This book was heart wrenching + so tender. The language was simple but profound all at the same time. If you read this, be sure to block time off because you’ll likely cry and not want to stop reading. I felt myself in some of these words and I think most of you would too. Simply beautiful but heavy read 🤍

Elizabeth is healing from a childhood medical trauma and moved to a remote town in order to isolate as her mind continues to tell her she doesn’t need anyone and no one is safe. During a snow storm, she is found outside by her neighbor Noah who is the town sheriff. He takes her in and ensures she is safe. They slowly start to spend more time together while Elizabeth tries to hide the fact that she is running from her past. She has shut everyone out, how does she now let someone in?

Thank you NetGalley, the author and Dutton books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I was so excited to see a book that is set in Fish Creek, WI, as Door County is one of my most favorite places. This book heavily deals with flashbacks to Elisabeth/Justine's medical trauma that happened to her when she was younger, set against her current reality as a loner who meets a friend in a snowstorm,.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I received an ARC of this book through Net Galley. I liked the cover, but didn’t read the synopsis. I was surprised when the main character was fitted with an external fixator to fix the length of her bones. I too had an external fixator when I was 15 to keep my femur in place after a hip fusion. The pain and the doctor visits that she goes through brought back so many memories. I absolutely loved this book dealing with allowing the pain of your past to be a part of you, but ultimately not to hinder your growth in life

She really nailed that sense of growing up as a defective, unwanted thing with even the barest illusion of autonomy stripped away - of the isolation and powerlessness that comes from that. But. I can't say I enjoyed the experience.

I didn’t know what I was expecting with this short read, but it had me feeling some type of way. It makes you think about something you may not feel familiar with. It truly brought me out of my comfort zone, but it’s a good thing. It makes us question situations we ever had as children. It’s an emotional state, but a good one.

I am conflicted. The novel’s overall mood and pace were captivating, and I appreciated the vulnerability in Elizabeth’s character and Noah’s easygoing demeanor. However, I’m left uncertain about Elizabeth’s mother. The story leans heavily on telling rather than showing in the flashbacks, which made it hard for me to discern if her actions stemmed from masochism or genuine maternal concern. Since pain is subjective and often breeds resentment, her portrayal felt ambiguous.

The flashback scenes, while essential to understanding Elizabeth’s struggles, often dragged and became repetitive. In contrast, the present-day narrative was a highlight for me. Watching Elizabeth slowly dismantle the emotional walls she built around herself and allow Noah in was a touching journey that felt authentic and earned.

In the end, while some parts of the novel didn’t resonate as strongly, the story’s heart lies in its exploration of vulnerability and connection, and that is where it truly shines. A bittersweet yet hopeful read.

This book was interesting, and I enjoyed the dual timeline. It fell a little flat, and I had a hard time connecting with the characters, but it was an interesting insight into two times in the same character’s life.
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Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a truly amazing story. It is gut-wrenching, touching , and beautiful . Elisa eth went through a medical trauma when she was 11. Doctors told her she was not normal and needed to be fixed. Her mother went along with this causing Elisabeth mental trauma as well. She ends up alone in a small remote cabin where she feels ok and feels safe. She trusts no one and does not let anyone get close. Then she meets Noah.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Elisabeth is living alone in a cabin in Fish Creek, Wisconsin, which is just what she needs.. solitude. When a storm hits she accepts help from her neighbor and begins to show vulnerability, including trauma from her childhood.

A fast paced, dual time line book that I sped through. I really liked the looks back although the medical aspects were very hard to read for me. I was intrigued by the details but felt her pain, as well as betrayal by the medical felt. Her emotions around her mother were complex and harder for me to wrap my mind around. There are moments of beautiful writing in this, including poetry showing depth.

“I put my trauma in the junk drawer and kept it there for a long, long time.”

I Am the Cage comes out 2/18.

2.5 rounded up
I wanted to like this book hut just would not connect with the characters or the story. I kept putting it down and then slogged my wag through. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

This was such a great book! Horrifying and heartbreaking but healing and happiness-inducing. I loved the path of Justine/Elisabeth and would definitely love to see more from this author! She writes so beautifully that it feels like this story was seared into my soul. It’s fear and hope, sin and redemption. It’s pure magic.

Wow! I felt so many different emotions reading this book! Elisabeth had to endure such trauma as a child and it totally consumed her adult life. It made me so sad to read her decriptions of the medical procedure that she went through and I had no doubt that it made her the closed off and private adult version that we read about in this book. I really feel that God brought Noah into her life in order to save her relationships with her mother, her friend, and herself. I will definately recommend this book to my middle grade students and my book club buddies. I want to thank NetGalley for the ARC of the incredible book. I loved it!

A powerful story of how childhood trauma can have a lasting effect on a person even through adulthood. When she was eleven years old Justine/Elizabeth was subject to a series of treatments that resulted in excruciating pain in an effort to “fix” her leg. And in typical eleven-year-old fashion she internalized it to mean she wasn’t good enough and needed fixing herself. After high school graduation she moves to a small town in Wisconsin to escape. She cuts herself off from everyone, even her best friend, and tells herself she doesn’t need anyone in her life. It all changes when a violent snowstorm hits town. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me an e-ARC of this beautifully written heart wrenching story in exchange for an honest review.

