Book Overflow The Patterns of React - Advanced React by Nadia Makarevich
Oct 20, 2025
Carter and Nathan dive into the insights of Advanced React, highlighting its structured approach to common pitfalls. They praise Nadia Makarevich's clear writing and data-driven examples, while discussing the challenges of summarizing dense technical content. The duo debates the importance of deep React knowledge, the balance between T-shaped skills, and when frontend optimization is warranted. They share actionable takeaways like benchmarking and the significance of hooks in reducing complexity. A must-listen for intermediate React developers!
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Re-Renders Aren't Just Prop Changes
- React often re-renders more widely than developers expect because state updates can re-render parent and nested components regardless of props.
- Nadia shows that the common belief "components re-render only when props change" is a misconception that breaks many mental models.
Early React Migration Story
- Nathan describes moving a startup from Angular to early class-based React around 2015 and how the refactor was transformative.
- He emphasizes being CTO-level aware rather than a day-to-day React author during that period.
Optimize Based On Frequency, Not Absolute Cost
- Prioritize fixes by frequency and context: expensive operations are fine if they run rarely, but tiny slowops on frequent events ruin UX.
- Benchmark or observe usage patterns before optimizing to avoid premature work.
