Book Review: Cat Girl's Day Off

Cat Girl's Day Off
by Kimberley Pauley
331 pages
Publisher: Tu Books
Publication Date: April 1st 2012
Source: Publisher for Review (Thanks Tu books!)
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Never listen to a cat. It will only get you in trouble. Actually, scratch that. Listening to cats is one thing, but really I should never listen to my best friend Oscar. It's completely his fault (okay, and my aspiring actress friend Melly's too) that I got caught up in this crazy celebrity kidnapping murder mystery mess.

If you had asked me, I would have thought it would be one of my super-Talented sisters who'd get caught up in crime fighting. I definitely never thought it would be me and my Talent trying to save the day. Usually, the only thing conversations with cats gets you is requests for my tummy rubs and tuna.

Wait... I go back to what I said first. Never listen to a cat. Because when the trouble starts and the kitty litter hits the fan, trust me, you don't want to be in the middle of it.

You guys this book is basically about MY LIFE. Hapa chick with colored streaks in her hair? CHECK. Gay best friend? CHECK. 5' tall? CHECK. Can talk to cats? Okayyy so not check on that one (I wish!) but seriously, Natalie is a lot like me which can probably explain why I loved this book so much. That and the fact that this book is just plain freaking awesome. I mean, it's got a pink cat in it: a pink cat. If that's not awesome, I don't know what is!

Natalie Ng has a special talent. In fact, so do the rest of her family members. The only problem is the rest of these family members have super amazing talents like chameleon camouflage skills, built in lie detector abilities, and super smell while Nat's talent is talking to cats. Seems pretty lame. But what happens when the cat of a high profile celebrity blogger claims her owner is being impersonated and Nat get's talked into solving the intrigue? YOU GUESSED IT! It's a catastrophe! 

Get it? CATastrophe?

Okay, sorry for the bad pun. :P

So this book is chock full of awesome. Natalie is definitely a kick-ass protagonist. She's full of sass, spunk, and smarts, which are all things I love in a character. On top of that Nat can talk to cats, which despite what she thinks, is actually a pretty cool talent. Oscar and Melly are also both great characters who perfectly round out this friendship trio. And then of course there's Ian Abbott, super nerdorable and awkward love interest. But probably my favorite character (aside from Natalie of course) turned out to be Rufus Brutus the Third, the super sassy pink cat owned by Easton West celebrity blogger. Rufus was HYSTERICAL. His catisms were absolute genius. If you think internet Cat memes are funny just wait till you read this book.

As for the plot, Cat Girl's Day Off is a sort of coming of age novel filled with super powers, a mystery, multiple kid (and cat) nappings, breaking and entering, movie stars, and it pays tribute to Ferris Bueller's Day Off and John Hughes. It's funny, witty, fast-paced, and just plain clever. If you're looking for a great quirky contemporary then pick up Cat Girl's Day Off. I assure you, it will be a choice you won't regret.

Julia :)