Reviews with content warning for Mental illness - Little & Lion

I liked this book for the most part but there were some things that kept me from giving it 4 stars or higher. First of all, and I'm sorry if this is an unpopular opinion, but I didn't really like Lionel.

We are told throughout the book that Suzette and Lionel always confide in each other and that they're incredibly close, but very little of that is actually shown to the reader.

That in of itself isn't necessarily a problem considering the premise of the book, however considering the author put flashback chapters in as well, I thought it was a bit of a missed opportunity to not flesh out Lionel's relationship with Suzette there.

The only time I really liked him was when he bought Suzette a replacement necklace for her bat mitzvah, and not much else.

Furthermore, I felt as if the ending wasn't as satisfying as it could have been. The book's plot really only begins in the halfway mark,

and even when things get going it really felt out of the blue when Lionel goes missing. There isn't any foreshadowing, we are only told afterwards that he and Rafaela had spoken about going to San Luis Obispo. While I did like the resolution to Emil and Suzette's relationship, Lionel and Suzette making up at the end felt incredibly brief and undeserved. While Suzette's struggles with her sexuality and her relationship with Emil were built upon throughout the entire book, Lionel's arc didn't feel very fleshed out and his apology to Suzette felt very hollow when we were never really shown what Lionel was like when he wasn't being a dick to Suzette.

I want to be clear though that I did like this book. When I review books I mostly put what I didn't like about it, but that doesn't mean that there aren't things I enjoy too. The diverse cast of characters was a welcome change, and it was clear that the author had put a lot of thought into respectfully writing each and every character. It's just that the things I mentioned above soured my reading experience.

Content Warnings

ambersbooks's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

LOVED it. Highly recommend.

Content Warnings

juliastimpson's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

🟧

Content Warnings

shelleyreads's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Content Warnings

155books's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative reflective fast-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

There is so much great representation in this including race/racism, mental health (bipolar), religion, bi & gay rep, and disability (Meniere's).

This book made me cry multiple times, covered some really important topics and did it SO WELL. I also adored the family relationship/s, the friends & romantic relationships. This is one I would highly recommend to those who enjoy/want to read more book Witt great mental health representation!

Content Warnings

mcrystal1000's review against another edition

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emotional tense medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This book hit me in all the feels and the Queer Jewish representation is so important.

Content Warnings

thoroughlyenjoyedbooks's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

cheesepuppy's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted tense fast-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

fantastic YA book.

The main character is lovable and so so relatable. She deals with everything from heartbreak, sibling trouble, attraction, friendship, racism, work, religion, family mental illness, and life decisions.

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