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CM . . .
. Volume IX Number 8. . . . December 13, 2002
excerpt: Wake up, I told myself, wake up! My eyes snapped open. Something was pressing heavily on my chest. Its form was dark as midnight, and out of that darkness stared two horrible, glowing eyes - insane, crazed, cat's eyes! Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump. There went my heart again. "Killer?" I whispered hopefully into the darkness. Because TJ's grandmother was going to Hawaii and her cat sitter fell through, TJ suddenly finds himself responsible for four cats. Yet, according to TJ, "Cats give me the creeps." In fact, he considers himself an "ailurophobe," someone who is afraid of cats. With the help of his best friend, Seymour, TJ navigates his way through a series of cat mishaps. These situations, combined with the information he gathers in preparation for a school report on cats, leads TJ to discover that he actually likes cats. The characters in this story are well drawn and realistic. TJ is somewhat of a latch key kid as his parents struggle to make a go of a hardware store. TJ's sense of humour and insightful observations diffuse any possible tension in the storyline and define its charm. Hutchins is successful at creating an entertaining novel for young readers. The pace and vocabulary are well matched for the intended audience. Hutchins has done a good job of peppering the novel with a more sophisticated use of language that is likely to stretch the minds of young readers. A fun read. Recommended. Christina
Neigel is the Instruction Librarian for the University College of
the Cariboo in
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