea discovers that as much as we want things to stay the same some change in our life can be good, we might have to just give things a chance.

I adored this book—its characters, setting, conflicts, and realistic resolutions. The message of love and acceptance is just what we all need.. A must-read for children and for the adults who love and teach them every day.

Rebecca Stead continues to cement her position as one of the most reliably excellent middle grade and tween fiction writers, producing another relatable but quirky work. The List of Things That Will Not Change is about feisty fifth-grader Bea's ups and downs navigating the complexity of contemporary families. Her parents are divorced and though she knows their love for her is steadfast, she struggles at times to reconcile all the changes her father's upcoming remarriage to his partner Jesse will bring. Bea struggles with impulsivity, anxiety, and flashes of anger and resentment, as well as chronic eczema and the upheaval, however well-intentioned, of living in two New York City homes. To help her, she is in therapy and it is rare for a middle-grade novel to show what happens in a therapist's office and how it takes time, patience and trust on both sides to work.. Bea has a secret that shadows her life and her journey to tell someone about it is portrayed with skill and understanding. The LGBTQ characters are portrayed as fully rounded with challenges of their own that love alone cannot solve, and Bea's feelings of responsibility and resentment towards everyone from her single mother to her mean cousin and frenemy at school is equally shaded. Bea's voice is strong and assured and her path towards growing maturity and empathy - and she's a great kid to begin with - is believable and absorbing. Life is messy and painful at times, but with love and understanding, things can only get better. And the appealing cover is only going to help with Reader's Advisory!

Bea is ten years old and is a mature fifth grader.
This is a chronicle of her reflectios of her past and evolving current situation.

In her short past she has some regrets. Well, don’t we all! The birthday party where she played musical chairs and when no chair was a available when the music stopped, she pushed her best friend off a chair so not to lose. Her friend forgave her, but his mother still holds a grudge over it.

When she was eight, her mother and father called her in for a meeting and she found out they were getting a divorce. Bea also learns that her dad is gay.

Divorce changes Bea's life as it does for everyone. She now alternates her life between two different houses depending on which day it is. She finds out she is getting a sister. She goes to therapy to talk about how it's going.

Bea is actually navigating her life pretty well. Her parents gave her a journal to keep a list of things in her life that will not change.

1. Mom loves you more than anything, always.

2. Dad loves you more than anything, always.

3. Mom and dad love each other, but in a different way.

4. You will always have a home with each of us.

The list goes on and amazingly the parents completely uphold the list. Does that ever really happen in divorces. It is my hope, but not my experience.

This story, while not a thrilling one, is compelling as you experience the ups and downs of Bea's new life with two dads, a reluctant new sister and a hostile uncle.

I found this book to be deeply touching, and warmly reassuring as we all must open our eyes and hearts to the differences in people.

The book poses some some tough questions for our 21st century children and is delicately respectful of the complexity of life and the wonder of the gifts we all are given but don’t always utilise; forgiveness and love.

This is an excellent addition to the LBTQ collection. It might be a controversial addition in some settings.


Fiction, ages 8 - 12

This book is told from the point of view of Beatrice, or Bea for short. She talks from the present, but goes back over the last couple of years, from the time her parents told her that they were getting a divorce because her father was gay, to the time of her dad's marriage a few years later. When her parents got divorced (amicably) they gave her a list of things that will not change, and she's added to it over the last couple of years.

I like that (as usual) Rebecca Stead writes her books where a kid can totally relate to the characters. She's on spot - not too mature, not too childish - in a way that a kid can think, "that's just how I feel sometimes." Bea is finding that her situation is not something that everyone is comfortable with, and that people can sometimes be mean about it. She's learning how to deal with it, and how to identify her emotions so that she can be in charge of them rather than them being in charge of her. A lot of the learning how to deal with these emotions happens with the guidance of her therapist, giving her words and ideas that are helpful. We see her grow and learn to reconcile with others, as well as learn that sometimes reconciliation is beyond reach, and that when that happens, she still has a choice as to how she will deal with that. Everything wasn't hunky-dory when the book ended (although much of it was) and that helps kids know that even when everything isn't perfect, it can still be okay.

I think this is a solid middle school choice.

This was a quick read, but it was really good. It shows what it's like for kids who's parents get divorced. I loved the characters and really wanted Bea to be okay. This was a complete book and I loved the ending. It was very realistic.

