Amy Spalding

Contains Spoilers: For those who love the insightful writing styles of Sophie Kinsella, Beth O’Leary, or Casey McQuiston, Amy Spalding writes a romantic, yet cautionary tale of just how impacting the affects of a toxic relationship can truly be. This slower paced queer romance was made for anyone who has suffered a life altering break up and may have not made it to the other side, or worst yet - for those close to someone who has yet to realize their friend/sibling/parent may be slowly show more losing themselves in a toxic relationship. Amy reminds the reader that it is ok if you are not right for someone as that someone may be completely wrong for you. Don’t lose who you are to keep someone who may not deserve you.

What I liked about this book: Initially reading this book, truth be told, I was bored - not because it wasn’t able to capture my attention; but because, like Nina - I couldn’t see the forest for the trees. I was introduced to Nina running late to meet her girlfriend Taylor, causing her to hit a pedestrian, so the words Taylor subsequently uttered were valid and the break up was justified. Joining Nina three years later, I too believed what she was doing was for the best if she was truly that much of a burden - until I was allowed to see who Nina was through the eyes of those around her. Being privy to the world she shut out, suddenly my curiosity got the best of me, pulling me into the story and stirring a strong sense of suspicion that Taylor may have been more toxic than perspective. What broke my heart and made me want to hold on to Nina was constantly watching Taylor’s words poison everything good in her life. Amy did an amazing job of slowly burrowing into my heart; hoping, wishing, praying that Nina would finally realize Taylor for who/what she was and stop standing in the way of her own happiness.

What I didn’t like about the book: Nothing, I love everything about this book. I loved how much Nina evolved and the ying/yang of her and Ari. I loved how much friendship played a role in Nina’s growth and support as well as a reminder that a therapist is the most important ingredient when attempting to heal. Most of all I loved when we went full circle and Nina crossed paths with Taylor again, she had no idea how her night was going to end but she finally got the closure her heart needed to open for Ari. She became who she was meant to be, in her own time, letting go of a sense of foreboding that was suffocating herself.

Words cannot begin to describe the impact this book will have. The first thing I wanted to do when I finished was recommend it to a good friend who I swear could have been Nina, with the same list of faults given to her by her former girlfriend, making parts of this story more real than fiction for me. Amy’s message of love, forgiveness, redemption, mental health, and acceptance is the golden combination of what makes a good book a lasting memory. show less

As I was scrolling through Goodreads in January pulling together lists of possible new books to check out this year, a debut young adult contemporary struck my eye. Featuring a girl with a love for musical theater who suddenly finds herself living with the mother she never knew, The Reece Malcolm List looked like the perfect opportunity to discover a new author and, possibly, my next great read. So did it meet my expectations? Let’s find out.

Debut YA author Amy Spalding takes on the show more dynamics of family in The Reece Malcolm List as she tells the story of 16-year-old Devan, who has just moved to Los Angeles after the death of her father to live with the mother she has never met. All she knows about Reece Malcolm is the little bit she can gather from Google – and that isn’t much. Together Devan and Reece have to navigate the ups and downs of a mother/daughter relationship while getting to know each other as people.

I loved the whole tone of the story, the pacing, and phrasing. It felt like I was really in Devan’s head and thoroughly understood her insecurities and dreams. She had a fresh and interesting voice – one that sounded so different in my head than any teenage voice I’ve come across before. I thought this was handled very well by Spalding, especially the way Devan censored her thoughts throughout the narrative. Spalding utilized cross-outs as Devan changed words on the fly, such as:

…I would happily accept that these people minus including maybe Mira are now my friends. (Chapter 10)

…I am terrified a little nervous walking into school on Monday morning. (Chapter 11)

While it felt a bit unusual at first, it really was a nice touch that provided insight into Devan’s real thoughts and feelings.

I also enjoyed the way Devan’s list of facts about Reece topped each chapter, growing as the story progressed and highlighting things Devan had learned about her mother in the previous chapter. It emphasized each fact and tied in neatly with the title of the book – the message was not lost along the way (always a good thing).

Bonus points for so many well-rounded, interesting characters! It was wonderful getting to know Reece right along with Devan. She was a little difficult and sometimes said hurtful things but, since I was on the outside looking in, I was able to recognize that Reece’s rough spots covered insecurities of her own. I totally got her sarcasm and her brash personality, but could definitely see how easy it would be to take the things she said the wrong way. Helping keep everyone sane was the third member of the Malcolm household, Reece’s live-in boyfriend Brad. I loved, loved, LOVED him – how sympathetic he was and the way he encouraged both Devan and Reece daily, all while keeping them fed.

