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Lap Baby by Amy Q Barker – Review by Jessie Hopkins

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I was very invested in the book from the start because it draws you in immediately. I also felt connected since I am personally familiar with the area in which Paige lives. I smiled with how accurate the description of Paige’s hometown and job and past times and how they resonated with me also growing up in a small town.

This book has some amazing lessons and really shows the ways different individuals deal with trauma and showed the separate perspectives and struggles after the plane crash.
It is a nice reminder that what you believe is important may not hold the same value to someone else and that people process things uniquely. Grief and loss from different ages and points of view is both heart breaking and thought provoking.
How life does (or doesn’t) move on after loss is a real thing that should be discussed more openly.
There is no one-size-fits-all reaction to trauma or loss.

Living With Conviction: A True Crime Memoir by Toby Dorr, Review by Jessie Hopkins

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As a big fan of true crime to begin with, I was hooked from the foreward.

Toby did some wonderful things from inside the jail walls. Things that changed the jail systems she was in. The way she talks about how she got through her sentencing and used that time to heal herself is exactly what one hopes when they know someone that is serving time.

Between the moves and the friendships forged in prison, Toby came to terms with many things in her life, some that she has known and others she hadn’t realized prior to her time behind bars. She continues to grow as a person outside and acknowledge her past.

One of the main lessons this book is the way it shows that a person is not just the sum of their mistakes but so much more. That there may be deep-seated things going on at the core of the “good person” and that everyone is fighting a battle you know nothing about. There is always room for growth in people, and they should not be defined by their greatest mistakes.

Ways to Improve Bailey by Cori Cooper – Review by Jessie Hopkins

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5 stars from me!
Everything from sibling relationships and support systems to overcoming fears and personal growth, this book has it all.

Having her brother constantly telling her what she’s doing wrong and framing it as something their parents wanted him to do has Bailey exhausted and feeling like she’s never enough. But at the same time, he’s her brother and she loves him so she does it as to not disappoint him. Her best friend, Marnie, is there to support her but when she agrees that there’s area Bailey could work on, she knows some of them may be real.

 

I love the sibling dynamic between Bailey and Dayton. Especially how they look out for and respect one another while still getting on each others nerves, as siblings do. Bailey’s growth throughout the book and realizing certain things she was doing were to protect herself, which is very relateable.