Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: August 8, 2017
Date Read: July 27, 2017
Length: 336 pages
Source: Publisher – The Novl
★★★★☆
A stunning novel on love, loss, identity, and redemption, from Publishers Weekly Flying Start author Brandy Colbert
When Suzette comes home to Los Angeles from her boarding school in New England, she isn’t sure if she’ll ever want to go back. L.A. is where her friends and family are (along with her crush, Emil). And her stepbrother, Lionel, who has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, needs her emotional support.
But as she settles into her old life, Suzette finds herself falling for someone new…the same girl her brother is in love with. When Lionel’s disorder spirals out of control, Suzette is forced to confront her past mistakes and find a way to help her brother before he hurts himself–or worse.
I really liked reading this book. It handled a lot of tough issues and it handled them very well. I went into this book rather blindly having never read anything by Brandy Colbert before and hadn’t really seen any reviews for this book. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book.
Some of the things that I liked about Little & Lion:
Great Characters – Suzette and her family were really wonderful characters. They have had a lot of things to deal with over the years. Suzette and Lionel have always been close until his mental illness pulls him away but she never stops being there for him. Suzette is really working through a lot of different issues in this book and trying to figure things out. Her
Diversity – This is a very diverse book. Suzette’s family is made up of more than one race with Suzette and her mother being black while Lionel and his father are white. This book also includes characters trying to figure out their sexuality and others that consider themselves to be bisexual, homosexual, and heterosexual.
Dealing with Illness – I thought that this book did a fantastic job in dealing with Lionel’s mental illness. At the start of the book, everything seems fine but as you get further in the story you start to realize how hard things have been for Lionel and his family. Emil has been dealing with a physical illness and we do get a chance to see how hard this has been for him to deal with as well. I thought that the author really portrayed these illness in a realistic manner.
Realistic Parents – In some ways, Suzette’s mom and step-dad seemed a little too good to be true but by the end of the book they seemed very real to me. They are very involved in their children’s life and are incredibly patient and supportive. They do get upset but they are able to deal with it and move forward. It was obvious that they didn’t think that they had all the answers and really were willing to listen to their kids.
Making Me Feel a Range of Emotions – I reacted pretty strongly to some parts of this book. There was one scene when a decision is made that really put me in mom mode. I could see that it wasn’t going to be the best decision but I really understood how the decision came to be. Suzette’s confusion over what she really wanted was perfectly described. These characters go through a lot in this story and I really felt the range of emotions with them. There were a few times that I put the book aside not because I wasn’t enjoying it but simply because I wanted to think about it for a while before moving on.
All in all, I thought this was a really great read and I do recommend it to others. There is so many things to enjoy in this wonderful little story. I look forward to reading more from Brandy Colbert in the future.
I received an advance reader edition of this book from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers via TheNovl.com.
About the AuthorBrandy Colbert was born and raised in Springfield, Missouri. Her debut novel, Pointe, won the 2014 Cyblis Award for young adult fiction and was named a best book of 2014 by Publishers Weekly, BuzzFeed, Book Riot, and more. She was chosen as a Publishers Weekly Flying Start for spring 2014. Brandy works as a copyeditor and lives in Los Angeles, California.
I've heard such great things about this book! It sounds like a YA contemporary book that I usually wouldn't go for, in terms of the tough issues. But I LOVES The author's debut Pointe. I'm so glad you liked this book so much, Carole!
Have a fantastic weekend. =)
Alyssa @ The Eater of Books!
It is definitely worth checking out. I do want to read some of her earlier works.
I've seen this book getting loads of hype so I'm glad you enjoyed it!
It was just such a well written story. Thanks, Barb!
I like that they were handed well, some just mess it up
I think that the mental illness issues were really quite realistic.
I have not had the pleasure of reading the author's work before. I am glad you enjoyed this one. It sounds like it ws a thought provoking read.
I really enjoyed her writing style. It definitely gave me something to think about.
I love that the parents are present and felt realistic as the story progressed. Great review Carole!
It amazes me how many books seem to have absent parents. Thanks!
Great review. You totally have me wanting to push this one up my TBR. The book must be pretty good for you to be so emotionally involved.
I had to actually set it aside at one point just to think about it.
I haven't read anything by this author before either but it sounds like the story is well conceptualized in all the things that matter.
Great review, Carole!
This was my first by this author but I hope to read more. I really enjoyed her writing style.
Great review! I'm glad to hear that the parents are supportive. 🙂
Lauren @ Always Me
These parents were really great.
This sounds like quite the emotionally intense read. I love that the parents are supportive and involved. While I'm not much of a YA reader in the ones I've read the parents either are completely absent or almost harmful in some way. Glad that's not the case here. This sounds unusual and beautifully executed.
I was really happy with the roles the parents played in this book.
I haven't heard of this book before now but it sounds interesting! Its good to hear the difficult issues were dealt with realistically.
A lovely review! Sharon – Obsession with Books
It really did tackle a lot of heavy subjects very well.
Glad to see it was a nice surprise for ya 🙂
It ended up being a really great read, Anna!
I really like this new reviewing style that I see here! I haven't read anything by this author but I really want to read her novel Pointe very soon if I possibly can. I think I will follow it up with this one because it sounds emotional, and like the author knows how to handle the topics dealing with illness and diversity well.
I don't really know that this is a new style for me. Sometimes I just feel like doing things a bit different. I do want to read more of her work soon since I enjoyed her writing.