I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Lil is anything but small. She’s rebellious, she's loyal; she's figuring out what kind of good person she wants to be, or if she wants to be a good person at all. But more than anything? Lil wants to be free.

When her instinct for freedom leads to another stay in D.C. juvenile detention, Lil knows she’s lucky to just be on probation. But judgment, guilt, and an ankle monitor weigh heavily on her, and she can’t shake that pinned-down feeling.

The only person who might understand is her big brother, Aldwin. Except he’s more distant now than just the hundred miles where he’s away at college. Something’s been off with him for a couple of months, but only Lil seems to realize how important it is to get to him.

As her court hearing ticks closer, a question looms over Lil as the missed phone calls and strange texts from her brother pile up: will she follow the rules until her sentencing, or put her future freedom on the line?

Short and Sweet Review

Lil has always been the rebellious one in her family, and her anger has gotten her into more trouble than she probably wants to admit. After crashing her family’s food truck, she finds herself on probation and stuck wearing an ankle monitor while waiting for her court hearing. All Lil wants is to feel free again, but then she starts noticing that something is seriously wrong with her older brother, Aldwin. He’s away at college and becoming increasingly distant, sending strange texts and acting like someone Lil barely recognizes. When she realizes that he may be struggling with something much bigger than she understands, Lil has to decide whether she’s willing to risk her own future to help the person who has always looked out for her.

I absolutely loved this book. Lil was such a complicated and relatable character because underneath all of her anger and rebellious behavior, she’s someone who cares deeply about the people around her. I loved watching her slowly realize that her anger isn’t something that makes her a bad person. It’s connected to how much she cares, how overwhelmed she feels, and how badly she wants to protect the people she loves. Her journey isn’t about suddenly becoming this perfect, well behaved teenager. It’s about learning how to understand herself and figure out what she wants to do with all of those emotions. The relationship between Lil and Aldwin was probably my favorite part of the story. You can tell from the beginning how much Lil looks up to her brother, so watching her realize that he is struggling and that she may be one of the only people paying attention to what’s happening with him was heartbreaking. I also really liked seeing the rest of Lil’s family and friendships develop throughout the story. Her relationship with her parents, her grandmother’s dementia, and even her friendships with Trina and Ebony all added different layers to Lil’s life. I especially loved Trina and honestly wouldn’t have minded getting even more of her. I loved the way poetry is woven throughout the story. Lil’s poems give us a different look at what she’s feeling, especially when she doesn’t know how to say those things out loud. They made the story feel much more personal and gave Lil a way to process everything happening around her. There are so many moments where you can tell Lil is overwhelmed without her having to directly explain it, and I thought that was beautifully done. What really stayed with me, though, was the message about anger. Lil spends so much of the story believing that her anger is something that needs to be controlled or something that makes her difficult, when really it’s showing her that something matters to her. The challenge is learning how to listen to that anger without letting it control her. I thought that was such an important message, especially for a character who is constantly being judged by the mistakes she’s made.

Overall, Anger Is Only a Shadow was such an emotional and meaningful read. I loved Lil, her relationship with Aldwin, the family dynamics, the friendships, and the way poetry was used to explore her thoughts and emotions. This felt like a story about growing up, learning to understand yourself, and realizing that doing the right thing isn’t always the same as doing the easy thing. I went into this expecting a story about a rebellious teenager and ended up getting something much deeper about family, anger, love, and finding your own way forward. Definitely one of my favorites.