Bea’s parents have divorced; however, one thing they have gifted her is the green notebook that contains “Things that won’t EVER change.” Foremost is that her parents will always love her and that they will always love each other, just in a different way.

But two years after the divorce, Dan is getting married again. And things are changing at a whirlwind rate.

I have loved all of Rebecca Stead’s books that I’ve read: Newbery Award-winning When You Reach Me, Liar & Spy and Bob. And now The List of Things That Will Not Change. This beautiful novel is poignant without being cloying and thought-provoking without being preachy — a book that even adults will dwell on for a long, long time.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley. Random House Children’s Publishing Group and Wendy Lamb Books in exchange for an honest review.

I love Rebecca Steads writing. Great story about a current and difficult issue, but love is love and she tells this message through several great relationships!

Overall, cute read with likable characters. Definitely a nice diverse middle grade book I’ll share with my own kids and recommend with my students, Stead is always good for something out of the norm. Full rof view on Goodreads.

I loved the way this book was structured, with that tween nostalgia--looking back at so long ago, like 2 years, when you were a little kid. Bea has grown a lot, with help from her family and her therapist. Her therapy sessions and techniques really resonated with me, as someone with a lot of anxiety. Her parents' treatment of their divorce also rang true. I love the ease of which Stead sets her books in Manhattan--it's just a given that the world exists there, and it feels real, with all the trials, tribulations, smells and subway lines. The grown-up characters get a lot of emotional life here, without spending too much time completely on them. This is really a lovely book about anxiety and divorce, or just friendship and growing up.

The List of Things that Will Not Change by Rebecca Stead is a hard to put down novel about relationships and understanding that can appeal to young adults and adults alike. The main relationship is between Bea and her divorced parents. Her life is split between them while she navigates between her feelings and the changes to her life as her father prepares to remarry his partner. It is a loving and realistic view of what is becoming more prevalent today.
The novel gives the reader a better understanding of human nature during complicated family life. The plot is relatable and moves quickly.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I would heartily recommend reading it. It would provide a springboard to a discussion of changes that we experience in our view of marriage in society as well as how people emotionally handle personal relationships.

Rebecca Stead does it again.
There's no doubt in my mind that this lovely book will be nominated for awards.

The List of Things That Will Not Change captures the beautiful complexity of families: making new ones, changing existing one, coming together, falling apart. Extended families, blended families, single parents.

It's exceedingly rare for a middle-grade novel to explore LGBTQ themes, but Stead fearlessly charges into the topic and explores it without characterizing the gay men in the book. Bea's relationship with Jesse is so refreshing when literature seems to put incoming step-parents in an evil role, exploring the sweeter sides of getting to know a person who will move into a parent role (think Max in Amber Brown, but with even less contention).

Bea is such a wonderfully complex young person, and another standout in this book to me is the way Bea's therapy is never treated as something weird, and with the exception of one grumpy adult, isn't even lauded as something out of the ordinary.

I'm so excited to get to share this with younger readers who need books on tough topics!

I cannot wait to offer this as a reading club option once it is published! Remarkable story, instantly-likeable protagonist, many topics treated with grace and skill, and deeply explored in a truly enjoyable and touching book.

Another fantastic novel by Stead! I did and I hope readers will too; absolutely fell in love with Bea and her list of things that will not change once her parents got a divorce. I felt that Bea was a well developed character and I think readers can relate to some of the changes that are happening to her along with her parents divorce. I love how she has the list of things that will not change as a steadying/guiding point. There are also a fantastic supporting character crew that we get to know just as well and see how they support Bea and help her grow. The topics explored such as anxiety, therapy, same-sex marriages, and blended families are all things that make this story so relatable.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for providing me this ARC.

Thank you to Net Galley for providing an ARC of The List of Things That Will Not Change. I consumed this book in a day. The characters are authentic, the writing is spot-on, and the story will resonate with its intended audience. The story handles hard hitting topics such as divorce, anxiety and family relationships in a gentle, thoughtful way. My only complaint, and this is nit-picking, is with the frequent mentioning of the main character's eczema. It added nothing to the story and kept distracting me from the narrative. However, that is small compared to the wonderful story and characters. Well done again, Ms. Stead.