Haven: A Small Cat’s Big Adventure

An indoor cat with an urgent mission and an adventure-loving wild fox team up in this full-hearted, earnestly voiced quest. Finding the home of elderly Ma Millie as a kitten was “Haven’s rescue from loneliness, fear, and the cold, unfriendly forest,” and the key to her comfortable, “strictly indoor” life. When Ma Millie becomes deathly ill and a strong wind knocks out the phone line, however, Haven realizes that though she’s small and the forest is large and unknown, it is up to her to find help. A third-person narrative alternates between Haven, a solitary nameless fox who agrees to be her woodland guide, and the hungry bobcat hot on their tails. On the days-long journey to find Ma Millie’s trusted neighbor and outrun the bobcat, the fox shows Haven how to hunt and be “quick and decisive,” and Haven—whose confidence grows as her world widens—teaches the fox that life can be about warmth, camaraderie, and learning to not merely survive but thrive. Wagner Lloyd (Allergic) writes a simply plotted, character-driven, nature-grounded adventure for fans of Pax and the Warriors series. Human characters are racially ambiguous. Ages 8–12. (Aug.)