A List of Cages by Robin Roe

I was at Barnes and Noble picking out what books I was going to read over the summer, and A List of Cages caught my eye. Its plot is about the struggles of beginning high school, which I was about to do, and also the struggles of having a disease like ADHD, which I would always love to learn more about. There are some violent scenes, and the images are pretty vivid. Roe notes that the book is based on her life experiences, so I really hope what happens to Julian, the character who is beaten by his uncle, didn't happen to her in her early life. Adam, who is a senior in high school in the book, notices that Julian, a freshman, isn't at school often, he starts to investigate. Adam befriends Julian, but still can't figure out what's going on with him. But when Julian "leaves" abruptly, without a trace, and without telling anyone, Adam begins to piece things together.

While I admit I cried during some of the cruelest and most violent parts of A List of Cages, I did appreciate the detail. I much rather imagine something that's in a book with vivid detail than with minimal detail so I would have to fill in the blanks. This detail also allowed me to bond more with the character, and sympathize with them more. When they feel sad, I feel sad. When they feel scared, I feel scared for them. The story does have its happy moments though, and they really make the reader happy as well. While it is mostly sad, I highly recommend A List of Cages to any mature reader who is ready to go through an emotional roller coaster ride of a book.