All the Little Ways, Laura Lekkos (Review by Elizabeth Burchfield)

Rating: 5.0/5 Stars

All the Little Ways dives into the very different lives of two very different pregnant women. Victoria is a mature, corporate driven, married woman and Liz is searching to find her career and dating her boyfriend as she navigates pregnancy. The two women are at completely different stages in their lives, but their lives unexpectedly collide and they soon become friends.

I found the novel to be refreshing in its approach to pregnancy through the lens of women trying to have it all in a modern society. The less glamorous chapters were very genuine, such as vomiting during a very important meeting, or trying to keep the spark alive while being pregnant.

As much as I loved the novel’s approach to pregnancy, I also was blown away by Lekkos’ imagery. The way the scenes were set up didn’t seem forced and I could easily envision the Beverly Hills hotel and the baby store. I also felt a connection to both Liz and Victoria; I found aspects of both of them to be very relatable. Liz felt like she didn’t have things figured out yet and Victoria had a sense of wanting to plan everything, which almost comically of course does not work out when it comes to pregnancy and delivery.

While the topic of navigating pregnancy can be tumultuous enough with plenty of twists and turns, Lekkos also sprinkled in some more serious twists that I did not see coming. I was stunned to find out Liz and Victoria had a closer connection than they ever imagined, despite being from different worlds. Betrayal and lies tear the friends apart right before the need each other the most. The unexpected turns towards the end of the book as the pregnancies were coming to their end, kept me engaged and pushing forward to read faster.