This is a book that caught my eye. We all lived through it. Covid. The pandemic. Lockdowns. 2020 and even into 2021 felt the longest years to ever live through. The negatives always creeping in. Encasing the world to the point it felt the positives had just left. But, as Life, Diverted shows, that positive energy was still there. It just had to be found. Kaylie Kay really captures that with her words.

Life, Diverted starts near the end of 2019, with three friends who are part of cabin crew making the most of their layover in Japan by climbing Mount Fuji. All the way to its top. Amazed by their achievement, they start planning for an adventure-filled 2020. Of course, I could already see where this was going and already felt gutted that this dream of theirs would be short-lived.

Carmen is our main viewpoint throughout the story, who is alone except for her dog. Rachel has a family, working these flights part time. Kate has a partner, and loves the adventure of flight. She also has a lot of positivity. Almost endless amounts. The trials of what the pandemic brings change who all three are. The most pivotal points of that change are all accounted for. There’s no sudden twists to ruin the flow of that change.

All the feelings of the pandemic are also accounted for in Life, Diverted. The loss of jobs, the loss of real human contact with others. The fear of the world, fear of the virus ripping apart those close to you. Being nostalgic, even for last year. The ire of facing yet another lockdown. But also those moments of joy. Of hope. Finally seeing friends. Getting out. Making something new of yourself. Reflecting on the bad of your past and wanting to make things right.

One thing I did love is the occasional blog posts that Carmen would write. They provided a greater insight into the current time. The grandness of living life as crew. The hopelessness as things got worse. The absolute ramblings of being at the lowest. The positive outlook of someone trying to make the best in a new world. They helped to enforce what had already been seen. Cement those events as the most pivotal points in the journey Carmen was facing.

There was also a very real human element throughout. Not just the fact it felt these experiences had really been lived by the author. Kaylie Kay is a flight attendant alongside an author, so they are real experiences. But that, right at the start, these three friends, battered and drained by the mountain climb they faced, rushed to help someone in need. And throughout, the core of helping others is always there.

For me, Life, Diverted is an easy recommendation. A very character-focused story in a time that challenged us all. Though digging into the raw negatives of the pandemic, the change of the three friends, their growth in the faces of the challenges that arose, make for great reading.