Hi friends, I hope you are all enjoying the holiday season and had a Merry Christmas, if you celebrate! Today I’m posting my review of Brandy Colbert’s novel, Little & Lion.

Little & Lion by: Brandy Colbert: Suzette is coming home for summer break after being away at boarding school for the last semester. Looking forward to stepping back into her old life and friends, she can’t help but notice things have changed. Her step-brother, Lionel, has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and she wants to be there emotionally for him; she’s been crushing on both a guy and a girl – the same girl her brother has a crush on. So when his mental health spirals out of control it takes everything Suzette has to correct all the mistakes she’s made in order to try and save him and herself. This novel was heavy on sibling relationships and mental health; both were done exceptionally well. The plot was fast-paced and had an easy flow to it. This felt like it was less about the plot and more about the characters; they really shined in this and really portrayed the realities of someone on the bipolar spectrum, someone who was questioning their sexuality and the power of siblings and the lengths they will go. The sibling bond was so strong in this and the reader loved it so much; even when times were tough between them, they were able to find a way to work it out. This had so many great diverse aspects to it, it was truly such a beautiful read and the writing was remarkable. Colbert created such a diverse family that were so loving, caring and inclusive it was such a joy to read. Our main character, Suzette ‘Little’, was a black, Jewish, bisexual who wanted to be there for her brother in any way possible, while also trying to figure her own self out, in terms of her sexuality. She was such a messy character, but in the best way possible. Watching her struggle with trying to be the perfect sister was hard because she thought she was doing all the right things, even if she knew some of them could be wrong. She was also so conflicted as she grappled with how she felt towards the people in her life and that felt so human and so real. Our second main character, Lionel ‘Lion’, was a white guy with bipolar disorder and watching him wrestle with his own self a lot of the time felt raw and realistic as to how the actualities with this disorder can be. We were also given a glimpse into a Jewish family and all the secondary characters were diverse in their own ways too, which made this feel like real life. In the end, this was a complex, bold, beautiful novel with so much goodness wrapped around the harder parts of life; highly recommend.