Brandy Colbert

A Stonewall Book Award Winner! "Little and Lion is beautifully insightful, honest, and compassionate. Brandy's ability to find larger meaning in small moments is nothing short of dazzling."-Nicola Yoon, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Everything, Everything A stunning novel on love, identity, loss, and redemption. When Suzette comes home to Los Angeles from her boarding school in New England, she's isn't sure if she'll ever want to go back. L.A. is where her friends and family are (as well as 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.

Little & Lion

Sarah Sammis

Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert is complex story that touches on a number of things — racism, homophobia, bi-erasure, mental health, classism, etc. It's told from the point of view of Suzette, a black Jewish teen who has recently returned to Los Angeles from her boarding school in New England. SHe's come home to a stepbrother who just doesn't seem like himself, to friends who don't seem like themselves, to a neighborhood where she just doesn't seem to fit in.

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Melissa Palmer

Book #9 Read in 2018
Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert

I loved this book. There are so many timely topics in this book--mental illness, search for sexual identity, family dynamics etc. It is a blend of romance and drama. The characters are engaging and readers will care about them. I am highly recommending this to high school readers and faculty/staff.

Lara Engle

I don't think I have much to add to other middling reviews I've read. This book was okay. I like that it focuses on a realistic sibling relationship. I didn't find Suzette to be a very compelling first-person narrator, but I suppose no one else would do.

Izza

5 stars | Not only is the story beautiful and captivating, but the cast of characters is effortlessly diverse. A+ 👌

Flavia Louise

Really great book. I loved the many different kinds of representation and especially the sibling bond.

Jennifer Dieter

Little & Lion tackles a bit of everything. While I can’t comment on the parts dealing with race, religion, and sexuality, I can say I felt that bipolar disorder was well sketched and I wish I had reading material like this book in high school as I was struggling with this disorder in my own home.

This was really wonderful!! I loved the intersectional diversity and the way the author managed to touch on so many issues in such a short book, while still keeping the focus on the characters. I identified with Suzette so much with questioning her bisexuality, and I definitely got emotional at the end. 

The only negative I have to say (aside from nitpicking a couple sentences) is that the characters seemed so much older than they were supposed to be for a good portion of the book. They seemed like they were in college or even older, not 16-17 and still in high school. This was especially apparent with DeeDee wanting an "open relationship" and the maturity with which people talked to one another. Towards the end, they seemed to settle into their ages more, but during the first half or so, it took me out of the book a bit when they'd refer to their ages/places in school/etc.

Mya Adams 

I gave this book 4.5 stars out of 5 stars. I loved this tale of sibling love and of a girl finding her way, understanding who she is and who she wants to love. 

I don't have bipolar disorder so I can't speak on the representation of the illness. I do however have family that suffers from a similar illness so I can speak for the authenticity of the family response to the disorder. I loved the authenticity of the Suzette and Lionel's relationship, the feeling of responsibility and guilt if you're not there to help during the most trying of times. 

I liked the representation of the LGBTQ, I myself can vouch for this part. I loved the authenticity of the confusion of trying to find your place, understand the labels that society wants you to pick and not knowing how to tell people. 

I loved the crushes and relationships that the main character Suzette aka Little had and formed. The complicated the topics this book handled with ease, and care. Suzette's identity, religion, and race. Everything in the book that was sensitive and controversial was handled with respect and care. 

I'm not religious but I liked the way the author talked about it. She never made it something that was preached about, she never forced it on any of the characters. The family was a believing family but was choosy about what it enforced and practiced. never forcing anyone into anything they didn't believe. never ostracized anyone for not believing or for being part of the LGBTQ+ community. 

there are trigger warnings for the Bipolar disorder, suicide, drugs, and alcohol. 

SPOILER ALERT DO NOT GO FURTHER UNTIL YOU HAVE READ THE BOOK!!

I loved the ending but it took a little reminding that as nicely as the ending seemed it also left a little open to interpretation. You can't have a fairy tale ending really with a book centered upon mental illness. You will always have good days and bad and so to see that the character was ready to put the work in and realized the error in his ways. It just made me feel more at ease about the rest of his life, the possibility of college and the college trip that was mentioned. 

I also loved that she decided that she wanted to go back and straighten things out with Iris and the girls in her dorm. I just wish we could maybe get a novella about her next year of class all set in the present with her making up with Iris maybe working with a long distance relationship with Emil. While living with Iris and trying to figure out who she is as she grows up even more.

Erin 

It's (nearly) June and that means Pride month! Which means I'm going to attempt to read books with characters and/or themes related to the LGBTQ+ community. I really liked this book, but it is different than I expected it to be. It would be easy to assume that this book's main focus is the LGBTQ+ aspect, but it really isn't. Don't get me wrong, it's an important part of the story and it did win a Stonewall Book Award. But I would actually argue that a larger theme in the book is mental health, and how the characters handle it in their lives. Also, this book has a crazy amount of diversity. It's probably the most diverse book I've ever read. Suzette is black, possibly bi, and Jewish. She has a blended family. The main love interest is black and Korean and is hard of hearing. Not to mention her friends who all follow the same kind of diverse vein. It's amazing, and done so well, and is one of those things that makes you wonder why on earth other authors don't include diversity in their stories. It is literally that easy, y'all. Don't be chicken.

But back to mental health. I love how much this book focuses on it, and how Suzette and Lionel handle it, and how important it is to not keep secrets from those who love you when health is on the line. I love their relationship, and how they are opposites but they rely on each other. They're companions through life, and even though they have had a lot of bumps in the road, they're family and loyal to one another. The interesting part of the book before you even read is that the summary doesn't really tell you much. It makes you think that the central problem of the story is that Suzette is in love with Lionel's girlfriend, which both is and isn't the case. It is a bit misleading, because I would argue that that is far from the central story. It's definitely a part of it, and I think it a really powerful emphasis that people who identify as bisexual (or are leaning that way) can have crushes on two differently gendered people. But it's really only a side story to what I think is the main one, which is Lionel and Suzette and Lionel's bipolar diagnosis, and how that affects their relationship and their relationships with those around them. 

In all honesty, the book isn't really written that well. At times the writing feels a bit awkward, and I think it could have used a few more drafts before publishing. But it's easy enough to look over if you focus on the actual story. But the story is good and the characters are good and the dynamics are good and overall, it's actually pretty great.

Little & Lion

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