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eflatkey's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
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
2.5
lauraborkpower's review against another edition
3.0
A solid coming-of-age story with characters who felt grounded and realistic, and were, flaws and all, interesting if not always likeable. I'm keeping this on my list to recommend to my niece, and I'd recommend it to any young girl or boy, especially kids who are bi or multi-racial.
jenmangler's review against another edition
3.0
I really enjoyed that the main relationship in this book was between siblings. Yes, they pursue romantic relationships, but the focus is on this sister and brother as they try to navigate their changing relationship.
aclifshitz's review against another edition
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
kultainenkettu's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
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
4.25
mamareadstuff's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
As a 30 something, I was obviously not the target audience, but it was a great YA, coming of age story. Add in being Black and Jewish, trying to come out, a blended family, mental illness, sibling bonds, first relationships, and more. It's a LOT for one book, but the author did a great job at not making it an afterschool special, not shying away from nuance, and telling a compelling story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Biphobia, Violence, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Outing, and Stalking
Moderate: Racism, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Bullying, and Mental illness
Minor: Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Alcohol, and Abortion
greenleafbooks's review against another edition
Sadly this is book was a dnf for me. I could not bring myself to care about any of the characters :( I got 3/4 the way through it and decided to stop. I would be open to trying again at some point, just not at the moment.
joana_stormblessed's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book and definitely recommend the audiobook.
What is it about ?
Little and Lion follows a pair of step-siblings, Suzette and Lionel. At the beginning of the novel, Suzette comes home to LA from being away at boarding school for a year and we know that she has been gone because of her brother for one reason or another. As the summer begins, it seems that Lionel and Suzette are on good terms and he needs his sister and her support as he has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
Suzette picks up a new job at a flower store and she starts having a crush on her coworker and it turns out that this is the same girl that Lionel is also falling for. However Suzette also reconnects with her old crush Emil and they start developing their relationship as well. In parallel, Suzette also has romantic unfinished business left at school with her old roommate.
This book is about family and friendships. It is about discovering yourself and coming to terms with who you are. It is about handling the everyday struggles of life such as trying to understand (and know if you want to label) your sexual identity, dealing with a mental illness, dealing with racism and so much more. The synopsis of this book made it sound that it was about 2 step-siblings falling in love with the same girl, but that is underselling this amazing book.
What I thought:
This book was truly great! It is mostly focused on the characters, which, once again, is something that I really love in books. There is no "major plot" driving this whole story, it is about these characters coming to terms with who they are, their secrets, their weaknesses and figuring out how to do this thing called life.
I loved the narration of the audiobook and the writing style of this book as well. But truly I loved the diversity in this novel (I will definitely forget some of the diverse aspects of the book but I hope to get as possible):
- Suzette is a black, Jewish, bisexual lady.
- Lionel has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder
- The girl they both crush on (whose name I cannot remember) is pansexual
- Emil is half black half Asian
- Many more characters identify as LGBT
- There are other characters of color in this novel.
It taught me that life isn't all black and white. Things can, and do, change and we have to figure out who we are and what we stand for in the middle of all this. It has taught me to be there for those who matter to you and sometimes that means being there in a way that they might not want you to, but you have to do what is best for them.
What is it about ?
Little and Lion follows a pair of step-siblings, Suzette and Lionel. At the beginning of the novel, Suzette comes home to LA from being away at boarding school for a year and we know that she has been gone because of her brother for one reason or another. As the summer begins, it seems that Lionel and Suzette are on good terms and he needs his sister and her support as he has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
Suzette picks up a new job at a flower store and she starts having a crush on her coworker and it turns out that this is the same girl that Lionel is also falling for. However Suzette also reconnects with her old crush Emil and they start developing their relationship as well. In parallel, Suzette also has romantic unfinished business left at school with her old roommate.
This book is about family and friendships. It is about discovering yourself and coming to terms with who you are. It is about handling the everyday struggles of life such as trying to understand (and know if you want to label) your sexual identity, dealing with a mental illness, dealing with racism and so much more. The synopsis of this book made it sound that it was about 2 step-siblings falling in love with the same girl, but that is underselling this amazing book.
What I thought:
This book was truly great! It is mostly focused on the characters, which, once again, is something that I really love in books. There is no "major plot" driving this whole story, it is about these characters coming to terms with who they are, their secrets, their weaknesses and figuring out how to do this thing called life.
I loved the narration of the audiobook and the writing style of this book as well. But truly I loved the diversity in this novel (I will definitely forget some of the diverse aspects of the book but I hope to get as possible):
- Suzette is a black, Jewish, bisexual lady.
- Lionel has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder
- The girl they both crush on (whose name I cannot remember) is pansexual
- Emil is half black half Asian
- Many more characters identify as LGBT
- There are other characters of color in this novel.
It taught me that life isn't all black and white. Things can, and do, change and we have to figure out who we are and what we stand for in the middle of all this. It has taught me to be there for those who matter to you and sometimes that means being there in a way that they might not want you to, but you have to do what is best for them.
marthamaereads's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 stars for this one.
