This was such an emotional book, I really enjoyed it. I really felt for Elisabeth, and I think showing her past made the story even more effective. I will definitely be recommending this book. Thank you NetGalley and Dutton Books for Young Readers for this ARC!

This book exploring the effects of medical trauma is so well done. Elisabeth's journey toward healing is told alongside flashbacks to the brutal medical interventions she had as a preteen. Her gradual opening up to her neighbor, Noah is sweet, but isn't a story about a man rescuing a woman. As we learn about the climax of her medical trauma, we also get a beautifully poetic breakthrough - just a beautiful scene. I love the book's message that though others can ease the journey, healing comes from within.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin group for an advance copy of this book for review.

Raw and emotional. Elisabeth has an event happen that changes her in a way that she wants to escape and isolate. Except a snowstorm, and her next door neighbor, knocks her plan out. This is an unraveling novel of wounding from the past that meets present day realities and a reckoning happens that you'll just have to read to understand. Brilliant and revealing. Thank you for this gem!
*I received a copy of this book from NetGalley. This review is my own opinion*

If you are looking for a book that really makes you reflect on your life then this is the book for you. I'm not going to lie, the main character made me mad. I wanted to shake her and tell her the glass is half full and not half empty but when I finished it I got it. I understand now that people need to process things in their own way and on their own timeline. Such a GREAT read!!

I Am the Cage is a poignant exploration of trauma and healing, following Elisabeth as she confronts her painful past. The writing is poetic and evocative, capturing the depth of her emotions. However, I found the pacing slow at times, and the heavy themes made it a challenging read. While the story offers valuable insights into resilience and self-discovery, it didn't fully resonate with me.

This was highly introspective and I really appreciate when a book can do that and being a lot of feelings to the surface. Deep thought novel. Was very good.

“I didn't understand it, but somehow, somewhere, everything got turned backward, and my mind became a slave to my body instead of the other way around.”

A difficult, poignant, devastating read. In many ways, it reads like a memoir. I'm assured it's not.

I Am the Cage follows 19-year-old Elisabeth as she attempts to live out a quiet life in a new town. She lives alone, works at a local tourist souvenir shop, and avoids interactions with others at all costs. But when a snowstorm knocks out power and she finds herself in need of assistance, Elisabeth must let her neighbor (and local sheriff) Noah into her world. Navigating the effects of past medical trauma, Elisabeth must decide just how much she will open herself up to Noah.

This book was beautifully written and held moments of both tragedy and hope. I enjoyed the main character's arc through the story and the myriad of conflicting emotions that she was battling at different points throughout. The flashbacks to her childhood were gritty and gruesome, and I felt like I could feel her pain right along with her. Her apathetic mother was frustrating and yet I could see at times where she was coming from as the author explored the toll that taking care of a loved one can have on everyone around that person.

In the present timeline, I enjoyed the silly banter that Elisabeth shares with Noah and their quiet nights passing the time without power. The side characters, though limited in scope, felt caring and comforting in their own way. I loved being with Elisabeth on her journey in coming to terms with her past and discovering her path forward.

Though this book is not very plot focused, I still felt like I read it quickly. There were parts that I was on the edge of my seat, and there were other parts that felt quiet and contemplative. The poetry interspersed throughout was a lovely addition that added depth and a way for our main character to process her emotions.

Overall, I loved this book. A glowing 5 stars from me!

Elisabeth is content with the life she's chosen, alone in her cabin and far from everyone who knew her before and who could hurt her. She's carrying a lot of scars. She was born with a limb discrepancy and underwent years of painful procedures that slowly robbed her of her faith in the world and the people she was supposed to trust. But with a blizzard blanketing the entire town, she has to turn to her neighbor, the young sheriff, and just maybe, she's going to have to open up to someone else.
This is a hard read, but really beautiful. It's so full of pain, but also hope. The writing, especially the poetry, is beautiful. I loved her character growth. This is definitely worth it to read.

Many thanks to Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group | Dutton Books for Young Readers for providing this ARC in exchange of an honest review.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I started reading this one but I have to say that it was better than I thought it would be. Elisabeth had suffered medical trauma as a child which then turned to emotional trauma leading her to run from her family and hide out in a remote cabin. Strong character growth and I love that she was learning to trust again. Emotional and beautifully written poetry.

No real reason but it was sort of middling for me. Sometimes I feel like I struggle to explain it beyond it's just not for me.

This book was so powerful. I had so many quotes I wanted to share, and while I'm not normally a poetry girl, the poems in this were raw and moving, and I loved them.

Justine wanted to make a clean break. Going by her middle name, Elisabeth, she moves to a small town, away from everyone she knows and where nobody knows her. She finds a job helping stock shelves at a small local shop, and a small cabin all to herself.

When a snowstorm hits and cuts the power for several days, she's forced to admit that she needs help. Her fire has burned out, and the tarp over her woodpile was swept away, leaving her woefully unprepared. Her neighbor Noah is the sheriff, and her landlord's brother, and he's tried to introduce himself many times. Her trek to ask him for firewood leads to him rescuing her from the snow, and the two spend the following days inside.

