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lyddi's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
rich2023's review against another edition
5.0
I enjoyed this book because it focused a lot on trusting God and not being worried about tomorrow. The scripture that stuck out to me was Proverbs 16:3. This book encouraged me in my walk with Christ.
lizisreadingagain's review against another edition
3.0
Bailey Flanigan has dreams of performing on Broadway, so she is thrilled when she is given an opportunity to audition for her favorite show Hairspray. At the same time she's nursing a broken heart because her family friend-turned-boyfriend, Cody Coleman, walked out of her life without explanation. She still misses him after months of no phone calls or texts, but at the encouragement of her mother she tries to move on.
The characters in this story are connected to the Baxter Family series, none of which I've read. As I started into the book it was a little hard to discern who belonged to whom, and it seemed like there were so many characters to keep track of. After a few chapters it started falling together for me, and it wasn't a problem.
I liked the characters Bailey and Cody. I felt like they had depth and were relatable. I felt drawn in to Bailey's life, particularly, and was left at the end of the book wanting to find out what happens next.
The one thing I especially appreciate about Kingsbury's writing is that she includes characters who have a genuine relationship with God, and they have regular conversations with Him when they face adversity and in their decision making. I wish more Christian writers would include this element in their books.
I have enjoyed a few of [a:Karen Kingsbury|3159984|Karen Kingsbury|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1279197804p2/3159984.jpg]'s other books more than this one. Unlocked is by far my favorite of the few I have read. Having invested time into this story, though, I will probably have to read the next in the series to find out what's next for Bailey, as well as a few of the other characters.
If you're a fan of Karen Kingsbury, I'm sure you will enjoy the book.
I would like to thank Zondervan for providing me with a free copy of the book for review. I was not required to write a favorable review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
The characters in this story are connected to the Baxter Family series, none of which I've read. As I started into the book it was a little hard to discern who belonged to whom, and it seemed like there were so many characters to keep track of. After a few chapters it started falling together for me, and it wasn't a problem.
I liked the characters Bailey and Cody. I felt like they had depth and were relatable. I felt drawn in to Bailey's life, particularly, and was left at the end of the book wanting to find out what happens next.
The one thing I especially appreciate about Kingsbury's writing is that she includes characters who have a genuine relationship with God, and they have regular conversations with Him when they face adversity and in their decision making. I wish more Christian writers would include this element in their books.
I have enjoyed a few of [a:Karen Kingsbury|3159984|Karen Kingsbury|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1279197804p2/3159984.jpg]'s other books more than this one. Unlocked is by far my favorite of the few I have read. Having invested time into this story, though, I will probably have to read the next in the series to find out what's next for Bailey, as well as a few of the other characters.
If you're a fan of Karen Kingsbury, I'm sure you will enjoy the book.
I would like to thank Zondervan for providing me with a free copy of the book for review. I was not required to write a favorable review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
sunshine608's review against another edition
3.0
Not sure how I came across this book, but I needed something good to read, quickly and I found this started reading. I kept feeling like I was missing something and after reading the reviews, apparently I was missing the backstory between Bailey and Cody. Even without it was an enjoyable read.
400mom's review against another edition
3.0
I'm a sucker for Karen Kingsbury's books and have read most of her series. However, this was not my favorite. It seemed like a TV soap opera where one of the characters continually makes irrational choices in order to keep the story going. That said, I will be finishing this series!
lkoehl's review against another edition
4.0
Very good story. The only part of the story I don't care for is Bailey's love life. I love Ashley's thoughts on her son's last year of little league. I am going through that time of life too.
