≡ PDF Free The Reece Malcolm List Stacy Cantor Abrams Collection Book Amy Spalding Books

The Reece Malcolm List Stacy Cantor Abrams Collection Book Amy Spalding Books

Download As PDF : The Reece Malcolm List Stacy Cantor Abrams Collection Book Amy Spalding Books

The Reece Malcolm List Stacy Cantor Abrams Collection Book Amy Spalding Books

I will admit that I only picked up The Reece Malcolm List because it's published by Entangled Teen. I've only read a handful of their titles, but I've enjoyed each one, so I figured I would like this one, too. Luckily, I was right! This is a very cute contemporary book about Devan meeting her mother, the mysterious Reece Malcolm, for the first time ever following the death of her father. Devan barely knew anything about her mother, so it was interesting watching her get to know her and develop a relationship, as well as starting at a new school in a new city.

How to describe Reece Malcolm? Well, I wouldn't say she's a bad mother, but she's pretty detached. She treats Devan as more of a house guest at the beginning rather than a daughter, but it's obvious that she's trying in her own weird way. Devan keeps referring to her as "scary" but I didn't get that from Reece at all. Intimidating is probably a better description. However, as time goes on, Devan is able to add little tidbits to her Reece Malcolm List.

Immediately, Devan's voice drew me in. The author did an amazing job of infusing a memorable personality into her writing. I liked Devan right away, and she's exactly the type of person I'd want to be friends with. In fact, in high school I was friends with people in the school choir and drama club! She lives and breathes musicals which added a lot of fun to her story. I really liked the performance plot thread, even though it did get a little repetitive with all of the rehearsals and everyone telling Devan how amazing she is at singing.

There's also a really cute romance (or two!) going on. We get to follow Devan as she navigates her first boyfriend and her first love, which are completely different experiences. Don't worry though; there isn't a love triangle or insta-love. It's all very realistic that Devan would like one guy who has a girlfriend, and end up dating another nice boy who's into her, but realize that he's not the one.

If you're looking for a fun contemporary that isn't about heavy issues and focuses more on friends and family, I would highly recommend The Reece Malcolm List. It's a very refreshing read with funny moments and touching moments all mixed together. The last page is super cute and almost had me in tears, but left me with a smile on my face.

*Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher through NetGalley for review. No compensation was offered or accepted.


Tags : Amazon.com: The Reece Malcolm List (Stacy Cantor Abrams Collection Book) (9781620612408): Amy Spalding: Books,Amy Spalding,The Reece Malcolm List (Stacy Cantor Abrams Collection Book),Entangled: Teen,1620612402,Romance - General,Authors, American;Fiction.,High schools;Fiction.,Los Agneles (Calif.),Los Angeles (Calif.),Mothers and daughters,Mothers and daughters;Fiction.,Teenage girls,103702 Entangled Teen Distribution,Authors, American,Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9),Fiction,Fiction-Romance,High schools,JUVENILE,JUVENILE FICTION Love & Romance,Juvenile Fiction,Juvenile Grades 7-9 Ages 12-14,Love & Romance,Romance & relationships stories (Children's Teenage),YOUNG ADULT FICTION Romance General,Young Adult Fiction

The Reece Malcolm List Stacy Cantor Abrams Collection Book Amy Spalding Books Reviews

Normally, I don't read multiple books by the same author back-to-back unless they're in a series, and even then, I don't do it often, mostly because so many of the series I'm reading are still in-progress. That said, earlier this month I spent just ten days reading all three of Amy Spalding's books back to back to back, and IT WAS THE BEST DECISION EVER. Here's why

1. Each of Amy Spalding's heroines are so unique in personality that I never felt like they were blending together or making each other predictable. From Devan in THE REECE MALCOLM LIST to Kellie in INK IS THICKER THAN WATER to Riley in KISSING TED CALLAHAN (AND OTHER GUYS), they're all wonderfully distinct. Of course I have a favorite (looking at you, Kellie Brooks), but each of Spalding's girls are funny and smart and interesting and insecure in their own ways and worth reading about on their own terms, and that, more than anything, is why I was able to enjoy reading these books one after another.

2. I already mentioned that Spalding writes funny girl characters but y'all, they're really, really funny. They're self-deprecating and sarcastic and witty, and they make smart jokes and dumb jokes (though truly, if a joke is actually funny, can we really say that it's dumb?), they joke about life and themselves and sex and their family and school. Sometimes they joke because it's that or cry. A lot of the time they joke because they're funny and they know it. So great.

3. There are boys in these books, but while they're certainly well-developed characters, they're also there to showcase how empowering it is for a high school girl to decide what to do with a boy and when. There's kissing and undressing, and sometimes there's almost having sex, and sometimes there's having sex after really thinking about how this is what you want to do, and sometimes there's having sex because you realize right in the moment that yeah, this is what you want to do, and sometimes there's not having sex because nope, you're just not into this guy after all. And it's all good and confusing and revelatory and normal at the same time.