As if trying to cement her place in a new family isn’t enough, Devan has to deal with a new school, new friends, and possible romance. I liked the natural twists and turns these relationships took as they developed. Little aggravations arose, small spats and make-ups occurred, a potential best friend came from a surprising place – they all added dimension to the story. Devan’s first kiss was as much a shock to me as to her, but I thought things played out realistically.

One character I want to highlight is Devan’s first crush, Sai, another recent transplant to L.A. and the school just like Devan. He had such an upbeat and outgoing personality through most of the story, but Spalding did a wonderful job revealing bits and pieces of Sai that weren’t all sweetness and light. I liked the way he provided a counterpoint to the issues Devan was dealing with in regards to Reece, and how they seemed on parallel paths – although his was slightly darker.

And now a negative or two. In her quest to learn more about her mother, Devan starts digging through Reece’s personal stuff which, to me, is a huge no-no. I didn’t like this bit of sneakiness in her character and was also a bit annoyed by her referring to her mother as “Reece Malcolm” (full name) all the time. These details added some necessary flaws to her character – no one should be perfect, after all – but they did irritate me. I enjoyed the resolution to the sneakiness issue, however.

Amy Spalding’s young adult contemporary debut The Reece Malcolm List is a wonderful exploration of family and friendship, with a little romance thrown in to spice things up. Featuring a unique teenage voice in Devan, a cast of interesting and well-developed characters, and a natural style that moves the story along, The Reece Malcolm List hits all the right notes to make this an extremely promising debut. show less

Happy publication day!

A Hollywood sapphic love story with an insane amount of food as side characters! (I’m blaming you, Amy Spalding, for all the snacks I consumed while reading it, just fyi.)

Nina has been dumped in a pretty mean way three years ago and never really recovered. Her ex had made her think that she was some evil, toxic person who didn’t deserve to be happy and Nina had believed her. Not only she swore off dating, she also ghosted all her friends. And when she was busy show more keeping herself alone and miserable, Ari stormed into her life with boundless energy and much needed joy.

I loved Ari, she was confident, spontaneous and fun to be around. She also deserved better. Because Nina on the other hand…
Nina frustrated me to no end; first, her level of denial was truly astonishing. Girl!! You can’t be THAT blind?? She sends you gifts, ‘be at my place tonight’ texts, she is into you!!!

Next to being absolutely clueless Nina excelled at self sabotage. I guess if someone convinces you that you’re toxic you actually become toxic… So Nina had assumed things would eventually go to shit, they obviously did and she didn’t try to stop them.

I know I keep complaining about third act breakups, but this one was so bizarre. They didn’t even have a proper fight; mistakes were made on both sides, they discussed them in a three minutes phone call, and that was it, they just hung up and stopped talking. show less

Firstly, don’t read this book when you are hungry. You’ll just crave food or snacks or coffee or numerous other things while reading almost every second page. Now, you can’t say I didn’t warn you 😀😀😀

I loved Abby’s character. She is very funny, has a great sense of style, loves fashion, promotes body positivity and wants everyone to be confident in their body and clothing choices. I love when she mentions that being fat is not an insult even though other people tend to make show more it that way. I thought the fat rep was great, atleast something that I could closely relate to, especially the part about parent’s opinions about our bodies and their belief that becoming thin will make us pretty and happy. As someone who is very subtly shamed about my weight frequently in the guise of “being healthy”, I was happy to see that neither Abby nor her friends consider her weight to be a problem.

The development of Abby and Jordi’s relationship is also very sweet. It starts off with friendship, hesitant smiles, little flirtations and the setup was so much fun to read about. I loved how Jordi never missed taking pictures of Abby because she found her so beautiful and considered it her best work. Their interactions, their well thought out dates and intense makeout sessions were too cute.

Along with the love story, my favorite part of the book were the friendships. Abby’s girl gang is awesome and I really loved their dynamic. It’s also realistically portrayed – Abby being closest to Maliah even though they are best friends with Zoe and Brooke, Abby not being very happy that Maliah is spending more time with her boyfriend leaving less for their girls only bonding. Abby’s almost accidental friendship with Jax is hilarious and I loved hanging out at all the burger joints with them. He may be a dudebro, but he grows on Abby over time and is also extremely supportive of her. There is one particular scene where he explains why he wanted to be her friend and it was very very sweet.

I love this book for a lots of things – bringing East LA to life for me (I’ve never been to the west coast), amazing friendships including f/f and f/m, a cute summer sapphic romance, well fleshed out POC characters and lots of beautiful clothes and food. But my favorite aspect of the book is definitely body positivity and also Abby’s belief that being confident in her body doesn’t mean that she needs to put herself (atleast her pictures) out there on social media. show less