CCBC Booklists

CCBC booklist are compiled from books we have recommended in various editions of CCBC Choices. Most of these booklists are updated annually. You can also select books from one or more booklists to create a custom list, which can also include additional books from the CCBC-Recommended Book Search.

To print a CCBC booklist, click on a list below and then use your browser’s “Print” command.

< Back to booklist

I Am the Cage

by Allison Sweet Grant

CCBC Review:

Elisabeth (white) is a 19-year-old who has settled into a quiet, anonymous life in Fish Creek, Wisconsin, following a deliberate break from her past. Chapters alternate between present-day 1999, during which Elisabeth is trying to ride out a massive winter storm alone in her cabin, and flashbacks to her past, beginning with a traumatic medical event that began when she was 11 years old. Elisabeth is intentionally sheltered and self-protective in all aspects of her life. Throughout the course of the snowstorm, she reluctantly accepts necessary assistance from her rural neighbor, Noah, the town’s very young sheriff, when the power goes out for days. While huddled in blankets near the fireplace, Elisabeth finds a way to slowly emerge from her emotional cocoon and find her real self. The genuine care and kindness shown by Noah coaxes Elisabeth to examine the purpose of her self-loathing. When Elizabeth’s mom arrives unexpectedly to check on her snowed-in daughter, horrific pain and abuse from the past resurfaces. Partially based on the author’s childhood experience with limb-lengthening surgery, this book utilizes poetry and prose to process survival and resilience. ©2026 Cooperative Children’s Book Center

CCBC Age Recommendation: Age 14 and older
Age Range: Grades 9-12 (Age 14 and older)
Format: Novel
Subjects: Hope and Healing Love and Romance Mental Health and Illness Mothers Trauma
Diversity subject: Physical
On CCBC Booklists: Privacy Between the Pages: Selected Books for Older Children and Teens Lived Disability Experiences: Books for Children and Teens

Publishers: Dutton, Penguin Random House
Publish Year: 2025
Pages: 295
ISBN: 9780593616918
CCBC Location: Fiction, Grant

Can’t find what you’re looking for? Our Recommended Book Search includes access to CCBC-recommended titles based on subject headings created by our staff.

Please send questions or comments about CCBC booklists to ccbcinfo@education.wisc.edu.