Monday, January 05, 2015

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. 

6 comments:

  1. I really like stories that focus on family dynamics as well Z, so I'm glad this was a success in that aspect. It's too bad you weren't as emotionally involved overall as you wanted to be though, and I know I'll want more from the romance:) Still sounds like a solid enough read!

    ReplyDelete
  2. "I think most of us book bloggers tend to be on the nerdy and more socially awkward side" LOL, so true! It's no wonder why so must of us click with the characters that have the same idiosyncrasies. I do like the emphasis on family dynamics though the romance was a bit of a let down.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I adore books that focus on families so I think that aspect of this would be quite fabulous, but I have to say I'm a bit disappointed by the romance. If there are two couples at the center, then I want to care equally for both.
    But overall, it sounds like a lovely read.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hee, yeah I think I could probably relate to Devan :) And I got to appreciate a book that puts a focus on the family dynamics! What a shame about the romance though.

    ReplyDelete
  5. It's surprising how much an emotional connection can effect your enjoyment of a novel! Devin sounds easy to relate to but that romance... I'm not sure how I'd feel about it.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I read this one a couple years back, and I remember really liking it. I also seem to remember not really being to enthralled with the romance aspect of the novel, but really loving how Devan and her mum interacted. I also loved Spaldings approach on family dynamics.

    Great review!

    ReplyDelete

I love comments and will reply back via either email or stopping by your blog. Please note that this is an award-free zone.