It was a very emotionally moving story. My heart ached for the main character. I think many people can relate to the emotional scars and possibly the physical scars of trauma that was experienced during childhood. iI think many people can also related to the feeling of wanting to prove that we can be independent and that we don't need anybody. I was a very engaging story and I was glad I read it. I think it would be a great addition to a school library.

Superb writing.. I couldn't put the book down constantly wanting Elisabeth to move past her unforgettable, unfortunate, unpleasant memories and to seize the present and the future. The poetry is outstanding, too.

i received a advanced copy of this book i didnt know what to expect. i really enjoyed the story. i thought it was beautifully written i thought that the author captured the thoughts of an adolescent girl perfectally. .....and her thoughts as she got a few years older.. Anyone who has ever had thoughts of being nothing,,,,and not good enough could get some good pointers about handling those feelings here

***Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a complimentary copy of I AM THE CAGE by Allison Sweet Grant in exchange for my honest review.***

I wish I AM THE CAGE was a five star review for me, as I understand the novel is very personal to its writer Allison Sweet Grant.

My inability to warm up to narrator Elisabeth/Justine is probably the biggest reason I didn’t enjoy I AM THE CAGE. In the chapters from her childhood, she constantly ascribed negative feelings and motives to her mother, the way a kid might (she doesn’t like *me*, she didn’t want to help me). By telling rather than showing, I didn’t feel as if the character was unbiased. Caretaking for a sick/recovering child is exhausting, especially when she child sees the parent as the cause of the hurt. Unlike other stories, Justine showed only resentment most of the time. Obviously surgical pain is horrible and being unable to take care of oneself adds to the stress of recovery for both parent and child.

The slow pace of I AM THE CAGE made reading more like a chore than a pleasure. For example, the excruciating minutiae of plays during the game of Uno felt like page filler.

Two stars is a stretch rating for me. Had I AM THE CAGE not been an ARC, I’d have DNF and one-starred it.

This is a really deep story about one girl’s life. Her inner life. A major event in her childhood caused physical and emotional pain. This story is how she finally comes to terms with it. I think it’s a comment on how we are all broken and how it is ok, and how it develops our personality. Plus it takes place in Fish Creek, Wisconsin. One of my favorite places in Door County. An excellent book.

This is a very moving story that caught me by surprise as I followed Elizabeth's journey of self acceptance and courage to speak up.

I Am the Cage centers around Elizabeth, a young woman dealing with several levels of PTSD, much related to horrific medical procedures and the huge (justifiable) distrust she has for pretty much all people, including her family. All she wants to do is move on, live on her own in an isolated cabin and be safe. But when a huge snow storm hits her isolated cabin, Elizabeth is challenged to not only rely on another person, the handsome and uber friendly town sheriff, but also confront her past and come to terms with what really happened.

This turned out to be moving but tough. I'm not good with gory medical descriptions so--wow. But I found the descriptions of Elizabeth's ordeal so informative and necessary. It was heartbreaking to follow everything being done to her by careless and deeply-in-denial adults in order to "fix" her. Allison Sweet Grant gives such a strong example of what often happens to kids and young people when they don't have true autonomy and have parents that "mean well" but are sooooo misguided and blind to what they are actually doing and saying. There were times I wanted to climb into the pages and punch her mom.

Elizabeth is hurt and broken for justifiable reasons but there is also a willingness to process that is slowly revealed with every page turn. Her determination to want to forget but also kind of confront it all is so relatable. It was nice to see her open up with a stranger, which is usually what happens when we've been hurt by those closest to us. Sometimes it takes someone completely unrelated to help open that locked vault of emotion--and in this case it's an adorable boy next door.

Some things I struggled with: It was hard tracking the timeline and Elizabeth's age for most of the book. There were times I had to flip back to early pages to double check her age. This made it more confusing to understand other character's ages because she was comparing them to her own age--an age that isn't mentioned until way into the story after we meet those characters. There are also some character relationships that are supposed to be really strong although we don't really get to know more about them or even see that through out the story which threw me off when they were suddenly revealed at the end.

Final thoughts--this was a powerful and necessary read but her age, timeline and character relationships could be made a little clearer. But I stand by this being a necessary read because it opens up strong conversations about disability and what it feels like to be betrayed by those closest to you.

Unfortunately, I did not personally enjoy this book and as a result, will not be posting reviews on major public sites for it.

I had high hopes for this book. The title alone grabbed my attention before even reading the summary.

In my reading experience, the story itself and the characters were missing grip and depth. It was very slow moving and with very little reward. There was nothing happening in the plot to keep me wanting to come back for more. The writing style was telling me what was happening without showing me, and I think that’s part of why I found myself much less engaged with it than others.

I hope this story touches other people who read it - it simply did not resonate with me.