Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert is my first read for Contemporaryathon (Round Four). The book blurb pretty much reveals the entire plot, so I would go into this one blind. “Little & Lion (Little, Brown, 2017), is the winner of ALA’s 2018 Stonewall Book Award; was named to ALA’s 2018 Best Fiction for Young Adults; and was named a Book of the Month Club selection, a Junior Library Guild selection, and a best book of 2017 by Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, Vulture, Bank Street, Bustle, BuzzFeed, Paste Magazine, and Seventeen magazine.” https://brandycolbert.com/about/

About The Book

My Review

“I know how easy it is to believe you’re doing the right thing if you say it to yourself often enough.”

Suzette, “Little” has returned from boarding school in Massachusetts to spend the summer in her hometown, Los Angeles, with her family. We know something happened with her stepbrother, Lionel (Lion), that made her parents feel like Suzette would be better off having time away from him. While at boarding school Suzette had her first sexual relationship with a girl. She’s also attracted to a long-time friend, Emil, and this has her questioning her sexuality.

“Bravery doesn’t always look like you think it will. And it’s never too late to stand up for the right thing.”

I love the diverse characters in this story!
→ Suzette (Little): bisexual, Jewish, black
→ Lionel (Lion): white, has bipolar disorder, is an avid reader
→ Emil: Korean/African-American, has hearing loss from Meniere’s Disease (I was diagnosed with Meniere’s four years ago, but thankfully my hearing wasn’t really affected so far. I’ve experienced two horrible episodes which kept me bed-ridden for days.)
→ Rafaela: pansexual feminist latina
→ Suzette’s best friend is lesbian

Things I liked:
→ The writing style is definitely a slow-paced thin plot – however the characters are fantastic. The brother/sister relationship between Suzette and Lionel feels so REAL. They don’t always agree, and have arguments, but they love the shit out of each other. Little’s mom and Lion’s dad are awesome parents. They love and respect each other and their children. They act as a team. It’s refreshing to read a FUNCTIONAL parental unit in a YA book.
→ There are racist and sexist comments made, but they are always called-out by a character. If you’re concerned with trigger warnings be sure to check out the Goodreads reviews.
→ I admire how Colbert included consent and birth control.
→ I don’t have bipolar disorder, but I’ve struggled with anxiety and depression for most of my life, and I feel like the mental illness portrayal is authentic. There is a positive outlook on medication which I feel is incredibly important so we can end the stigma around mental health medication. My son has ADHD and his medication hasn’t been the cure-all, however, it has helped him in a big way. He’s making great friendships, is able to concentrate better at school, control his impulses, and feel more confident. Colbert has crafted an incredible story that shows the toll mental illness has on the entire family, and that communication can help families come together and become a stronger, healthier unit.

“There are different levels of trust, and I need to get back to the point where he trusts me so much he no longer has to say it aloud.”

I have a few small dislikes:
→ romantic triangle trope
→ cheating
→ I didn’t like Rafaela at all, so I didn’t understand why Suzette had a crush on her

Little & Lion is a diverse, memorable, character-driven, quick read about mental health, sexuality, identity, and racism. Highly recommend!

• Setting: 4/5
• Plot Development: 3/5
• Characters: 4/5
• Quality of Writing: 5/5
• Ending: 5/5
• Overall: 4.2/5

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About The Author

“Brandy Colbert is the award-winning author of Little & Lion, Pointe, and the forthcoming Finding Yvonne and The Revolution of Birdie Randolph. Her short fiction and essays have been published in several critically acclaimed anthologies for young people. She is on faculty at Hamline University’s MFA program in writing for children, and lives in Los Angeles.”
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5425858.Brandy_Colbert

https://brandycolbert.com/

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