The List of Things That Will Not Change

Angelica 

The summer I turned ten, my cousin Angelica fell from the sleeping loft at our family s lake cabin. Uncle Frank says her head missed the woodstove by four inches. 

She hit the floor with a bad sound, a whump. Then we didn t hear anything. No crying. No yelling. Nothing. 

Until, finally, there was the sound of Angelica trying to breathe. 

Dad got to her first. Aunt Ess, Angelica s mom, called from her room. What was that? Dan? What was that?  

He answered, It s Angelica--she fell, but she s okay. She got the wind knocked out of her, but I think she s okay.  

From the loft, I saw Angelica sit up, slowly. Dad was rubbing her back in circles. Uncle Frank and Aunt Ess came crashing in from their bedroom, and then Angelica started crying these short, jagged cries. 

The next morning, Uncle Frank said that if her head had hit the woodstove, Angelica could have died. By that time, she looked normal. She was wearing her turquoise two-piece bathing suit and chewing her eggs with her lips sealed tight. No bruises, even--she landed on her back, Dad said, which is what knocked her wind out. 

That summer, my parents had been divorced for two years already, but I still thought about when Mom used to come to the lake cabin with us. I could picture her red bathing suit on the clothesline. I remembered which end of the table she sat at for dinner. I remembered her, sitting on the dock with Aunt Ess, talking. 

 

Mom and Dad told me about the divorce at a family meeting. I had just turned eight. We d never had a family meeting before. I sat on the couch, between them. They didn t look happy, and I suddenly got worried that something was wrong with our cat, Red. That they were going to tell me he was dying. A boy in my class that year had a cat who died. But that wasn t it. 

Dad put his arm around me and said that some big

REBECCA STEAD is the author of When You Reach Me, which was a New York Times bestseller and winner of the Newbery Medal and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Fiction, and Liar & Spy, which was also a New York Times bestseller, won the Guardian Prize for Children's Fiction, and was on multiple state master lists and best of the year lists. Her most recent book, Goodbye Stranger, was a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book for Fiction and a New York Times bestseller. She is also the author of First Light, which was nominated for many state awards. She lives in New York City with her family. Visit her online at rebeccasteadbooks.com and on Twitter @rebstead.

An NPR Best Book of the Year

Praise for The List of Things That Will Not Change:

"A fabric woven of exactly the right threads.... An undeniably beautiful book."  The New York Times

  Uplifting without sentimentality, timely not trendy, and utterly engaging.   Kirkus Reviews, starred review

  An emotional character journey from a middle-grade master."  Booklist, starred review

  An affecting story of significant middle grade change. Publishers Weekly, starred review 

  The angst and worries that middle grade readers experience are brought to life through Bea s authentic voice in this must-read title. School Library Journal, starred review

  The strength of this novel lies in Stead s authentic, respectful, low-key approach to the emotional life of a ten-year-old as recalled from the perspective of her slightly older self. The Horn Book, starred review
 
  Ultimately, Bea survives, thrives, and grows as love remains constant but her world gets bigger, and readers negotiating their own changing lives will relate to her challenge and applaud her triumph. The Bulletin, starred review

  Stead masterfully explores the internal life of a girl going through both extraordinary and run-of-the-mill trials in a way that tells readers they are not alone in their complicated, contradictory feelings about the world. Shelf Awareness, starred review

"A dazzling middle grade novel from Newbery Medalist Rebecca Stead."  BookPage, starred review
 
"An absolute original . . . a story that kids will love." R. J. Palacio, bestselling author of Wonder
 
"No author writing today observes young lives with more clarity, tenderness, and grace than the