wisbeth's review against another edition
4.0
Karen Kingsbury books are guilty pleasures for me. My mother and mother-in-law both kept recommending her books to me so I finally relented and gave one a try. That's all it took. I was hooked! In her new series, we are reacquainted with many familiar characters from her past Baxter series books. I must say I was a bit giddy when I saw that this series would bring us back to Baily Flanigan and Cody Coleman, two of my favorite characters. Baily Flanigan has a big audition in New York but if she gets the role, will she be able to leave her family and Bloomington behind? In the meantime, Cody Coleman is offered a position coaching and teaching at a small high school outside Indianapolis. Will this be what he needs to move on in his life and forget about Bailey? Many of the Baxter clan are involved in the story as well which is all about leaving and changes as one grows. As always, Karen's books are very inspirational and this one is no different. Her books always leave me feeling uplifted and I appreciate that her books are wholesome reads. I am glad Karen decided to bring back some of our favorite characters and look forward to the next installment in this series. I was able to read this book straight through. There was no way I could put it down until I got to the end!
rebeccalm's review against another edition
2.0
I was first introduced to Karen Kingsbury back in college when a friend recommended the Redemption series to me. I really enjoyed that particular series and those characters because I felt like they were very relatable - the Baxter family was faithful and well intentioned, but life happens and people make mistakes and everyone had to learn how to keep going. I picked up the Bailey Flanigan series hoping for some similar themes, but I was left quite disappointed. It read more like an adult fairy tale - be faithful enough, pray hard enough and God will give you everything you want. This book lost all of its relatable qualities, because even though some characters faced trying times, it was only for a few pages and then everything seemed to miraculously work itself out. I think that miracles can make for a good story line, but not when they happen for everyone in every instance. I know that this author has many books out there, so maybe fresh plot lines are harder to come by now, I'm not sure... I just know that I won't be keeping up with the rest of the books in this particular series.
jazzyjan94's review against another edition
3.0
This review appears on my blog: https://confessionsofabookwormweb.wordpress.com/2020/05/11/book-review-leaving-bailey-flanigan-1-by-karen-kingsbury/
Leaving follows Bailey Flanigan shortly after the close of the last series – Above the Line – in Baxter Family Saga. She is reeling from the loss of her first love, Cody Coleman, who just up and left her life for no given reason (readers know the reason, but he never tells her). She is also trying to figure out what to do with her life when she graduates from university in just over a year, her dream is to perform on Broadway, but the Lord also opened the doors previously by allowing her to star in a movie alongside heartthrob Brandon Paul. The novel starts with her pondering what to do, but then she gets a call to go audition for an ensemble part in a Broadway musical, she knows this is the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that she has been praying for. Meanwhile, Cody Coleman has moved to Indianapolis to be closer to his mother who is imprison. He then hears about a coaching job at a school in the small town of Lyle and gets the job. There he gets tested and is forced to face his PTSD from his days in Iraq, he also keeps thinking of Bailey constantly, but just can’t bring himself to go back to her. There are also glimpses of Ashley Baxter Blake and her husband Landon as they watch their son Cole grow up and are faced with a difficult trial once more.
Overall, this wasn’t a bad read and I can see why 17 year old me really loved this book. However, as an adult I can also see some flaws in the story line. First off, there are a few inaccuracies in some of the information given about past events and where the fall on the timeline of the Baxter Family series, this might be nitpicking, I fully admit that, but I do think authors need to make sure that everything flows well from series to series if they do something similar to the Baxter Family saga, and I would like to note this isn’t an issue that only appears in this series, there are several authors I’ve read that make this mistake. One of the inaccuracies that stood out to me was when Ashley was thinking about her mother’s death (which happens at the end of the Redemption series) and it is stated that she died 4 years previously…however, if I remember correctly it would be more like 6 or 7 years because Ashley’s son Devin is about 4 and she had only just gotten married when her mother died. Again, there were probably others, but this is the one that stood out to me the most. This might not be a big deal for most readers, but for someone who does remember random little details and is trying hard to remember facts about these facts accurately it bugs me a little bit.
