Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert

When I told a friend about this book when I was about to start it she said it sounds like a lot going on in one book but if handled well it could be good. Well it is a lot going on. And for the most part it is done well.

I got this one thinking my son could read it too and we could talk about where he is in trying to figure out his sexuality as well as how his sister's bipolar impacts him. He is 12 going on 112 and reads at a very high level. But I am not 100% sure now I will have him read this. There are some sexual situations, nothing too graphic but more than might be ok for him for another year or 2.

There are a few times that it feels a little forced, the threads of the many different strands Colbert is trying to weave together but overall it is a good story. Suzette, called Little by her brother, was sent to boarding school when her brother had a mental health break and it changed everything. Her brother's trust in her, her feeling connected to her family, and her connection with her friends. Lionel, Lion to his sister, is diagnosed with bipolar and it is a hard time for everyone, trying to figure out his care and condition. Their parents think they are saving Suzette by sending her to boarding school.

While away she falls for her roommate Iris and it leads to her trying to figure out her sexuality because once home she has feeling for Emil, the son of his mother's best friend, and Rafaela, the girl she meets and gets a job with. The rub is that Lionel has a huge crush on and wants to date Rafaela  and ends up asking her out.

Little loves Lion so much she ignores her feelings for Rafaela and begins seeing Emil romantically all while trying to process the huge and dangerous secret Lion has shared with her as well as the troubles she was having at school.

For parents it is hard to balance the needs of everyone in a family, and when one has some sort of illness, be it medical or mental health, it tends to consume most of the oxygen in the room and doesn't leave much for other children, each other, and oneself. Little & Lion's parents want to do right by them both and in that desire they make mistakes. What makes them special is that they are able to admit when they mess up and that sets a good example for Little & Lion.

While yes those are a lot of issues in one story it also rings authentic because that's what life really is, a bundle of many things happening to us at once that aren't always related except in that it is happening to one person.



(Finished July 28, 2018)

PS this is book #60 of the year which meets my goal for books read this year over on Goodreads!!!