When I first began reading this, I thought for sure it would be a 4 star read for me. However, about 1/3 of the way through I began to lose all connection to the main characters, which made me lose interest in the story itself.
I struggled to connect with Suzette (Little) which was a bummer as I liked her character overall. I am personally not familiar with the struggle of sexuality, so I cannot speak on how the portrayal of that aspect of Suzette's character is, but it still made me sad to think about people experiencing that in real life. I thought that her struggle was handled in a mature way, and it didn't seem to trivialise or stigmatise it in any way.
I wish we would have seen a bit more of Lion, but I felt that the parts we did experience with him were extremely important. His relationship with Suzette was written extremely well, and reminded me of my relationship with my sisters. The interactions between the two felt real and raw, and I appreciated that Colbert was able to present that relationship so well.
The (pseudo) between Suzette, Lion and the girl they both like REALLY annoyed me. I felt it was extremely unnecessary to Suzette's character development and made the book seem like every other YA contemporary plot. I feel this is another reason I disconnected with the book, but it is what it is.
Even though I didn't LOVE this book, there were things I loved about the book. I loved how Colbert handled the diagnosis of the bipolar II disorder. It was explained extremely accurately and was presented in a way that made it feel real and not stigmatised. At points in the story, the description of symptoms Lion was experiencing did become extremely textbook, but I felt this was necessary to help people with no educational (or personal) understanding of the disorder to get a grasp of the seriousness. Colbert handled the way in which bipolar affects not only the patient, but those closest to them, so gracefully, and I couldn't have asked for it to be handled in any better way.
All in all, this was a decent read. I would recommend it to people who are into the genre, and also to people looking to understand the affects of mental illness more.
When I first began reading this, I thought for sure it would be a 4 star read for me. However, about 1/3 of the way through I began to lose all connection to the main characters, which made me lose interest in the story itself.
I struggled to connect with Suzette (Little) which was a bummer as I liked her character overall. I am personally not familiar with the struggle of sexuality, so I cannot speak on how the portrayal of that aspect of Suzette's character is, but it still made me sad to think about people experiencing that in real life. I thought that her struggle was handled in a mature way, and it didn't seem to trivialise or stigmatise it in any way.
I wish we would have seen a bit more of Lion, but I felt that the parts we did experience with him were extremely important. His relationship with Suzette was written extremely well, and reminded me of my relationship with my sisters. The interactions between the two felt real and raw, and I appreciated that Colbert was able to present that relationship so well.
The (pseudo) between Suzette, Lion and the girl they both like REALLY annoyed me. I felt it was extremely unnecessary to Suzette's character development and made the book seem like every other YA contemporary plot. I feel this is another reason I disconnected with the book, but it is what it is.
Even though I didn't LOVE this book, there were things I loved about the book. I loved how Colbert handled the diagnosis of the bipolar II disorder. It was explained extremely accurately and was presented in a way that made it feel real and not stigmatised. At points in the story, the description of symptoms Lion was experiencing did become extremely textbook, but I felt this was necessary to help people with no educational (or personal) understanding of the disorder to get a grasp of the seriousness. Colbert handled the way in which bipolar affects not only the patient, but those closest to them, so gracefully, and I couldn't have asked for it to be handled in any better way.
All in all, this was a decent read. I would recommend it to people who are into the genre, and also to people looking to understand the affects of mental illness more.
summer_winter's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 stars
I really enjoyed this book and I knew I would as it discusses themes quite close to me and I felt very invested on the characters and the story.
I haven't read many books with bisexual female roles. I never really understood peoples need to feel like they relate to something within a book but after reading this I see why as it feels good to see someone experience similar things to yourself. But Suzettes discovery throughout the book is so honest and I really enjoyed that
This book got real personal for me at times as I have someone I'm close to on my life who suffers from bipolar and at times it brought me back to when these things were happening within my family but it also shows that it is an accurate representation of mental health and what it's like living in a family with someone who suffers from mental health and how it can affect that person and the people close to them.
I feel like this book has so much diverse representation in it and every topic is accurately portrayed. I would really reccomend this book especially to anyone dealing with discovering their sexuality or learning how to best help someone close to you with mental health.
I really enjoyed this book and I knew I would as it discusses themes quite close to me and I felt very invested on the characters and the story.
I haven't read many books with bisexual female roles. I never really understood peoples need to feel like they relate to something within a book but after reading this I see why as it feels good to see someone experience similar things to yourself. But Suzettes discovery throughout the book is so honest and I really enjoyed that
This book got real personal for me at times as I have someone I'm close to on my life who suffers from bipolar and at times it brought me back to when these things were happening within my family but it also shows that it is an accurate representation of mental health and what it's like living in a family with someone who suffers from mental health and how it can affect that person and the people close to them.
I feel like this book has so much diverse representation in it and every topic is accurately portrayed. I would really reccomend this book especially to anyone dealing with discovering their sexuality or learning how to best help someone close to you with mental health.