Now to the actual story line, in some ways while Bailey Flanigan is probably a good role model for young, Christian women, she also seems to complain(internally) about things meanwhile she leads a pretty privileged life. The worst hardship she’s gone through is not getting to the next round of auditions for Broadway, but let’s not forget that in the previous book series Above the Line, she starred in a movie opposite a famous actor. Yes, she is in that awkward phase of life of not knowing where to go once she graduates from college, but at the same time she’s only finishing up her junior year. She’s got plenty of time still for Broadway to come knocking at her door, she should at least finish her degree. And then there is her moping because she is alone on Valentine’s day, which I get before I met my fiance I used to be one of those women, but can I just add she has a great guy who is dying to date her but she is still hung up over Cody Coleman. I’ll admit when I first read this book I was team Cody, but now that I’m older and hopefully a little wiser than I was back in high school…he is so wrong for her, and in a lot of ways he has no right to pine for her.
I know that Cody “broke things off” with Bailey to protect her, but honestly he should of told her why, or at least tell her parents instead of just running of without a single word and breaking all ties with them. I also think that if he was still so desperately in love with her he should have gone to see her and not run away like a little boy when he saw another guy talking to her. I also think he needs to be being so closed off to people who try to help him. And he needs to be honest, for instance when his old army buddy’s mom tried to setup with another woman when he was still with Bailey in a previous book, he should have said he was seeing someone else. Although he claims to have an undying love for Bailey, he does not deserve her and he needs to get over himself…if he truly loved her he would be honest about why he moved away instead of leaving her with no closure.
And then there is Brandon Paul, yes he is a little forward when it comes to his relationship with Bailey, but at least he is honest with her and he also understands that she is not ready to move on from all her complicated emotions regarding Cody, and he is content with just being her friend. He is also a whole lot more supportive than Cody ever was. Sure, he’s not perfect, sometimes his persistence got annoying, but he does treat her a lot better than Cody ever did.
There is a lot more that could probably be said about Leaving, but I’ve probably said enough. I honestly did like rereading it, but I also noticed a lot of things that when I was younger wouldn’t have been issues, but now they are. And while I no longer love Karen Kingsbury’s books as much as I did almost 10 years ago, I will admit that in some ways they are guilty pleasure read for me. While there are things that bugged me, I still devoured it and had to force myself to put it down at times. It’s almost like it’s my personal drug even though some of it is ridiculous.
It was interesting to see how my thoughts have changed over the years, and even my reading tastes. The story was okay and I do still plan on continuing my reread of this series and hopefully things will get better…or not. But you know, this is a good experiment to show how reading tastes are constantly changing with time. Whichever book is my favorite today will probably not necessarily be my favorite book 5-10 years from now and that’s okay! I am giving Leaving a new rating of 3/5 Stars…or maybe 2.5/5 Stars I can’t decide because although there were things that bugged me about this book, I did also enjoy reading it to a certain extent.
Leaving follows Bailey Flanigan shortly after the close of the last series – Above the Line – in Baxter Family Saga. She is reeling from the loss of her first love, Cody Coleman, who just up and left her life for no given reason (readers know the reason, but he never tells her). She is also trying to figure out what to do with her life when she graduates from university in just over a year, her dream is to perform on Broadway, but the Lord also opened the doors previously by allowing her to star in a movie alongside heartthrob Brandon Paul. The novel starts with her pondering what to do, but then she gets a call to go audition for an ensemble part in a Broadway musical, she knows this is the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that she has been praying for. Meanwhile, Cody Coleman has moved to Indianapolis to be closer to his mother who is imprison. He then hears about a coaching job at a school in the small town of Lyle and gets the job. There he gets tested and is forced to face his PTSD from his days in Iraq, he also keeps thinking of Bailey constantly, but just can’t bring himself to go back to her. There are also glimpses of Ashley Baxter Blake and her husband Landon as they watch their son Cole grow up and are faced with a difficult trial once more.