Going between then and now, with then being when she was 11 and undergoing a reparative surgery for a defect in her leg. It's a long and torturous process, and young Justine has to face not just the pain that comes from the procedure, but the emotional pain of having those she trusts hurt her and being left alone, on the outside of her family as she becomes just a burden to them.

The way Allison describes chronic pain is one of the most resonating things I've ever read. The way you feel it can't fully be explained, and the way your mind fights to reason with it. To grapple and accept is as reality, even as you're sure that if you described it, you wouldn't be believed. The way it makes you feel as if you're losing your mind, your sense of reality... wow. This book.

Please do mind trigger warnings, there are some details of medical appointments that can be a lot to take.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher at Penguin. They recommended this one to me, and I am so glad it found me. The story of healing, the poetry, Noah, they'll stay with me for a long time. I hope everyone gets a chance to read this one!

Thank you Netgalley for the advance reader copy of I Am the Cage by Allison Sweet Grant in exchange for an honest review. I really related to this book and was torn between wanting to gobble it up and stopping to think on certain parts. It was beautifully written and I can't recommend it enough.

words can't express how deeply this story clawed its way into my owl soul. i went in knowing absolutely nothing except that it would be sad, and i am so, so grateful for that. this is not a story about romance saving you from a lifetime of medical trauma. this is a story that delves into the way trauma can restructure itself around our new lives. elisabeth will continue to hold space in my heart because of how real and relatable her pain was, but also the steadfast message that it doesn't mean something's wrong with you.

my ramblings

you don’t need to apologize to everyone about not wanting to be punched in the stomach.

so why is other touch different? why is it treated as a problem, an innate impossibility in human experience, a defect to be rectified no matter the cost? why is your dignity, autonomy, and worth stripped away due to the conditions of the body you didn’t create?

i felt so seen with the portrayal of how much it hurts to be ripped apart physically, and even more when others try to pry you apart themselves. how people expect you to know what you want — for it to always be something more — when you’ve had your whole life decided for you.
balancing the weight of knowing that you’re not normal with the need to bury the knowledge so no one else reminds you. so they stop making you relive it all over again, just for their sake of understanding.

as for the rest of our story: the setting is lovely & the characters go from immediately likable to realistically frustrating, and end up poignitally human. there's ups and downs, but it gives me hope for more ups. because not everything is horrible all of the time. i stayed in bed for a day to finish this. i sobbed throughout the last half. i'm so grateful to find a book that encapsulates medical trauma so well, and is still suitable for a younger audience.

even when everyone around you tells you you’re broken, you’re not.

tw: chronic pain, medical trauma and negligence (explicit), awful families, gaslighting, grief, thoughts of suicide

thank you to netgalley for providing an arc that has altered my brain chemistry

I was drawn to this book by the title and the description of a teenage girl isolating herself in a remote log cabin. As a child Elisabeth has undergone traumatic surgical treatments to correct a bone discrepancy. While she is now apparently healed physically, her emotional trauma is raw and enduring. Author Allison Sweet Grant does a commendable job of exposing Elisabeth’s difficult recovery and lingering hurts and insecurities. This is a book sensitive older teen readers may appreciate.

Going into this book I never thought I would enjoy it as much as I did. This book was so powerful and so beautiful. The character growth in the book with the main character was so beautiful to read.

I definitely look forward to more books from this author.

Elisabeth just wants a break from her life. She has lived a physically painful and lonely life and she just wants a break from it all. From her family and friends. She finds herself in a remote town where no one knows her or about her past. She finds a job in a small shop that doesn't really need any extra help. She is living the life she wants at this time. When a major blizzard hits the area and the power is out, she has to make some tough decisions in order to survive. Making the trek across the field to the Sheriff's house (the sheriff is her landlord's brother by the way), she finds the help she needs and maybe a little more.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Young Readers for the opportunity to read and review this title.

Feeling like you are trapped is always a terrible feeling. You could feel her pain while she was in her leg brace and the pain she felt by not being able to open up to others. This book was a slow burn, where you weren't sure what was going to happen. But it made me think and about being on your own and I think it's a good story for any teen who thinks they are ready to be out on their own.

Emotionally wrenching story about medical trauma--a topic that I had not read about in YA fiction before. I could see this being quite validating for teens/adults who have similar stories. It started out a bit slow, but once I was invested in the story, I read quickly.

This book was heartbreaking, how Elisabeth is treated by her mother and why she leaves when she turns 18. It grabbed me from the start and I couldn't put it down. A good mix of poetic verse and novel and one I think my students will enjoy.

This book surprised me as I didn’t know what to expect when I requested it. I haven’t read much poetry but this was a great and easy read. I didn’t expect the emotions I felt while reading this and this book actually made me cry. Hard to put down and a great read for the climate we’re currently living in.