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YOUNGER FICTION
Husted, Ursula Murray

A Cat Story

192 pp. | HarperCollins/Quill Tree | October, 2020 | Trade ISBN 978-0-06-293205-1 $22.99 | Paper ISBN 978-0-06-293204-4 $12.99 | Ebook ISBN 978-0-06-293206-8 $10.99
(2) 1-3 This graphic novel, set on the island of Malta, is the story of stray cats who spend their days wandering the wet docks and eating fish scraps to survive. Cilla, longing for a more stable home, declares she will search for the mythical "quiet garden," which stems from a legendary kitten story; here live humans "with kind eyes who never step on our tails" and who welcome all cats. Cilla's friend Betto dismisses the story as "silly" but joins Cilla so that she doesn't have to travel alone. Their journey is perilous, and they meet curious characters along the way, including a feline who speaks in riddles and a herd of cats who essentially try to imprison them. Cilla is initially disappointed in what she learns about the garden but eventually realizes that "there is a measure of truth in all good stories." The tales the creatures hear on their journey are told through re-creations of classic art (noted in the book's back matter) by Renoir, da Vinci, Zhu Ling, and Randolph Caldecott. Husted has a loose, energetic line that reflects both the cats' graceful movements and their tough lives of scrimping. She captures the Maltese landscape with detail and a scrappy elegance. An enjoyable story, especially for cat-lovers, about how home is where you make it.
Reviewer: Julie Danielson | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2021

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