Author: Laura Lekkos
Publisher: Gallery Books
ISBN: 9781668206997
Two pregnant women who are almost complete opposites form a bond despite their differences. As they try to deal with morning sickness and weight gain, their friendship becomes a major source of comfort and support until a shocking revelation threatens to destroy it forever. Debut author Laura Lekkos celebrates the beauty and complexity of female friendships in her likeable first novel, All the Little Ways.
Victoria knows the world of finance as well as any man, and she regularly outpaces her biggest competitors in her LA firm. In fact, she’s poised to become a major force in her company…until the news of her pregnancy comes out in the most unfortunate of ways. She’s embarrassed about the way everyone found out but also ecstatic that she’s having a baby. She and her husband, Ace, have been head over heels for one another since they first met. It doesn’t matter that Victoria is 43 and her husband is in his sixties. They’re as giddy as a couple of teenagers, especially now that they’re going to be parents.
Liz only dreams about having that kind of confidence…or any confidence at all. In her early 30s, Liz is also pregnant with her first child. Except she’s not sure her boyfriend, Preston, is totally on board with having a baby. Or that he’s even really her boyfriend. The kids today would call what Liz and Preston have a “situationship,” but Liz wants so much more from Preston and life in general. Having a baby and giving it the kind of stability she always wanted seems like a great place to start. Maybe. Possibly.
Through a series of fun coincidences, Liz and Victoria end up in the same prenatal class. At first, it seems like they have nothing in common. Victoria is a high-powered career woman who is always impeccably put together with laser focus on what she wants from life. Liz works in reality TV as an underling, hates her job, and considers it a win if she can find different pants for every day. Yet they’re drawn to each other, and Liz is the first to admit that Victoria’s confidence draws her in like a magnet. When she discovers that Victoria is also funny and kind, along with being way more grounded than the stereotypical LA socialites in their class, Liz immediately wants to be Victoria’s BFF.
Victoria finds Liz’s honesty refreshing, and it’s so much fun to have someone else to gossip with about the other moms. What is with the silly “Thanks in Advance” they keep throwing in the group chat like a tic? It’s annoying, and Victoria and Liz bond over how goofy the other moms are. The fact that they’re due only a week apart seems like another way for their friendship to become cemented. Until a bombshell of information blows everything apart. Suddenly, Victoria doesn’t know if she and Liz can be friends after all. In fact, she’s not sure they should ever see each other again. How can they, when Victoria is now questioning everything in her life?
Author Laura Lekkos plays it safe in this homage to female friendships. The plot is predictable in parts. Readers may see the major twist coming long before Victoria does, given the access to information they have that Victoria doesn’t. However, Lekkos creates an organic way for the twist to occur, keeping it true to her story world and the plot.
Even with the predictability of the book, many of the exchanges between Victoria and Liz are fun and engaging. Victoria is the big sister figure many young women want, and Liz’s uncertainty feels relatable. Although Victoria’s advice can veer into lecturing territory at times, her well-meaning heart makes up for the know-it-all attitude.
The friends carry the majority of the book on their shoulders with secondary characters coming across as stand-ins for well-developed people. Even then, Liz is so earnest and Victoria so open to nurturing a younger sister-type friend that those stock characters may not bother readers so much, the exception being Harper, Victoria’s assistant, who is too excited to use Gen-Z slang. The narration seems determined to include every phrase used by today’s young people to the point of sounding caricaturish, but Lekkos gives Harper her own redemption moment that makes up for it in the end.
The book is a lovely addition to the field of women’s fiction and is a fun summer read. Those looking for a mostly uncomplicated novel about friendship will want to check this out. I recommend readers Bookmark All the Little Ways by Laura Lekkos.