Review: Little and Lion

 

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've been waiting for this book since the day it was announced on Twitter. I LOVE Brandy Colbert, I LOVED her first book Pointe and this book is just as amazing. Fun fact, when I worked at the West Haven Library in Connecticut years ago, Brandy Colbert did a Skype chat with my book club kids!! She was awesome.

LIKED:

• The blended family. I'm a sucker for that kind of stuff. I love that Little and Lion called themselves brother and sister even though they didn't refer to each others parents as mom and dad. It gave their sibling bond some extra weight. 
• I (personally) love to read books about black characters, where the fact that they're black doesn't outweigh the rest of the book. Suzette is black, she has dreads, she has a nose piercing, and she has a red headed brother. Race is obviously an important part of who she is, and there are racial issues in this book that are spoken about very candidly (the pool scene, you tell 'em Brandy), but Suzette being a black girl didn't dominate her personality, she liked museums, she was exploring her sexuality, caring for her brother, and accepting the fact that her parents sent her away at a time where she felt she needed to be home the most.
• I think what I loved the most was that Suzette was a pretty emotional girl. When I say that I don't mean there were temper tantrums or buckets of tears, but she was allowed to be emotional and sometimes black girls and women aren't allowed that. There is a stereotype about the strong, black women, and while that it true, black women have had to be strong, capable people, they are also allowed the tear up when they see their home for the first time in five months, they're allowed to feel betrayed then some makes a "black joke" and none of their friends stick up for them, and they're allowed to feel confused by their own body and feelings. The world can send black women subliminal messages that we're not allowed those tears, or those tears aren't expect of us, but we're allowed to be strong, capable, and emotional, just like Suzette.
• Emil. Enough said. 

NOT SO MUCH:

• Yall, I'm going to be dead serious, I can't think of one darn thing about this book that I didn't like. 
• I think I wish the cover was a picture of Little and Lion. I think there's something powerful about having black faces on the cover of books. I also have no idea how to do that and keep it from looking dumb soooo.... there's that.

IN CONCLUSION:
Just read the darn book, just freaking do it please. Thanks.

P.S. Brandy I really think you're amazing and if you ever read this and if you're ever in Connecticut I would love to have you speak to the kids here.

5 STARS