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alisarae's review
YA books that center around family relationships are quickly becoming my favorite thing. I LOVE that this blended family loves each other, works to communicate well (even though that is a... work in progress), and has their own special traditions.
Set in summertime LA, Suzette aka Little, returns to her family after a year at boarding school to find that a lot of people, including herself, have changed in the past year. Sexuality, dating, friendships, and family relationships are all in motion. Not to mention that Suzette's older brother is going through a mental health crisis.
There were a couple key things that I had doubts about...
- How do all of these underage teens drink ALL the time, and there is not one concern displayed by anyone about getting caught? And how do they have access to so much alcohol? Like, there was a deeper explanation of how they got fireworks than of how they got such a variety of beverages. Is this an LA thing?
- Lion's bipolar crisis is really well-put until he spins completely out of control. Suzette always trying to read the room, trying to plan her actions around not causing a reaction, looking for signs of how Lion is feeling without asking him directly, and trying to empathize with him are really great pictures of what it's like to live with someone who has bipolar disorder. Without spoilers, I know that what he does IS what can happen to some people with bipolar disorder, BUT I think it is played up for the drama.
... and something that the author did really well: sexual consent is really clearly portrayed. The discussions between the characters are there and shown in a really natural way.
So anyways, I really liked all of the characters in this book and I hope there will be a sequel. I don't think one is planned, but Suzette has some unfinished business so I'm crossing my fingers!
Set in summertime LA, Suzette aka Little, returns to her family after a year at boarding school to find that a lot of people, including herself, have changed in the past year. Sexuality, dating, friendships, and family relationships are all in motion. Not to mention that Suzette's older brother is going through a mental health crisis.
There were a couple key things that I had doubts about...
- How do all of these underage teens drink ALL the time, and there is not one concern displayed by anyone about getting caught? And how do they have access to so much alcohol? Like, there was a deeper explanation of how they got fireworks than of how they got such a variety of beverages. Is this an LA thing?
- Lion's bipolar crisis is really well-put until he spins completely out of control. Suzette always trying to read the room, trying to plan her actions around not causing a reaction, looking for signs of how Lion is feeling without asking him directly, and trying to empathize with him are really great pictures of what it's like to live with someone who has bipolar disorder. Without spoilers, I know that what he does IS what can happen to some people with bipolar disorder, BUT I think it is played up for the drama.
... and something that the author did really well: sexual consent is really clearly portrayed. The discussions between the characters are there and shown in a really natural way.
So anyways, I really liked all of the characters in this book and I hope there will be a sequel. I don't think one is planned, but Suzette has some unfinished business so I'm crossing my fingers!
jenpaul13's review
5.0
Figuring out what your "normal" is would be a large undertaking under the best of circumstances. The characters in Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert face some struggles while keeping secrets as they try to find their respective "normal" states.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
Suzette has spent the school year across the country from her family after her brother Lionel was diagnosed with bipolar disorder because their parents thought it would be the best way for them all to stabilize and deal with the situation. Coming home for the summer, Suzette isn't sure if she wants to go back to boarding school because so much of her life is at home in Los Angeles. While Lionel works to figure out the best way to cope with his disorder without his parents' or doctor's help, Suzette offers him emotional support, to the best of her ability, while trying to figure out her attraction to her lifelong family friend, Emil, and the girl her brother also has feelings for, finding the strength to own up to her feelings and confront her past actions.
So much good representation and diversity was presented through all the characters, emotionally, religiously, racially, orientationally, mental health-wise, and with regard to the constitution of a family. The novel is an overall healthy exploration into finding your identity and attempting to attain a balance while defining what your "normal" is. I found that the characters read as older than the 16 or 17 year olds that they were so I had to remind myself of their age periodically, but the issues they confront could present themselves at any time throughout life. Potentially taboo or difficult to discuss topics are addressed through the dialogue of this narrative and demonstrated a way to address and discuss these topics in a respectful manner.
Overall, I'd give it a 4.5 out of 5 stars.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
Suzette has spent the school year across the country from her family after her brother Lionel was diagnosed with bipolar disorder because their parents thought it would be the best way for them all to stabilize and deal with the situation. Coming home for the summer, Suzette isn't sure if she wants to go back to boarding school because so much of her life is at home in Los Angeles. While Lionel works to figure out the best way to cope with his disorder without his parents' or doctor's help, Suzette offers him emotional support, to the best of her ability, while trying to figure out her attraction to her lifelong family friend, Emil, and the girl her brother also has feelings for, finding the strength to own up to her feelings and confront her past actions.
So much good representation and diversity was presented through all the characters, emotionally, religiously, racially, orientationally, mental health-wise, and with regard to the constitution of a family. The novel is an overall healthy exploration into finding your identity and attempting to attain a balance while defining what your "normal" is. I found that the characters read as older than the 16 or 17 year olds that they were so I had to remind myself of their age periodically, but the issues they confront could present themselves at any time throughout life. Potentially taboo or difficult to discuss topics are addressed through the dialogue of this narrative and demonstrated a way to address and discuss these topics in a respectful manner.
Overall, I'd give it a 4.5 out of 5 stars.
hannahinpages's review
2.0
2.5
I really wanted to give Little and Lion three stars. I really did. The mental health rep and Jewish rep I have heard are very well done by own voices reviewers, and I loved the family dynamics. But I seriously can't get past the terrible bi representation. Like seriously, what the hell was that? Bisexuals in emotional cheating (and outright cheating) love triangles is such a tired trope and I'm sick of reading about that. Also really couldn't get past Suzette's best friend being so judgmental of her girlfriend for setting boundaries and (small spoiler) not wanting to be in an open relationship lol.
