Review: The Reece Malcolm List by Amy Spalding

From Goodreads: Things I know about Reece Malcolm: 1) She graduated from New York University. 2) She lives in or near Los Angeles. 3) Since her first novel was released, she’s been on the New York Times bestseller list every week. 4) She likes strong coffee and bourbon. 5) She’s my mother. Devan knows very little about Reece Malcolm, until the day her father dies and she’s shipped off to live with the mother she’s never met. All she has is a list of notebook entries that doesn’t add up to much. L.A. offers a whole new world to Devan - a performing arts school allows her to pursue her passion for show choir and musicals, a new circle of friends helps to draw her out of her shell, and an intriguing boy opens up possibilities for her first love. But then the Reece Malcolm list gets a surprising new entry. Now that Devan is so close to having it all, can she handle the possibility of losing everything?

My Rating: 3.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: The Reece Malcolm List by Amy Spalding was a pretty solid novel, but would have received a higher rating from me if it had more drama with regards to some of the conversations and if it had made me feel a bit more emotionally connected to the plot. What I really enjoyed about this book though was the emphasis on family and its exploration of the definition of family.

Musicals and theatre also play a significant role in The Reece Malcolm List, and while I know nothing about either subject, it didn’t stop me from connecting to Devan. I think most of us book bloggers tend to be on the nerdy and more socially awkward side, and so Devan’s personality is something that’s quite easy to relate to.

The weakest part of The Reece Malcolm List for me was the romance. While I was invested in the relationship of Reece and Brad, I didn’t care at all about the guy Devan was crushing on. I feel like I didn't get to know him extremely well – even though Devan appears to instantly click with him – and then disliked him because he would come to Devan whenever he needed comforting rather than going to his girlfriend.

The Reece Malcolm List was released in February 2013 by Entangled Teen. 

Comments About the Cover: I like how the title sort of looks like it’s on the notebook. It would have been even better if it was actually written on the notebook.