Tanya Lloyd Kyi

Such an enjoyable read, it’s often fun and funny, and a little tense here and there, too, as these animals with the help of a fantastic girl, fight to save their home.

This book features multiple POV’s (several cats, a couple humans, and two poetic birds). I know multi-POV isn’t every reader’s cup of tea, but I promise it’s done very well here, there’s no confusing head-hopping, the POV character is named clearly at the top of each chapter. Each character’s personality is vivid show more and distinct and easy to form an attachment to, and I don’t recall a single instance here where I was bored and eager to be in someone else’s POV, each of these characters very much added to the story and had a little something emotional to pull you in.

If you’re looking for stark realism or a heroine who always adheres to rules and minds the adult in her life, this novel may not be the best fit for you, but I loved just about everything about this story of the lost and the lonely and the community they find in each other.

I received this book through a giveaway. show less

"The City" is the name given by its residents to an abandoned mansion which has become home to a number of stray and lost cats. Life in the old mansion isn't always perfect (fresh water can be hard to come by) but the cats are content to have a home safe from animal control. Things start to change, however, when two lost parakeets arrive after a fireworks display and an ominous excavator pulls up outside (some of the cats are convinced that the birds and the excavator [a.k.a. The Beast] are show more in cahoots). Another arrival is Fiona, an orphan who is dissatisfied with life with her aunt and her aunt's odious boyfriend.

At first I thought this was going to be a typical story of a plucky heroine saving the day with no help from oblivious, inept, and antagonistic adults, but in fact it was much more about recognizing that some things can't be done by yourself. I liked the focus on working together, asking for help when you need it, visiting your local library, gathering community, and organizing a non-violent protest. Maybe Fiona wasn't the most original character, but the cats made up for it. They each had their own distinct personalities (which often clashed, as each cat was sure that they were one who knew what to do!). I liked the song-like narration of the two parakeets (named Fries and Gravy) and the backstories of each of the cats that all got resolved satisfactorily in the end.

The City of Lost Cats has a light-hearted, whimsical feel throughout, and it generally avoids serious topics such as Fiona's grief over her parents' deaths. The demolition guys and the odious boyfriend Dex are more like comic caricatures than real villains. I would recommend this book if you like cats and you're looking for a light, gentle read that doesn't take itself too seriously. show less

Hotel for Dogs meets Parks & Rec plus Cats, wherein young Fiona maybe runs away from home and comes across an abandoned mansion full of cats. She can't fix her aunt being busy and having an annoying public works boyfriend, but she can help these cats have a better home. But wait, the cats aren't all on the same side, and there's an infestation of parakeets, and her aunt's boyfriend is pushing for demolition and redevelopment, and suddenly Fiona and the cats find themselves at the center of show more the town's biggest controversy. And all of this started because of some fireworks. I loved the use of mixed print materials like posters or articles to tell the story, and it's the perfect balance of low stakes and high emotions colliding in small incidents that slowly get out of control. Pick this up for a wild tale of cats, a girl who doesn't want to go to ballet camp, parakeets speaking in verse, community posters, and some not really evil villains who are fond of bulldozers.

Story is told in multi-POV. Yes, many of those are cats! show less

Entertaining with the tiniest hint of romance, a strong sense of humor, and a girl with wonderfully strong opinions.

A phone would make it ever so much easier to spread the word about the causes most dear to Mya’s socially conscious heart, and no cause is more dear than her best friend, who seems to be slipping further and further away with every text. But proving she’s responsible enough to own a cell phone is a tall order when it means minding her pain of a sister, babysitting the most show more challenging of brothers, and learning to cook recipes from the Myanmar side of her family (there are some recipes included).

Mya’s such an admirable heroine, curious about the world, empathetic to it, she doesn’t just talk, she’s a girl of action, she aspires to a career in the United Nations, yet at the same time she’s insecure when it comes to her bestie branching out with other friends, and it takes Mya some time to understand that having a partner in a school project means actually letting someone else do their share and have their say, and sometimes she needs reminders of just how much she loves her little sister. In other words, Mya is lovably, relateably, imperfect and ever so easy to like.

With Mya so aware of injustices, I thought the author struck just the right note here in conveying some ills of the world without bogging down the story or overwhelming readers with information, and it’s delivered with an encouraging message, that even if you can’t do something that makes a big, immediate change, the smallest efforts matter, they make a difference, too.

Overall I just really enjoyed this, Mya could have come off as whiny for how much she pestered her parents for a phone, instead she’s this good-intentioned but flawed kid, you feel her pain, especially in the awkward moments (her period, feeling left out, dealing with a boy), and then there’s little skateboarding sister Nanda, if you loved Kitty in To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, you’ll love Nanda, they’re cut from a similarly feisty cloth, and her ingenious shin pad solution made me smile.

I received this book through a giveaway. show less