Leaving Nelson- The Bailey Baxter Series

After losing her Mom to cancer, Bailey’s life takes a radical turn for the worst.

Ripped away from the only home that she has ever known, Bailey finds herself in a town where she attempts to hid in the shadows.
Her life at home is not much better either. She has to live with her expecting aunt, uncle, father, and sister. After being told that she has to share her room with her little sister she feels as though nothing worse can happen. Or so she thinks, being the daughter of the town hero destroys Bailey’s attempt to blend in.

Meeting the school’s biggest jerk doesn’t help Bailey’s year. She is sure that her freshman year has taken a turn for the worst. That is until she met her crush.

When Bailey finds a note in her locker, she knows that it is from her crush. That is the only person who it could be from right?

Are things going to start looking up for Bailey or will her faith be tested even more?

This book was an amazing book filled with tons of twists and turns that kept you guessing on what would happen next. Bailey’s story is very much a parallel to our lives and our beliefs. This is what makes her story so easy to connect to. Her struggles are our struggles. Through Bailey’s flashbacks and writing, we see how hard it is on her to be uprooted from the only home she has ever known. The amazing thing about this book is that it is neither a fast pace nor a slow pace. You are able to follow long Bailey’s everyday life almost as if you are her.

One thing that I struggled with was the fact that after the fight Bailey has with Bradley, Bradley almost seems to disappear from the story. Now I know that going to school with a bunch of people can prevent you from seeing someone, but I wish we got to see Bailey forgive Bradley. That would have really helped for the character development of Bradley. He did do the right thing for the wrong reasons.

Nevertheless, the way that Bradley was introduced into the book makes his character one that really sticks in your head. This is because he makes an impact on the main character. You tend to remember him as “The person who ruined Bailey’s Life” but he’s more than that. He is a character that when he realized what he was doing was the wrong thing, he put a stop to it. It might not have been the way that Bailey would have liked him to do but he did the right thing.

After reading Leaving Nelson, I was not able to find a unique quote from Moss that really showed who she is as a writer but the way she used the saying, “Sometimes when God closes a door, he opens a window.” helps us as the reader to find the theme of the book. That when trials strike it is not because the Lord does not love you but rather that he has another plan for your life. It might take a while but one day you will see the plan that God has in store for us.