A List Of Cages By Robin Roe || REVIEW

Okay. If you haven't already read this book then you need to. I know it's been getting a lot of attention recently but for GOOD reason. One of my main reasons for picking this up was because of the friendship in it. To be honest I was a bit fed up with reading about romance and I have been dying to read a good friendship novel. Boy was this it...

Synopsis

When Adam Blake lands the best elective ever in his senior year, serving as an aide to the school psychologist, he thinks he’s got it made. Sure, it means a lot of sitting around, which isn’t easy for a guy with ADHD, but he can’t complain, since he gets to spend the period texting all his friends. Then the doctor asks him to track down the troubled freshman who keeps dodging her, and Adam discovers that the boy is Julian—the foster brother he hasn’t seen in five years.

Adam is ecstatic to be reunited. At first, Julian seems like the boy he once knew. He’s still kindhearted. He still writes stories and loves picture books meant for little kids. But as they spend more time together, Adam realizes that Julian is keeping secrets, like where he hides during the middle of the day, and what’s really going on inside his house. Adam is determined to help him, but his involvement could cost both boys their lives… 

MY RATING - ✭✭✭✭✭

I felt like the plot was really original.

I was so thrilled with the plot of a list of cages. I'm so used to contemporary's being based around romance that this was such a unique book for me. Mainly this book is based around friendship and abuse. It is told from the perspective of two boys, Julian and Adam. They used to be foster brothers until Julians uncle turned up and decided he wanted Julian to live with him. Eventually Julian starts at the same school as Adam and they eventually re-connect. 

I was so engrossed by their friendship. It was so real and there was actually substance behind it. Not only this but there is a four year age gap between them which I LOVE. I think it's really important for books to show that not all your friends have to be the same age as you. It's not shown enough in books. 

I literally love every single character in this book.

Not too say that all the characters were good guys (Russel was a dick😤). But they were all really well written! Julian is such an amazing character, he'd been through so much crap already in his life I just wanted to hug him and make it all better. I also really loved that this book showcased disabilities. Julian had dyslexia and Adam had ADHD. It was something that was talked about throughout the book and I really appreciated it. 

Adam was one of the happiest characters I've ever read about and it was so refreshing. His happiness was almost infectious...I found myself smiling and laughing in the parts written from his point of view. Not only that but he was popular without being a jerk. In fact so were his whole group of friends. I was so happy to see this because I am sick to death of the mean, popular kid trope. Honestly Adam, Julian and all of their friends just seem like the type of people you want in your life!

I adored this book (like so much).

I would recommend this book so much. TO EVERYONE. If like me you need to read about a good friendship then read this. It was such a raw and heartbreaking book, but also incredibly beautiful at the same time. I flew through it and couldn't put it down. I thought all the characters were amazingly written and everything was just perfection. Just a warning though, this book does deal with hard themes so if that's something you struggle with then maybe give this one a miss, but I loved it and can't recommend it enough.

So have you read this book? Do you wish there were more amazing friendships in books? Let me know in the comments!