I am putting this on my queer and sapphic shelves, because it has queer and sapphic characters, but I truly think the queer rep is terrible. I wanted to put this in my future classroom due to the good rep it does have, but I feel the queer rep is damaging.
I really wanted to give Little and Lion three stars. I really did. The mental health rep and Jewish rep I have heard are very well done by own voices reviewers, and I loved the family dynamics. But I seriously can't get past the terrible bi representation. Like seriously, what the hell was that? Bisexuals in emotional cheating (and outright cheating) love triangles is such a tired trope and I'm sick of reading about that. Also really couldn't get past Suzette's best friend being so judgmental of her girlfriend for setting boundaries and (small spoiler) not wanting to be in an open relationship lol.
I am putting this on my queer and sapphic shelves, because it has queer and sapphic characters, but I truly think the queer rep is terrible. I wanted to put this in my future classroom due to the good rep it does have, but I feel the queer rep is damaging.
ihateprozac's review
5.0
Little & Lion tells the story of the titular Little and Lion, two step-siblings who are reunited over summer break after a somewhat tumultuous year. Little was shipped off to boarding school while her brother, Lion, was given space and support by his family to adjust to his new bipolar disorder diagnosis.
Little comes back to town and is reunited with her brother, but things don’t run smoothly. Little is exploring her sexuality while Lion is (somewhat detrimentally) exploring his mental illness - and these two things converge in a dangerous way.
This holds the award for the most diverse book I’ve read so far this year! There is a huge amount of representation:
- Jewish main character
- QPOC main character
- Biracial/POC love interest
- Non-nuclear/non-nuclear family
- Bisexuality and pansexuality
- Queer and lesbian representation
- Mental illness
- And more!
There is so much wonderful explicit on-page representation, with refreshingly effortless dialogue about bisexuality and pansexuality, and frank callouts of racist language and fetishizing of black hair. It’s books like this that highlight why own-voices writing is so vital, that the writing of diverse characters is so much better when written by diverse authors who share those lived experiences. It’s SO DAMN GOOD.
I can’t personally speak about the accuracy of the bipolar representation, but I was really pleased with how Colbert blatantly called out the stigma against mental illness. She highlighted that physical (or at least, visible physical) disabilities are taken at face value, whereas people with mental illnesses are effectively required to show receipts before being taken seriously. I relate to this on a molecular level and it was SO NICE to see that spelled out on paper!
Overall: This was just such a cool complex contemporary family drama that was chock-full of diverse representation. It’s not fluffy nor dark, it just is. It was an interesting exploration into the life of a QPOC teen and her neurodivergent stepbrother, and I really enjoyed following their development over the summer.
Little comes back to town and is reunited with her brother, but things don’t run smoothly. Little is exploring her sexuality while Lion is (somewhat detrimentally) exploring his mental illness - and these two things converge in a dangerous way.
This holds the award for the most diverse book I’ve read so far this year! There is a huge amount of representation:
- Jewish main character
- QPOC main character
- Biracial/POC love interest
- Non-nuclear/non-nuclear family
- Bisexuality and pansexuality
- Queer and lesbian representation
- Mental illness
- And more!
There is so much wonderful explicit on-page representation, with refreshingly effortless dialogue about bisexuality and pansexuality, and frank callouts of racist language and fetishizing of black hair. It’s books like this that highlight why own-voices writing is so vital, that the writing of diverse characters is so much better when written by diverse authors who share those lived experiences. It’s SO DAMN GOOD.
I can’t personally speak about the accuracy of the bipolar representation, but I was really pleased with how Colbert blatantly called out the stigma against mental illness. She highlighted that physical (or at least, visible physical) disabilities are taken at face value, whereas people with mental illnesses are effectively required to show receipts before being taken seriously. I relate to this on a molecular level and it was SO NICE to see that spelled out on paper!
Overall: This was just such a cool complex contemporary family drama that was chock-full of diverse representation. It’s not fluffy nor dark, it just is. It was an interesting exploration into the life of a QPOC teen and her neurodivergent stepbrother, and I really enjoyed following their development over the summer.
dourelinor's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.75
sarahtribble's review
3.0
This was cute, and had great representation, but the plot didn’t have a lot of direction and I felt that the ending was VERY rushed. The pacing of this was strange; the first 6.5 hours of the audiobook were dragged out quite slowly (which was fine and enjoyable), but then the last 1.5 hours really amped up the pace and it was pretty jarring. I remember getting to the six hour mark of the book and thinking to myself, “there’s so little time left in this audiobook, but there still hasn’t been a climactic moment....where is this possibly going to go at the pace it’s currently following?” Although the diversity was excellent and the story was very sweet, I found that the pacing and structure held it back.
slevos's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
lockmm's review
4.0
As someone who’s struggled with mental health issues, I have a soft spot for books on the topic - especially YA Contemporaries. The plot is pretty simple: after her adopted brother is first diagnosed with bipolar disorder, Suzette is sent to a board school for a year and is now back for the summer to deal with the new status quo in her family, pick off where she left off with her brother and friends, and work out her thoughts about her sexuality. This book does a really great job at recognizing the complicated relationship people with mental health issues can have with their medication and how it changes the dynamics of families and friendships. It also manages to be LGTBQ+ positive while not going over the top - I like how she was just naturally figuring things out and it wasn't an After School Special. It's slice of life book though - meaning, there's really no end. I didn't mind that because it worked for me in this case. On the whole, Little & Lion is a sweet book and while it’s not exactly breaking new ground in the world of YA Contemporary, I recommend it. 4 out of 5 stars!