The paragraphs I chose for discussion is in chapter nine and twenty-six. In chapter nine, Suzette, Lionel, their mother, and Saul were having dinner together. Saul was in their house and was the one who prepared the meal for that night. They were both asked to join the dining table and put their books away to have dinner. There was an awkward moment between the narrator and her mother. Lionel was looking down on the plate and even starts eating before Saul was done serving, as he was trying to avoid the awkward silence. As Saul was done serving, he took a fork and hit the glass with it to get everyone’s attention. He told the children, Lionel and Suzette, that there was something he and their mother wanted to tell them. Suzette became more nervous, and Lionel’s head was still facing his plate. The awkward moment became intense as they did not know what Saul was going to say. Their mother broke the suspense by saying that she and Saul had decided to move in with the kids. The writer then portrayed the kids, Lionel mostly, we’re not happy with the idea.
According to Colbert (2017), Lionel does not take the changes positively. When they were with Suzette in the garage, he started acting weird and scary. He becomes aggressive, and this scares Suzette. Ruining his father’s items was one of the weird things that were going on in his head. Brandy was trying to illustrate how sudden changes may make people feel. The aggressions that Lionel was showing were not just normal ones; they were super. His reaction to the whole idea was just a motive for him to sprout out. It seems he had all this anger filled inside him, and he used the situation as a catalyst to express his feelings.
Discussion Questions:
- Why was Lionel fumed so much about?
- How should parents talk to their teen children about such changes?
Chapter twenty-six, a passage where the narrator says, “for the first time in a long time, the air is peaceful between Lionel and me. Maybe neither of us has much else to say, but it feels good to sit here like this, with nothing bad or secret or unspoken between us”. It was after Lionel, and the narrator fought. They had not spoken since their big fight. Suzette knew she was at fault; she was scared when Lion and Saul came home. She never thought Lion would ever talk to her ever again (Colbert, 2017, p. 325-326). But Lionel was past the wedge, he said hi to her, and he said she was looking good. Suzette was happy to hear Lionel talk to her finally. Their relationship had hit a rock, but it was not that much harder to move past the wedge because they cared about each other. The narrator was going back to boarding school, and it was only right for them to make up before she left. Keeping secret sway from each other was the biggest cause of this awkwardness.
The passage shows us how strong the bond between them Little and Lion was and how much they loved each other. Little was scared that their relationship was eternally ruined. They promised each other that they would never keep secrets from each other. Lion’s recovery was also something that made Suzette happy. Suzette was finally brave to stand for what she believed in; the main reason she was going back to school was to make up things with Iris.
Discussion Questions:
- How was Lion supposed to react to find out that Little had been keeping secrets from him?
- As parents, how do you tell your kids that it is okay to be who they are, no matter their sexuality?
Reference
Colbert, B. (2017). Little & Lion. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.