A List of Cages...powerful, sad & inspiring!

A List of Cages by Robin Roe was a tough read but I also could not put it down. A beautifully written story with two points of view, one for each main character. For those readers who enjoy books with deep/powerful stories (like Orbiting Jupiter by Gary Schmidt).

I consider this book YA for the difficult content, however the one sex scene is off page. I would consider allowing a middle school student to read it if they were mature. Not for the sensitive type.

I usually keep my favorite books on my shelf at home, however, I want to share this one with my colleagues....

Great Video Review by Gracewithabookinherface

Happy Reading!

Little & Lion...everything but the kitchen sink!

Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert

It's a funny thing when the characters are so diverse that you feel like the author is throwing a lot at you...however....protagonists are a-changing!

The 1st main character is:

-  a 16 year old

- African American

- a female

- the child of a mother who is living with her male significant other (not married)

- a convert to judaism

- trying to figure out what her sexuality is

- constantly dealing with racism

The 2nd main character is:

- a 17 year old

- diagnosed with bi-polar disorder

- abandoned by his best-friend/"sister" leaves to go to boarding school after his "episode"

- feel abandoned by his friends

- trying to cope with his illness and who he is

Even though this story has a lot going on, so do our lives. Lives are complicated and messy, but we are resilient, and so are these teens. 

It is nice to see that sexuality is no longer the main story line, but a character trait.