REVIEW #15 - Cat Girl's Day Off by Kimberly Pauley

TITLE: Cat Girl's Day Off

AUTHOR: Kimberly Pauley

GENRE: paranormal, comedy

PUBLICATION DATE: April 1st 2012
SOURCE: Lee & Low Books via NetGalley

SYNOPSIS:

Natalie Ng’s little sister is a super-genius with a chameleon-like ability to disappear. Her older sister has three Class A Talents, including being a human lie detector. Her mom has laser vision and has one of the highest IQs ever. Her dad’s Talent is so complex even the Bureau of Extra-Sensory Regulation and Management (BERM) hardly knows what to classify him as.
And Nat? She can talk to cats.
The whole talking-to-cats thing is something she tries very hard to hide, except with her best friends Oscar (a celebrity-addicted gossip hound) and Melly (a wannabe actress). When Oscar shows her a viral Internet video featuring a famous blogger being attacked by her own cat, Nat realizes what’s really going on…and it’s not funny.
(okay, yeah, a frou-frou blogger being taken down by a really angry cat named Tiddlywinks, who also happens to be dyed pink? Pretty hilarious.)
Nat and her friends are catapulted right into the middle of a celebrity kidnapping mystery that takes them through Ferris Bueller’s Chicago and on and off movie sets. Can she keep her reputation intact? Can she keep Oscar and Melly focused long enough to save the day? And, most importantly, can she keep from embarrassing herself in front of Ian?
Find out what happens when the kitty litter hits the fan.

REVIEW:

First thoughts
If you follow me on Twitter you know how happy this book made me!

Cover

This cover reveals exactly what this book is: fun, fast, full of color! It's what made me request the book and I'm grateful it did, because it doesn't disappoint.
And on a side note, I'm glad it features an Asian girl. I heard about racism when it comes to covers (sic!) and I'm happy it's not the case.

Plot

I don't see how anyone could DISLIKE this book! It's fresh, it's fun, it's such an amazing ride! Come on, which blogger wouldn't love a book about... a blogger? And superpowers. And talking cats. And breaking the stereotypes about Asians and gays. AWESOMESAUCE.

Characters

I don't even know where to start! I loved every character right from the start, when we got to know Nat's family of geniuses, then her amazing friends (Oscar being my absolute favorite), cats she could talk to, actors, secret agents... No, I really don't know where to begin.
Nat was a great main character. Strong headed, keeping her feet on the ground, she's the sane point in the lives of her family of geniuses or even her friends who dream big. She doesn't want to be famous, unlike her friends Oscar or Melly - who'd want to be famous for a Talent of Speaking With Cats, anyway? But in the end, it's Nat who saves the day!
Oscar is her gay best friend, half-Asian on top of that. I was really amazed how Kimberly Pauley didn't fall into stereotypes (Oscar was a bit exaggerated at times, but not to the point I'd think "this needs to stop") and managed to pull off Oscar as a comedy character without it being too obvious.
I can't forget about the cats - Meep, Rufus Brutus The Third, Purr Daddy and the others - they all had their own quirks, habits and despite all the talking they were very very... cat. I loved that about them!
What I also loved was the fact that every character - even those who only appeared for a short while, like Garrett - had their own voices and stories and I cared about them.
When a book makes you care about every character - that means the author is doing it right!

Writing

Narration in Cat Girl's Day Off is an awesome mix of adorable and witty. Nat's remarks made me laugh hard every few sentences. I'm not even kidding, every few sentences! The dialogues - especially when the cats were involved - were hilarious and very natural. On top of all that we had blog posts. Actual blog posts written by a blog celebrity. How cool is that?

Overall

I can't stress enough how much I loved this book! It made me laugh a lot, it's got a hilarious, easy to read plot and absolutely adorable character. Definitely one of my favorite reads this year!

Rating

5 stars out of 5. Read it, read it, read it!