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A review by celia_thebookishhufflepuff
A List of Cages by Robin Roe
5.0
Do you know that feeling where a book has all the elements of your favorite books, and maybe also incorporates some things from books you didn't like, but somehow manages to do them so much better? That was [b:A List of Cages|25613472|A List of Cages|Robin Roe|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1455814564i/25613472._SY75_.jpg|45424741] for me.
The story alternates between two points of view. Adam is the overly happy high school senior. Julian, a freshman, used to be his foster brother, until an uncle was found and he went to live with him. But now that Adam is working in the counselor's office, he is assigned to walk with Julian in the halls to his meetings with the counselor, and he starts to suspect that everything is not as it seems in Julian's uncle's house.
[b:A List of Cages|25613472|A List of Cages|Robin Roe|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1455814564i/25613472._SY75_.jpg|45424741] reminded me of many of my favorite young adult novels, as well as improving elements of some novels that I didn't like as much. There was the way he, even after years of distance, was still in denial about his parents' deaths, which was very similar to
I also definitely saw the character Charlie, Adam's best friend, as a better version of Jared from [b:The Rest of Us Just Live Here|22910900|The Rest of Us Just Live Here|Patrick Ness|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1429800081i/22910900._SY75_.jpg|42475450], both in his physical description and in the way he grows throughout the book. Charlie is actually a very strong character, and I think he's written so the reader isn't supposed to like him at first, but will fall in love with him later. That's exactly how I felt about him.
In fact, the character development overall was pretty amazing in this book. I loved how Adam realized that it was okay to show more emotions than just the happy, easygoing teenager. When he finally cries, it breaks my heart, but it also brings me a lot closer to him as a character.
My favorite character development, however, would have to be when Julian is in the group session, and he listens to Annie talk, and he says,
I cheered internally at this scene. Before this, Julian lived by the rule that anyone who hurt him was just living a sad life, but after the extreme circumstances with his abuser, he realizes that while that may be the case, he can't just use that as an excuse. He realizes he is still a person, and still real. With Adam's help, he realizes there's a lot of things he didn't deserve that have happened to him in his life, and that it truly isn't his fault in any way. It was a beautiful first step to approaching his recovery.
This is so much better and stronger written than many of the abuse/recovery novels I have read, and I think one reason is because it approaches it from two perspectives and considers the point of the friends who are watching, as well as the abused. I think there should definitely be more stories like this out there, so that kids can know it's not their fault, and to trust their friends in dark situations. I'm really impressed at the writing, the storyline, and the characters. It's definitely a book I will be reading again.
The story alternates between two points of view. Adam is the overly happy high school senior. Julian, a freshman, used to be his foster brother, until an uncle was found and he went to live with him. But now that Adam is working in the counselor's office, he is assigned to walk with Julian in the halls to his meetings with the counselor, and he starts to suspect that everything is not as it seems in Julian's uncle's house.
[b:A List of Cages|25613472|A List of Cages|Robin Roe|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1455814564i/25613472._SY75_.jpg|45424741] reminded me of many of my favorite young adult novels, as well as improving elements of some novels that I didn't like as much. There was the way he, even after years of distance, was still in denial about his parents' deaths, which was very similar to
Spoiler
[b:The Miles Between|6326889|The Miles Between|Mary E. Pearson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1312028710i/6326889._SY75_.jpg|6512483] and the less well-written, but far more popular [b:We Were Liars|16143347|We Were Liars|E. Lockhart|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1402749479i/16143347._SY75_.jpg|21975829].I also definitely saw the character Charlie, Adam's best friend, as a better version of Jared from [b:The Rest of Us Just Live Here|22910900|The Rest of Us Just Live Here|Patrick Ness|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1429800081i/22910900._SY75_.jpg|42475450], both in his physical description and in the way he grows throughout the book. Charlie is actually a very strong character, and I think he's written so the reader isn't supposed to like him at first, but will fall in love with him later. That's exactly how I felt about him.
In fact, the character development overall was pretty amazing in this book. I loved how Adam realized that it was okay to show more emotions than just the happy, easygoing teenager. When he finally cries, it breaks my heart, but it also brings me a lot closer to him as a character.
My favorite character development, however, would have to be when Julian is in the group session, and he listens to Annie talk, and he says,
"She goes on, insulting herself, pitying [her abuser], explaining away everything he did as if it was okay for him to hurt her.
It's not."
I cheered internally at this scene. Before this, Julian lived by the rule that anyone who hurt him was just living a sad life, but after the extreme circumstances with his abuser, he realizes that while that may be the case, he can't just use that as an excuse. He realizes he is still a person, and still real. With Adam's help, he realizes there's a lot of things he didn't deserve that have happened to him in his life, and that it truly isn't his fault in any way. It was a beautiful first step to approaching his recovery.
This is so much better and stronger written than many of the abuse/recovery novels I have read, and I think one reason is because it approaches it from two perspectives and considers the point of the friends who are watching, as well as the abused. I think there should definitely be more stories like this out there, so that kids can know it's not their fault, and to trust their friends in dark situations. I'm really impressed at the writing, the storyline, and the characters. It's definitely a book I will be reading again.