The Boxer Boys Are Not Happy 🤣

 

TITLE: Cat's People

AUTHOR: Tanya Guerrero

PUBLISHER: Delacorte Press

PUBLISHING DATE: April 1, 2025

PAGES: 304   

SOURCE: Library

FROM GOODREADS: Annie Núria, a single-by-choice barista with a resentment for the “crazy cat lady” label, is a member of The Meow-Yorkers, a group in Brooklyn who takes care of the neighborhood’s stray cats. On one of her volunteering days, she starts finding Post-It notes from a secret admirer at the spot where her favorite stray lives—a black cat named Cat. Like most cats, he is rather curious and sly, so of course he knows who the notes are from. Núria, however, is clueless. 

Are the notes from Collin, a bestselling author and self-professed hermit with a weakness for good coffee? Are they from Lily, a fresh-out-of-high school Georgia native searching for her long-lost half-sister? Are they from Omar, the beloved neighborhood mailman going through an early mid-life crisis? Or are they from Bong, the grieving widower who owns her favorite bodega? When Cat suddenly falls ill, these five strangers find themselves connected in their desire to care for him and discover that chance encounters can lead to the meaningful connections they've been searching for.

MY THOUGHTS: First of all, my dogs may never forgive me for reading a book featuring a cat.  Especially since some of the chapters are from the cat's POV.  However, I was in a slump, grabbed this from the library on a whim, and proceeded to devour it so they are just going to have to get over it right?  I mean, cats are cool too even if the dogs don't think so.

Cat is a stray living on the streets of Brooklyn.  He has been on his own for many years and sees what damage people can do.  Yet he is still somewhat trusting of a select few who interact with him while conducting their daily routines.  There's Rainbow Lady (Núria) who is a barista who also volunteers to take care and feed stray cats, Cheery Mailman (Omar), Sad Bodega Man (Bong), Pink Unicorn Woman (Lily) and Awkward Neighbor Guy (Collin).  All five of these individuals are living their own lonely lives with their own lonely problems and have no idea that Cat is about to bring them together.

This is the ideal book for someone who loves found families.  Colling is trying to write his next bestseller and is basically a shut-in who doesn't like to associate with people, but he watches Núria feed Cat outside his brownstone each day.  Bong is grieving his wife and struggles to open up his bodega each morning until he finds a new friendship with Omar.  And Lily has moved from Georgia to meet her half-sister who has no idea she even exists. I loved learning about these people and seeing how they finally come together to form a quirky little family all of their own.  And Cat?  Cat never trusted enough to be an indoor cat, but he finally learns that family isn't such a bad thing.  

I can't say enough about Cat as a character.  Guerrero nails Cat's perspective and shows he really is smarter than most people he encounters - typical thought process for a cat, right?  This book hit at the right time for me and since found family is one of my favorite tropes, it's no surprise how much I enjoyed it!

MY RATING: 5 PAWS