A List of Cages by Robin Roe is a heartbreaking story that deals with drastic conflicts in our society and how much small things that may be insignificant to others can do for those in pain. Roe does a great job at writing a story that's raw and real. Even though her writing is a little green, the subject of the book makes up for it. A List of Cages does a great job reflecting conflicts in our society that many choose to ignore. The book especially concentrates on how much the life of kids can be affected by their parents and/or guardians decisions. Furthermore, Roe shines a light on the lack of trust between kids and our society's role models like teachers and law enforcement. Most of the characters of the story are underdeveloped, but their lack of development fits with the story. One of the goals of the story is to show readers how much teenagers can be hiding behind their masks. Therefore, it served well to the story that we don't know much about the secondary characters. The reader only gets to know what Julian and Adam know, however, slowly, we get to learn more about what's behind those masks as the main character's start to see it for themselves. Like the characters, the story has its high and low points. Thankfully, Roe does a beautiful job guiding us through the darkest parts of it. No matter how dark it gets, at the end of the day, A List of Cages is a story about hope and the power of friendship.
This story is a beautiful heartbreaking tale that has the power to make readers grow into better people. However, it has a lot of triggering content, hence I wouldn't recommend it to everyone. If you think you would be able to handle extreme details of abuse, then I would definitely recommend reading it because it is truly a great learning experience. Nevertheless, I would advice to restrain from reading it if that kind of content may gravely affect you.
A More In Depth Review
***SPOILER ALERT***
A List of Cages is told in the perspective of two young boys, Adam and Julian, whom life keeps pushing together. Roe uses both characters to parallel how two similar boys grow up to be completely different due to their different support systems. As children, both boys had conditions that affected their learning and social experiences. Furthermore, both lack conventional families, since Adam has never met his father and Julian's parents die when he is very young. However, as they grow, Adam flourishes into a happy confident teenager that everyone loves, while Julian becomes shy, fearful and uncertain of himself. The reason why such similar boys grow to be extremely different is their parental figures. Adam's mom has offered him an environment where he feels safe and loved. She has protected him against injustice and given him the tools to stand up for himself and others. On the other hand, Julian's uncle has robbed him of his confidence and happiness. Russel's verbal and physical abuse has transformed Julian from a happy, energetic and curious child to a meek and scared teenager. Julian lacks the tools to speak up for himself and make friends. He does not know how to socialize and has little knowledge of the way the world works. His uncle's abuse has affected greatly his mental, physical and social development. However, through it all, Julian still manages to be trusting and kind. The love and kindness he received from his parents and foster family keep Julian from totally succumbing to the darkness.
"Hate ricochets, but kindness does too"
Roe writes. For it is the kindness he received from Adam that helped Julian survive his uncle. By being his friend and integrating him into his friendship group, Adam showed Julian that he could be happy and gave him the strength to finally fight Russell. And even when Russell tried to destroy his fighting spirit, Julian held on. His stubbornness and will re-flourished under the care of Adam and their friends and gave him the tools to move on once he was saved. Furthermore, Julian's kindness helped others become better versions of themselves and eventually helped him move forward. The greatest example of this is Charlie. Throughout most of the story, Charlie dislikes Julian because he believes that the boy is stealing the only thing that he doesn't have to share with his many siblings, Adam. However, even though he treats him horribly, Julian is kind to him. This kindness helps Charlie become a better person, friend and sibling. Furthermore, it impulses Charlie to save Julian and Adam from Russell at the end of the story. Thus, the kindness Julian learned from Adam and showed Charlie was returned back to them.
By portraying the life of these two similar yet different boys, Robin Roe demonstrates how much kids can be affected by their parents and guardians. Furthermore, she highlights the importance of showing kindness to others. People, especially teenagers, are expert at creating masks to hide their real feelings. Like Emerald's character, a person may seem perfect on the outside and be broken on the inside. Therefore, we must not judge or be unkind to any person, since we do not know the circumstances they may be facing.
Furthermore, the author does a great job of showing readers that
"It's not okay to hurt people. Even if you are unhappy."
She begins the story by telling us that people who hurt others do so because they are unhappy. However, through the whole book, she shows us that unhappiness is not an excuse to hurt others.
The greatness of this story lies on the messages Roe communicates through it. Even though the writing and development is average, the story can be fully appreciated since it rings true with the readers. Readers feel Roe's honesty and the reality of her story upon reading her words, therefore they can ignore the amateur aspects of it in order to fully enjoy it.
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