Book Review 14: Void & Onix Bowl by Fernanda Liedo & Macarena Matrajt

I have read many cat stories... more than I can count. Short stories, YA novels, memoirs, and children's books. Most of which I have really enjoyed. But I have never read anything like this. 

Void and Onix Bowl is a story within a story. It follows a mommy cat telling a bedtime story to her three kittens. One of the kittens is especially curious, and as most cat people know, this is exactly how a real cat would act. It captures the playful nature of kittens really well, and simultaneously makes the story very heartwarming. The author did a good job of making it fun and enjoyable to read. 

Along with the descriptive storytelling, I really liked the vivid and colourful illustrations. This would be the perfect bedtime story for anyone who likes fantasy, fables and cats. Maybe I am a bit biased, but as a cat lover (and especially a black cat lover), I really enjoyed Void and Onix Bowl. I would give this book a 4/5. 

 

Book Review 7: "Warriors" series by Erin Hunter

The Warriors book series is written by Erin Hunter, which is actually a pseudonym used by six different authors. The series follows the lives of four cat clans. The cat clans include Thundeclan, Shadowclan, Riverclan and Windclan.

The first Warriors book (Into The Wild) starts off with Rusty, a beautiful ginger "kittypet" (housecat) who decides to leave his warm comfortable home to become a "warrior" (feral cat). Once he meets the rest of the warrior cats, adventure ensues.

When I told my husband about these books, he asked me if the cats fought with swords and weapons. Although the cats in the book(s) have been personified, they behave like regular cats. They are often described bathing, purring, growling, and hissing just like any other cat.

The terminology in the book can be quite amusing. They use words like "kittypet" to describe a housecat, "thunderpath" to describe the main road, and "monster" to describe the cars that drive through the "thunderpath."

Though these are children's books, don't be mistaken; they are not for the faint of heart. Due to the nature of feral cat colonies, these books are true to their behaviours and the cats can be very violent. The violence often leads to graphic and untimely deaths of some of the characters in the book. I shed a few tears for some of the cats who died.

The books were overall enjoyable, and I read most of book 6 (The Darkest Hour) in one sitting. It was really hard to put down and I wanted to see how the story played out. However, the story has way too many characters to follow. Since the cat's names are so unique, it can get very confusing at times, and it's hard to remember which cat belongs to which clan, or which kits (kittens) belong to which queen (mother). Furthermore, the cats' names change as they get higher up in the warrior hierarchy. For example, "Rusty" the kittypet becomes "Firepaw" the warrior, and he proceeds to become "Fireheart" and then "Firestar" as the story moves along. Another thing I didn't like about the series was that it ended really abruptly.

About 3/4 way into The Darkest Hour, the book takes an unexpected turn, which is why my eyes were glued to the book. The story doesn't end the way you'd think.

Despite it's downfalls, I would still recommend this series to anyone who loves cats and adventure. They are full of love, cuteness, betrayal and honour. If you are not a cat person, you can also try Erin Hunter's other book series' Seekers (which is about bears) or Survivors (which is about dogs.)

Please Note: The series I read is only the first series of Warriors books. They are followed by three more Warriors series', each consisting of six books.

Happy Reading! =)

Some of the many Warriors books. There are also standalone Warriors books, mangas and Warriors guides.

 

Firepaw is the protagonist in the series and definitely my favourire character. Graypaw is his best friend in the story and they have the cutest kitty bromance ever.

 

 

Quoted from book 2 (Forest of Secrets).

 

My own kittypets striking their Warrior pose! =)

 

 

Incomplete Book Series: The Golden Cat

A few years back, I had splurged on some used books at my local library book sale. Many of these books have remained untouched over the years. I may have read one or two of them, nevertheless, there's still many unread books on my shelf.

In an attempt to read some of the books I own, I picked "The Golden Cat" by Gabriel King off my shelf as my next read. I kept thinking this lovely little gem was a standalone and was in the mood of reading something fun and easy. Nothing too dramatic, and I am definitely not in the mood for a tear jerker right now. To my surprise, it turns out The Golden Cat is book two in a series of four books. So I began going on a hunt to find Book 1 (The Wild Road) at my local libraries, to see if they have either physical or electronic copies. Unfortunately, living in a small city, with not too many libraries around, this book was nowhere to be found. Grrr.

I am still trying to find book 1 to the series (but am having no luck whatsoever.) One of the previous libraries I used to go to would do Interlibrary loans. If they did not have any copies of a book someone wanted, they would "borrow" it from another library within the province. If I get lucky, I may be able to find "The Wild Road." on an interlibrary loan. I love reading series' but I also hate the feeling of wanting to read a not-so-well-known series, because they are so much harder to find than the mainstream ones. Has this ever happened to you? Did you finally end up finding the book(s) you were looking for?