Little and Lion

by Brandy Colbert

Overview

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 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

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316348980
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	08/08/2017
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Sales rank:	830,961
File size:	4 MB
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

Brandy Colbert is the critically acclaimed author of the novels Pointe, Finding Yvonne, and Stonewall Award winner Little & Lion. Born and raised in Springfield, Missouri, she now lives and writes in Los Angeles.

Editorial Reviews

Colbert writes about physical attraction with a real sizzle and she has concocted her bizarre love rectangle so ingeniously, readers will be dying to know—on the most basic level—who will end up with whom…[Little & Lion] feels urgent and true.

The New York Times Book Review - Catherine Hong

06/05/2017
After a year at boarding school, 16-year-old Suzette is happy to be home for the summer, but that doesn’t mean life is simple. Her stepbrother, Lionel, has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder; Suzette has just had her first same-sex relationship (and first encounter with homophobia); and she’s attracted to both her longtime friend Emil and her flirtatious coworker Rafaela—whom Lionel also likes. Although love and sexuality are important to the story, its core is Suzette’s feelings of responsibility for Lionel and uncertainty about how to help him. Colbert (Pointe) powerfully depicts the difficulties that mental illness presents not just for those diagnosed but for the people around them, and her characters reflect the diversity of Los Angeles. Suzette and her mother are black, Lionel and his father are white, and Suzette’s friends and love interests are ethnically and sexually varied. While the characters occasionally feel slightly idealized—Suzette always tries to do the right thing, her parents are unfailingly accepting, and her friends have an impressive ability to articulate what they feel and why—it’s a moving and well-realized examination of secrecy, trust, and intimacy. Ages 15–up. Agent: Tina Wexler, ICM. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

Kirkus Best Book of the YearBuzzfeed Best Book of the Year
Bustle.com Best Book of the Year
Vulture Best Book of the Year
Seventeen Magazine Best Book of the Year



Praise for Little & Lion:
"Little and Lion is beautifully insightful, honest, and compassionate. Brandy's ability to find larger meaning in small moments is nothing short of dazzling."—National Book Award Finalist and #1 New York Times bestselling author Nicola Yoon

"Brandy Colbert further establishes herself as one of contemporary YA's biggest talents in this thoughtful and thought-provoking examination of identity, loyalty, and what it means to live with integrity. Little & Lion is a stunningly good novel."—Kiersten White, New York Times bestselling author of And I Darken

"On the surface, this is a great book that beautifully navigates the elaborate landscapes of sexual orientation and mental health issues. But as I read on, I found myself deeply connected with Suzette, who is gorgeously depicted in all her complexities. This is a book and a protagonist I will long remember."—Bill Konigsberg, award-winning author of Openly Straight and Honestly Ben

"Brandy Colbert takes us on an emotional and gorgeous journey with a protagonist who is trying to figure out where she fits in with her family as well as in the world. A book full of overwhelming love and courage."—Sara Farizan, author of Tell Me Again How a Crush Should Feel

* "This superbly written novel teems with meaningful depth, which is perfectly balanced by romance and the languorous freedom of summer."—Booklist, starred review

* "A moving, diverse exploration of the challenges of growing up and the complicated nature of loyalty."—School Library Journal, starred review

* "Colbert sensitively confronts misconceptions about mental illness, bisexuality, and intersectional identity....A vibrantly depicted Los Angeles."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

* "From the threads of love and romance, to redefining family life, readers of all walks of life will find an entry point to this title."—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review

"A moving and well-realized examination of secrecy, trust, and intimacy."—Publishers Weekly

" Hand [Little & Lion] to readers who like thoughtful, edgy stories with no easy answers."—VOYA

From the Publisher

★ 06/01/2017
Gr 10 Up—Suzette has been devoted to Lionel from an early age, and vice versa. At first glance, they don't look like siblings—a black girl and white boy barely a year apart in age—but their blended family is closely knit. At her parents' insistence, Suzette has been away at boarding school since Lionel's mental health began to deteriorate and he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Now she's back in L.A. for the summer, and she finds more complications waiting. Suzette is dealing with the aftermath of a secret relationship with her roommate at school, new feelings for her childhood friend Emil, and an attraction to the same girl her brother likes, and the secrets Lionel wants her to keep are the last thing she needs. Intersectional and honest, this book covers topics of mental health, sexuality, and family without sugarcoating or melodrama. The supporting characters are just as vivid as the leads, with full personalities and backgrounds of their own (for instance, Emil is black and Korean and wears hearing aids) that are never a cheap plot point. Suzette is a sympathetic and flawed character, struggling to overcome her own fears to do right by the people she cares about. VERDICT A moving, diverse exploration of the challenges of growing up and the complicated nature of loyalty. Recommended for all YA collections.—Amy Diegelman, formerly at Vineyard Haven Public Library, MA

School Library Journal

When she returns from boarding school to spend the summer with her family in Los Angeles, 16-year-old Suzette is struggling with defining her sexuality, and with reconnecting with her stepbrother, Lionel, who has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Narrator Alisha Wainwright pours emotion into her performance. Taking her cues from the text, she sighs and laughs, her voice quavers and cracks, and listeners feel what Suzette is feeling. Wainwright’s empathetic narration makes listeners care about all of the characters, and her performance connects with Colbert’s layered, atmospheric story of family ties, identity, and figuring out how to do the right thing. The result is an affecting and engrossing audiobook that will resonate with listeners. J.M.D. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine

SEPTEMBER 2017 - AudioFile

★ 2017-05-01
Sixteen-year-old Suzette was sent to boarding school when her bookish older brother, Lionel, was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, but now she's back in Los Angeles for the summer.Despite the strange looks their family attracts—Suzette and her mom are black, while Lionel and his dad are white—Lionel and Suzette were always close before Lionel's diagnosis. With Suzette back home, Lionel confides in her that he's going off his medication. Fearing that to divulge his secret will ruin any chance of rebuilding their bond, Suzette keeps quiet even though she feels responsible for her brother's well-being. Simultaneously, Suzette balances her blooming feelings for Emil Choi, a sunny, biracial (black/Korean) boy with Ménière's disease, and for Rafaela, a pansexual Latina—whom, disastrously, Lionel is also falling for. To make matters worse, Suzette is still grappling with a homophobic act that exposed her relationship with her white boarding school roommate, Iris. Suzette's engrossing present-tense narration intertwines with sporadic—but pertinent—flashback chapters. Colbert (Pointe, 2014) sensitively confronts misconceptions about mental illness, bisexuality, and intersectional identity ("people have too many questions when you're black and Jewish," thinks Suzette). A vibrantly depicted Los Angeles and a rich, though at-times unwieldy cast of characters create a convincing world. Readers will empathize with Suzette as she explores both her sexuality and the tricky line between honesty and betrayal. (Fiction. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews