Welcome to Litsy!

How is it June already?! And my first born turns 8 tomorrow?! Life is moving so fast - thank goodness for #bookspin and the kickoff of summer reading!

Title: Little & Lion
Author: Brandy Colbert
Illustrator: Bruce Whatley
Published: Aug. 8th 2017
Genre: fiction
Awards: Stonewall Book Award

There was a whole lot going on in this book, but it never felt overdone or overloaded. Suzette is coming to terms with her sexual and religious identities as she navigates multiple crushes and her brother's newly diagnosed mental illness. I loved her strong blended family, and though some have pointed out ableism within the story, the conflicting emotions of watching a loved one struggle with mental health rang true to my personal experiences.

The issues in this YA novel are important and well-portrayed: bipolar disorder, bisexuality, and blended families with mixed ethnicities. 16-year-old Suzette is black & her 17-year-old brother Lionel is white. They are both attracted to the same girl, but that‘s just one of the complications in this realistic story set in Los Angeles. #Audiobook read by Alisha Wainwright. #LGBTQ #Bisexual

–I feel like I should know what to call myself.
–Why? Bi, queer… it doesn‘t really matter, as long as you‘re happy. Just make sure you don‘t let anyone tell you who you are. People can be real assholes about labels.

Bravery doesn‘t always look like you think it will.

#audiocooking ... or scouring, actually. Preparing fibres for dyeing.

I started reading this book in June, and had to put it down bc it was really affecting me. The main character's brother in learning to cope with his bipolar diagnosis through the story. My cousin also has bipolar disorder and he killed his dad during a manic episode last year, so it was tough for me to read something so close to home. I thought the bipolar rep here was honest and well done. I also enjoyed the bi rep. 🔽

Taking some time to be thankful for #BiVisibilityDay and the books that validate/empower the queer community, across all identities. How I wish I had books like Little & Lion growing up--but as I see more and more diverse rep in literature today (esp in YA) it only makes my heart more hopeful for our world's future 💜💖💙

I do love reading Brandy Colbert. This YA title was no exception. Vivid and real with flawed characters just trying to make it through the day. Mental illness, confused attractions and broken relationships. It‘s all here, but I‘m way that isn‘t really annoying. Recommend.

I liked this one, but there was enough ableism to make me uncomfortable and deeply unhappy.

I liked this one, but there was enough ableism to make me uncomfortable.

#ReadYourSign book seven: Little & Lion, which features Leo‘s zodiac symbol in the title. This was tough to read because I identified so hard with the MC—I‘ve put pressure on myself to take care of loved ones with mental health challenges, too. I mostly loved the book. I thought the last scene was a little rushed, but that‘s about it. (Also there was AMAZING representation throughout the book.)

I‘ve had this book on my digital TBR for long enough that the cover has changed. (And I forgot I owned it and put it on hold at both of my public libraries, oops). Glad to be reading it now! #Leo #ReadYourSign

I‘m all kinds of excited to be doing the #readyoursign challenge in June! I‘ve got all my Leo prompts picked out (one of which is the tagged book). Any other Leos out there? (Thanks to @Clwojick and @Meaw_catlady for hosting this and making these gorgeous images!)

My November reads were mostly J & YA books due to a work thing thing last week. Little & Lion was my favorite.

Little is 16 years old. Her brother Lion has been diagnosed with a mental illness and she is sent to boarding school. She‘s now home from school for the summer, trying to figure out her sexual & religious identity and has been tasked with keeping a secret for her brother. The book is really well done and having kids the same age and having a few family similarities, I saw a lot of my own kiddos and what they are tasked with. Great YA read!

I love my job! I got to spend the day listening to these amazing authors talk about feminism in children‘s literature! Anne Urdu was not able to make it but Tracey Baptiste filled in. Such a great day 😊

⭐️⭐️⭐️: Solid read, but hard to believe these characters were so mature.

For #pridemonth, I wanted to share two of my favorite books featuring #bisexual characters (LaCour's much more subtle than Colbert's, but still worth mentioning). I cannot stress enough that healthy bi representation--like ALL representation--is so important today, especially in YA literature. I think we've seen a steady increase in books breaking stereotypes of all degrees, and I only hope it continues 💪#repmatters

Suzette (Little) returns from boarding school for the summer and everything is different...including her. She realizes she likes both guys and girls, including a girl her brother Lionel (Lion) also likes. Plus, Lion isn‘t himself. He‘s off his meds, drinking, acting a bit off. Little thinks she should tell her mom and stepdad, but Lion says if she does, they won‘t be friends or family anymore. How can she protect her brother from himself?

Little & Lion is an uplifting novel on teenagers dealing with sexuality and mental health. Little has to navigate through her sexuality and Lion has to navigate through his mental health issues. These are tough issues to deal with as a teenager, but the novel gets it right without feeling gimmicky.

