Book Review: The Truth About Stepmoms

Reviewed by Toni Woodruff

A tenderhearted love story about a creative child and her (surprisingly) loving stepmom

There are a lot of stereotypes about stepmoms. They’re evil. Greedy. They lock you in closets. So what do you do when you become one? The hard answer: keep working on that relationship! The easy one: get this book!

The Truth About Stepmoms tells the story of a creative & funny young girl who is nervous about her Dad’s girlfriend Via turning into a full-blown stepmom. Is Via still just Via, the funny lady she knows and likes, or is she turning into what all stepmoms are supposed to be: evil? 

These bright illustrations pop off the page right away. There is activity and shaping and silhouetting and characters who look like they carry the personality that the prose does. This story is told with a fun voice and is incredibly smooth to read out loud. Parent readers who pride themselves on the ability to entertain with a book will appreciate how easy and energetic of a read this is. 

The content also benefits from a laser-specific audience. There’s a reason to get this book. If you are becoming a stepmom and you want to communicate to your significant other’s child that you’re still going to be their friend, this fits the role perfectly. 

The kid is very likable, and they’ll see themselves in her. Children (and adults!) worry about understanding and feeling comfortable in their family dynamics. And it doesn’t help that so many iconic movies like Cinderella and The Parent Trap and others portray stepmoms as unkind, selfish, and maybe even turning into witches when they’re not looking.

In some ways, I longed for a bit more Mom and Dad in this book. Everything is confusing at this time for the child, but it could be nice to reaffirm that a stepmom is not going to try to take your biological mom’s place and that they won’t come in between them, but I understand the temptation to steer clear: to tell the primary story of the connection of the two, separate from biological parents. 

But the illustrations and the voice and the creativity are all just too spectacular to miss out on. This could be a great gift from dad and from stepmom herself. Getting a new stepmom is confusing! Why not make it less so with this eye-catching, kindhearted book that’s easy to read out loud. 

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Thank you for reading Toni Woodruff’s book review of The Truth About Stepmoms by Renee Bolla! If you liked what you read, please spend some more time with us at the links below.