The City of Lost Cats

Twelve-year-old Fiona O’Connor’s life has been topsy-turvy since her parents died in a car crash. Frustrated by her caretaker aunt Tanis and irked by Tanis’s boyfriend, Fiona runs away from home to find her destiny. She instead discovers a run-down mansion filled with more than a dozen cats plus two parakeets. Though she falls in love with the building and its inhabitants, she learns that she’s ill-equipped to survive on her own and returns home. As Fiona avoids her aunt’s questions and summer dance camp, she visits and tries to care for her newfound friends. But when a demolition crew—led by her aunt’s boyfriend—shows up outside the mansion, Fiona realizes the property is in trouble. It’s a good thing, then, that she has a clowder of cats and a group of town librarians in her corner. Fiona’s fervent and compassionate narration alternates with chapters told from the POVs of the delightful felines, verse-spouting parakeets, and a pure-hearted demolitionist, making for a rounded, nuanced story by Kyi (Emily Posts). Themes of agency and community activism inject this endearing tale of misfits with infectious hope. Fiona reads as white; supporting characters are racially diverse. Ages 10–12. Agent: Amy Tompkins, Transatlantic Literary. (Mar.)