bibliokyra's reviews
1108 reviews

The Travelling Cat Chronicles is a bittersweet story mainly narrated by Nana, a stray cat who sleeps on the warm hood of a silver van. The van’s owner, Satoru, meekly approaches Nana one day offering food and sneaks in a head scratch and walks away. Satoru never oversteps his boundaries and treats Nana with the utmost respect.
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One day, Nana is on the prowl and is hit by a car. He hobbles back to the van and howls for Satoru. Satoru brings Nana to the vet and back to his apartment to heal. Nana reminds Satoru of a special cat he had when he was a child so he feels like they were meant to be together. The two become quick companions living in harmony. Nana moves in with Satoru but he insists that they go on walks so Nana can maintain his survival skills.
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Years pass and Satoru has no choice but to find a new home for Nana for reasons out of his control. With Satoru behind the wheel of the silver van and Nana by his side, the two embark on an emotional road trip among scenic Japanese landscapes and revisit three of Satoru’s childhood friends in hopes of finding a compatible home for Nana. Nana learns of Satoru and his past during this unforgettable journey.
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The unique bond formed between Satoru and Nana was heartwarming. They were completely intuitive of one another and balanced each other out perfectly. Nana was sassy and bold, meanwhile, Satoru was gentle and considerate. This is a wonderfully heartfelt story about love, loss, self-sacrifice, humor and kindness. I laughed, I cried and I will not forget this beautiful story.
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🐈🐈🐈🐈🐈/5 cats

“The soul has always struck me as being a tricky thing to keep with the body: an easily bored aristocrat with the means to leave whenever it wished.”
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Celeste Price is a 26-year-old eighth grade teacher with looks that could kill, a fancy car, a nice house and is married to a wealthy policeman. Underneath that facade of perfection, Celeste preys on teenage boys and nothing will get in her way.

Celeste carefully crafts a plan to seduce her fourteen-year-old student, Jack. She understands the consequences of her actions and will do anything to keep her illicit relationship a secret. Celeste uses manipulation and seniority to get what she wants with no remorse for anyone she harms along the way.

Nutting fearlessly places the reader inside the mind of a vile pedophile. Celeste’s character is repulsive and she constantly tries to justify her actions. Tampa is a disturbing, controversial read but it is also a brilliant examination of culturally constructed gender norms, beauty, misogyny and sexuality.

I devoured this book in one sitting. The story follows a group of teenagers growing up in Alaska during the 1970’s, which is fascinating in itself. This book is technically considered young adult but the teens are all dealing with problems beyond their years, such as, poverty, teen pregnancy, abusive and alcoholic parents, orphanism and the desire for a family, even if it’s not by blood. The details throughout the book were incredible. I felt like I was there in Alaska smelling the salty sea, gutting the fish, marching over the frigid, barren landscape. The setting and character development are both phenomenal in this trim, heart-wrenching novel. The characters were lovable and their stories intertwined beautifully by the end. I highly recommend this book if you liked Beartown. It’s just brilliant. ❄️

It was a cute story but didn’t hold my interest towards the second half. Their communication issues really irked me.