This little gem of a book follows a timid cat, Haven, who is afraid of all things “outside”, but whose love for her owner is powerful enough to help Haven push aside her fears to go find help. There is peril, set-backs, and learnings for Haven and her travel companion. The author effectively allows the reader to see the world through the eyes of Haven and other animals. Although the animals can communicate with one another and understand what humans are saying, the animals do not talk to humans; the animals act very much like animals for the most part, but they do have feelings of fear, worry, responsibility, and affection. This is a heartening story with endearing characters. Haven’s tenacity and growing confidence will have readers cheering for her success.

At 144 pages, this book is the perfect stepping stone to introduce young readers to middle grade books. It fits neatly between chapter books with illustrations and middle grade books, which tend to run in the 200-300 page range. The chapters are quite brief and shift amongst the different perspectives of the animal characters. Although there are some heart-wrenching moments that may be tough for the young and tender-hearted.

Readers who enjoy books about animals, such as The Eyes of the Impossible or Charlotte’s Web, will find much to love here.

Review of a Reading Copy Provided by the Publisher

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language: None

Violence/Gore: Animals eats other animals for food, no descriptions; scene in which animal attacks other animals with intent to kill and there is fighting with biting, scratching, hitting, mention of blood, severe injuries (not described in detail), and a death; an injury which becomes permanent; brief paragraph gently describing the death of a human; scrapes and scratches from falls, etc.

Sex/Nudity: None

Mature Subject Matter:

Death (human), death (animal).

Drug/Alcohol Use:

None