4. In each book, these girls have specific THINGS that they do outside of school — musical theatre, writing, working for the family business, playing in a band — and a lot of their stories revolve around how no matter what other drama is playing out, these are smart, passionate teenage girls who take pleasure in doing things, and doing them well. I especially loved how unapologetic Devan and Riley are about how seriously they take musical theatre and playing in a band, respectively. And, going back to point number one and how each of these girls is unique, I also loved that so much of Kellie's development was focused on the dawning realization that yeah, it's actually fun to do things and be passionate and involved and smart.

5. You should read these books because more than most contemporary YA authors I've read, Amy Spalding lets adults be present and realistic and meaningful in their children's lives. In THE REECE MALCOLM LIST, Devan's mother is a character right from the start — her name is right there in the title! And one of my absolute favorite aspects of INK IS THICKER THAN WATER is how complicated Kellie's family structure is — divorce, remarriage, adoption — while being written in such a way that readers will have empathy for all parties involved. If anything, the fact that Riley's family plays such a small role in KISSING TED CALLAHAN is probably one of the reasons I liked it just a little bit less, because by that point I had fallen head over heels for Spalding's families. However, at the same time, Riley's true to who her family is, and I totally laughed every time she referred to her parents as "the United Front."

And finally, you should drop everything to binge read everything Amy Spalding has ever written because she's a wonderful, lovely person (who I know only via the Internet because I couldn't get my act together to meet her for a drink the last time I was in LA, something I've regretted ever since), and the fact that she's a wonderful, lovely person shows in how she writes about teenagers and girls and families and life. These are good books that will make you feel good.
As a devoted, lifelong fan of musical theater, I was pretty sure I was going to enjoy this book. But one need not be a Broadway fan to get caught up in Spalding's debut novel. Narrator Devan's voice is engaging and funny right from the start; she's the type of YA heroine I like best. Someone with opinions and passions, but also someone who knows she doesn't know everything, and knows she's going to make mistakes and bad choices. There was never a moment that I wasn't rooting for her. I loved the dynamic between Devan and Reece, and especially between Devan and Reece's boyfriend Brad.

(By the way, can I say how hard it is to write a protagonist who's really really GOOD at something? Sometimes the result of a character like that is a hearty eye roll from the reader. But Devan totally owns her acting and singing talents, and I appreciated how well Spalding depicted Devan's complicated confidence.)

There were a few moments where the book felt long, particularly in some of the friendship and relationship complications within Devan's group of friends at her new school. Same with the descriptions of the run-up to the musical. But these didn't bother me too much, as I was fully invested in Devan's character. I thought the ending of the book was wonderful and well-earned. I'll definitely be reading more of Amy Spalding's novels.
I will admit that I only picked up The Reece Malcolm List because it's published by Entangled Teen. I've only read a handful of their titles, but I've enjoyed each one, so I figured I would like this one, too. Luckily, I was right! This is a very cute contemporary book about Devan meeting her mother, the mysterious Reece Malcolm, for the first time ever following the death of her father. Devan barely knew anything about her mother, so it was interesting watching her get to know her and develop a relationship, as well as starting at a new school in a new city.

How to describe Reece Malcolm? Well, I wouldn't say she's a bad mother, but she's pretty detached. She treats Devan as more of a house guest at the beginning rather than a daughter, but it's obvious that she's trying in her own weird way. Devan keeps referring to her as "scary" but I didn't get that from Reece at all. Intimidating is probably a better description. However, as time goes on, Devan is able to add little tidbits to her Reece Malcolm List.

Immediately, Devan's voice drew me in. The author did an amazing job of infusing a memorable personality into her writing. I liked Devan right away, and she's exactly the type of person I'd want to be friends with. In fact, in high school I was friends with people in the school choir and drama club! She lives and breathes musicals which added a lot of fun to her story. I really liked the performance plot thread, even though it did get a little repetitive with all of the rehearsals and everyone telling Devan how amazing she is at singing.

There's also a really cute romance (or two!) going on. We get to follow Devan as she navigates her first boyfriend and her first love, which are completely different experiences. Don't worry though; there isn't a love triangle or insta-love. It's all very realistic that Devan would like one guy who has a girlfriend, and end up dating another nice boy who's into her, but realize that he's not the one.

If you're looking for a fun contemporary that isn't about heavy issues and focuses more on friends and family, I would highly recommend The Reece Malcolm List. It's a very refreshing read with funny moments and touching moments all mixed together. The last page is super cute and almost had me in tears, but left me with a smile on my face.

*Disclaimer I received this book from the publisher through NetGalley for review. No compensation was offered or accepted.