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.

Another fantastic novel by Stead. Readers will absolutely fall in love with Bea and her list of things that will not change once her parents get a divorce. Readers will enjoy getting to know Bea as Stead does a masterful job developing her character throughout the book. There is also a fantastic supporting character crew that we get to know just as well. Furthermore, readers will explore topics such as anxiety, therapy, same-sex marriages, and blended families. All of these topics are important and presented in a way that readers will understand and relate to.

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

This book followed Bea’s life transitions through a parents divorce, new marriage, and all that comes with it. Stead does a good job of capture the raw emotions of Bea and creates strong characters. However, something about this book felt flat to me. It didn’t grab my attention and I struggled to get through it. So many had recommended this author and it’s the first book I’ve read by her, but it didn’t do much for me. I normally love middle grade fiction and this one didn’t connect with me.

Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for my review.

This is one of my favorite books that I’ve read lately. I’m a long time fan of Ms. Stead, and this book did not disappoint. Such an amazing job of exploring the complex emotional reality of tweens, and the topic of self forgiveness. Thank you for publishing this wonderful book.

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus



Bea's parents are divorced, but she keeps a list that reassures her that her life is still okay. They have shared custody, and live close to each other, so she is able to keep herself fairly organized, although having two reminders about school projects would help. Her father has a posh restaurant, Beatrice, and his partner, Jesse works there. Jesse's sister Sheila frequently babysits her. She has good friends in Lizette and Angus, and sees a therapist, Miriam, to help her deal with the divorce and some anger management issues. Bea also suffers from fairly significant eczema. As her father and Jesse prepare to get married, we see Bea's every day life, but also flashbacks to other periods in time. One of these that recurs is the previous summer, when the family got together and her cousins gave her a hard time. One of those cousins, Angelica, fell out of a top bunk and wasn't hurt, but has recently been experiencing difficulties. Bea mentions that she is not a good person and did something bad over the summer, and eventually tells Miriam what this is and is able to deal with her guilt.

Strengths: This had a lot of good elements: Bea's dealing with divorce and going between homes, her extended family's acceptance (or rejection) of her father's sexual orientation, her relationship with Jesse's daughter, her school projects (making butter in a jar!), and her appointments with her therapist. I especially was glad to see a portrayal of a young person with eczema, as I have had several students struggle with that condition. Stead's When You Reach Me won the Newbery ten years ago, and many teachers and librarians are huge fans of her probing, lyrical writing.
Weaknesses: While Bea is in about fifth grade, she seems very young, and many of the anecdotes involve her life when she is even younger. This is a more character driven story, so there is not a lot that happens. The source of Bea's guilt was pretty obvious and not that compelling.
What I really think: I will pass on purchase because of the young feel and the NYC setting, which does not do well with my students. The exception to this is Mackler's Not If I Can Help It, but that circulates mainly due to the giant gummy bear on the cover!

Love this story about love and family. Ups, downs and how to forgive yourself and move on. Best and her family and friends flow together easily, after awhile you feel like a part of their world.