Overall, this wasn’t a bad read and I can see why 17 year old me really loved this book. However, as an adult I can also see some flaws in the story line. First off, there are a few inaccuracies in some of the information given about past events and where the fall on the timeline of the Baxter Family series, this might be nitpicking, I fully admit that, but I do think authors need to make sure that everything flows well from series to series if they do something similar to the Baxter Family saga, and I would like to note this isn’t an issue that only appears in this series, there are several authors I’ve read that make this mistake. One of the inaccuracies that stood out to me was when Ashley was thinking about her mother’s death (which happens at the end of the Redemption series) and it is stated that she died 4 years previously…however, if I remember correctly it would be more like 6 or 7 years because Ashley’s son Devin is about 4 and she had only just gotten married when her mother died. Again, there were probably others, but this is the one that stood out to me the most. This might not be a big deal for most readers, but for someone who does remember random little details and is trying hard to remember facts about these facts accurately it bugs me a little bit.
Now to the actual story line, in some ways while Bailey Flanigan is probably a good role model for young, Christian women, she also seems to complain(internally) about things meanwhile she leads a pretty privileged life. The worst hardship she’s gone through is not getting to the next round of auditions for Broadway, but let’s not forget that in the previous book series Above the Line, she starred in a movie opposite a famous actor. Yes, she is in that awkward phase of life of not knowing where to go once she graduates from college, but at the same time she’s only finishing up her junior year. She’s got plenty of time still for Broadway to come knocking at her door, she should at least finish her degree. And then there is her moping because she is alone on Valentine’s day, which I get before I met my fiance I used to be one of those women, but can I just add she has a great guy who is dying to date her but she is still hung up over Cody Coleman. I’ll admit when I first read this book I was team Cody, but now that I’m older and hopefully a little wiser than I was back in high school…he is so wrong for her, and in a lot of ways he has no right to pine for her.
I know that Cody “broke things off” with Bailey to protect her, but honestly he should of told her why, or at least tell her parents instead of just running of without a single word and breaking all ties with them. I also think that if he was still so desperately in love with her he should have gone to see her and not run away like a little boy when he saw another guy talking to her. I also think he needs to be being so closed off to people who try to help him. And he needs to be honest, for instance when his old army buddy’s mom tried to setup with another woman when he was still with Bailey in a previous book, he should have said he was seeing someone else. Although he claims to have an undying love for Bailey, he does not deserve her and he needs to get over himself…if he truly loved her he would be honest about why he moved away instead of leaving her with no closure.
And then there is Brandon Paul, yes he is a little forward when it comes to his relationship with Bailey, but at least he is honest with her and he also understands that she is not ready to move on from all her complicated emotions regarding Cody, and he is content with just being her friend. He is also a whole lot more supportive than Cody ever was. Sure, he’s not perfect, sometimes his persistence got annoying, but he does treat her a lot better than Cody ever did.
There is a lot more that could probably be said about Leaving, but I’ve probably said enough. I honestly did like rereading it, but I also noticed a lot of things that when I was younger wouldn’t have been issues, but now they are. And while I no longer love Karen Kingsbury’s books as much as I did almost 10 years ago, I will admit that in some ways they are guilty pleasure read for me. While there are things that bugged me, I still devoured it and had to force myself to put it down at times. It’s almost like it’s my personal drug even though some of it is ridiculous.
It was interesting to see how my thoughts have changed over the years, and even my reading tastes. The story was okay and I do still plan on continuing my reread of this series and hopefully things will get better…or not. But you know, this is a good experiment to show how reading tastes are constantly changing with time. Whichever book is my favorite today will probably not necessarily be my favorite book 5-10 years from now and that’s okay! I am giving Leaving a new rating of 3/5 Stars…or maybe 2.5/5 Stars I can’t decide because although there were things that bugged me about this book, I did also enjoy reading it to a certain extent.
digitlchic's review against another edition
4.0
I loved Ashley and Landon in previous Baxter books, but in this book it was a total distraction. It was like two unrelated stories were being told simultaneously. The Cole and Bailey story lines were sufficient and separate enough as it is. I believe the book would've been stronger if it'd just been those two plot lines.