A review by brookeaverick
A List of Cages by Robin Roe

4.0

I have complicated feelings about this book. The book centers around two boys: Adam, a charming and universally likeable senior at the center of the “popular crowd”, and Julien, a shy and socially ostracized freshman, who also happens to be Adam’s former foster brother. Adam is assigned to work with the school counselor for part of his senior year, with the focus of his internship being escorting Julian from his classes to the counselors office. As Adam and Julien reconnect, Adam slowly finds out the truth about what is really going on with Julien.

I definitely couldn’t put this book down. I was completely invested in the relationships between the characters, and cared deeply about Julien’s wellbeing. However, when we start to get a glimpse into what is really happening to Julien off scenes, I found it to be almost too much. I can’t put my finger on what exactly bothered me, but there was something unsettling about the way many of the tougher scenes were written. I guess it was just a little over dramatic and overdone for me, but still a great book nonetheless and would recommend it to lovers of young adult books! Be prepared, it’s an emotional one 😢.