The List of Things That Will Not Change by Rebecca Stead

 

Bea will never forget that day. Her parents sat on the couch on either side of her for their very first "family meeting." From their sad looks she was afraid that maybe her cat, Red, was sick, maybe dying. Her dad put his arm around her and said some big things were going to change. He said they were getting divorced. Her parents explained that dad was moving into another apartment and that Bea would alternate between the two apartments. Then they gave her a green spiral notebook and a green pen. Green was her favorite color. Inside her parents had started a list of "Things 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.

5. Your homes will never be far apart.

We are still a family, but in a different way.

When Dad tells Bea that he and his boyfriend, Jesse, are getting married, Bea is excited because (1) she thinks Jesse is great, and (2) Jesse has a daughter, Sonia, and now Bea will have the thing she's always wanted: a sister. But Bea sometime struggles to understand how emotions work, and Sonia's emotions about her new family are complicated. And even though the List of Things That Will Not Change grows longer, Bea discovers that making a new family is full of changes and uncertainty.