Book Review: The List of Things That Will Not Change by Rebecca Snead

The List of Things That Will Not Change

by Rebecca Snead (j Snead)

 

The List of Things That Will Not Change is a finely crafted, heartfelt book about a girl whose family life has changed and is about to change again.

 

When the book opens, it’s been several years since Bea’s parents divorced and she has become used to her schedule of living in two homes. On the day her parents told her they were separating, they gave her a notebook and a numbered list of things that will not change. Number Six was, “We are still a family, but in a different way.” Now, her dad tells her there’s another family meeting and Bea worries what it could be this time, but he tells her he’s going to marry his boyfriend. A little later in the book, Bea realizes this also means she’s going to be gaining a sister like she’s always wanted!

 

The thing that stood out to me the most about this book is the way it models emotional intelligence for kids in so many ways. Bea and her parents have set up signals to check in on each other or to say they love each other with hand squeezes. Bea is seeing a therapist which demystifies and destigmatizes therapy for kids reading the book. This also gives the opportunity for Bea to be mindful about how feelings can layer on top of each other and how her body responds to feelings like anger and guilt.

 

All characters are well-rounded with things happening that sometimes only adult readers are likely to notice, but other times kids are likely to pick up on before Bea does. There’s a bit too much time hopping for the age group, so I’d recommend making a time chart if reading with younger kids.

 

The biggest frame of suspense about how the sound of corn growing ties into Bea’s life is lovely but maybe abstract for kids. However, they will all want to know how the wedding will go, whether Bea and her new sister will get along, how Bea and the classmate that Bea is bullying will work out, whether Bea’s cousin will recover from Bell’s Palsy, how the colonial breakfast project at school will play out with Dad’s fiancé attending, and what happens after you maybe get bitten by a bat.

 

It’s not clear that any of the specific disabilities (like eczema) and experiences in this book are from the author’s personal experience, but it all seemed sensitively written to me.

 

It’s a sweet book that had me misty-eyed a lot. There’s just so much good stuff for kids here while staying firmly in the perspective of a kid their age who is not always doing the right thing the first time but gets there by the end.

 

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Blended, by Sharon Draper.]

 

[ publisher’s official List of Things That Will Not Change web page ]

 

Recommended by Garren H.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

Have you read this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!