This was a short but intense read. There‘s a lot going on in the story, covering tough topics like race, sexuality, and mental illness. I really appreciated the main character being bi and the exploration of that. It was very well done.

This one wasn't as good as I thought it was going to be but it was still pretty entertaining. The main character is a black female teen with dreads and a septum ring who is coming to terms with her bisexuality after her first fling with a girl ended in humiliation. But she begins to move on and accept the truth after falling for a girl who her bipolar brother has also fallen for. How could I not dive in after hearing that description?!

Just used my last two #botm credits. Now to decide if I want to renew my membership when it comes up for renewal next month.

I very much enjoyed this fabulous book, written from the point of view of Little, the little sister in a blended family of Black, White and Jewish. Her brother Lionel (aka Lion) has been diagnosed as having bipolar disorder and she is wondering if she is bisexual.
I can't stress enough how well this book captures these issues within these characters.
I had a Boy Scout who Lion reminded me of. The process of his discovery was very similar.

1. Probably Lilo & Stitch 2. French Fries 3. Hamilton musical 4. Little & Lion 5. I‘ll try but I‘m bad at talking sometimes #friyayintro @jesshowbooks

Didn‘t realize I had this book for a whole year before picking it up!

‘Emil smiles a familiar smile, one that I‘ve seen too often on my mom and Saul and Emil‘s parents-black and Jewish and Korean, every one of us all too aware of the stupid things people say without thinking. A smile that says the only alternative is screaming with rage.‘

Popping on here to let y'all know that one of my favorite YA's from last year is on sale! Gorgeous coming-of-age story. #queerlit #diversebooks

https://www.amazon.com/Little-Lion-Brandy-Colbert-ebook/dp/B01N6DCOTV?keywords=L...

Great #ebookdeal for this young adult book.

A solidly diverse YA novel. I appreciated the sexuality and race representation featured in this story. Lion's mental illness was portrayed well and wasn't an over the top, dramatized telling. It made me feel that the author has really experienced having a loved one with bi-polar as her description of the ups, downs and mania were spot on.

Suzette (Little) is an African-American teen who's step brother, Lionel (Lion) is a red headed Jewish teen with bipolar disorder. Suzette is still coming into her own sexuality and trying to decide if she wants to label herself after facing some bullies boarding school. While home for the summer, Suzette, learns they are attracted to the same girl and similtaniously she may also have feelings for a long time male friend. Some drug use & language.

I really liked this one. It is a great YA pick. I finished this at like 6am. Wednesday holidays are weird. 💖📚

#HappyJuly4th #freedomforall

Didn't quite meet my expectations, but I liked it! I loved how effortlessly diversity was integrated: a black bisexual Jewish MC, with multiple supporting characters of different ethnicities, sexualities, and abilities. I also liked how the story focused on a relationship between step-siblings. But I never felt like I really got to know or understand any of the characters well; even Suzette the protagonist remained a bit of a mystery to me.

I loved this book! Suzette was a great MC who struggles with figuring out who she is through a haze of family, friend and relationship conflict. It is so hard to grow up and be responsible.

Finally digging into this #YA book on my day off today after reading only the first chapter last week. Really interesting characters so far!
#BlackBooks
#QueerBooks

I was gonna clean and fold laundry, but I got cozy on the couch with a bowl of scalloped potatoes, my current read and KitKat. Now I don't want to get back up.

💜💜

I really loved this book. It deals with a lot of tough topics but the characters are so vibrant and real I actually found myself wondering about them when I wasn‘t reading the book. It‘s a story about family, and identity, and how love and loyalty can sometimes put us in difficult situations. It wasn‘t perfect, but the positive aspects far outweigh any flaws it may have.

My favorite things.
My boyfriend, video games and reading. 💜
All that's missing in this is my cat. :)

A really moving story about siblings and the difficulty of mental health. #YAWednesday @TheFunkyBookworm 📖😋

🖤🖤🖤

BOTM box arrived today! I‘m glad they have some YA. Got “When Katie Met Cassidy” because Samantha Irby chose it.

“It‘s easy to think you know what you‘d do if you were in a certain position until you find yourself there, feeling completely lost.”

Little & Lion was a fantastic read! Dealt with a lot of issues on top of stating a lot of thoughtful phrases and scenarios~~~

This book is a solid 3.5 🌟 🌟🌟 .5 😊. I enjoyed the characters and subject matter discussed in the quick moving tale.

“When Suzette comes home to Los Angeles from her boarding school in New England she doesn‘t want to go back.”

Here is my @DeweysReadathon stack! I also have two audiobooks and some ebooks. I am actually going to try to stay up all 24 hours this time. I have never been able to but that‘s my goal this year.

[#BookReview] Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert. This is such a great coming of age story about sexuality, mental illness, family, and love. I did have a few issues with the story but overall I am really happy I read this book! Have you read Little & Lion?
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

My full review:
http://heathersreadinghideaway.blogspot.com/2018/04/book-review-little-lion-by-b...