Erixon presents a tender YA prequel to No Ordinary Cats (2022) about two stray felines who make an old barn their home as they weather tragedies and triumphs.

Clarence is a 5-year-old gray-and-white cat, trudging through a freezing, rainy night. Exhausted, hungry, and shivering, he finally finds a patch of straw in a barn in which he can bed down. In the morning, a kindly, gray-haired woman brings him a dish of warm milk containing chunks of food, which he gratefully devours. Then Fluff, a calico, appears; the barn is her home, but she welcomes Clarence to join her. She’s always been a stray, but she’s a “barn cat,” and not, she explains, like the other “outdoor cats” who occasionally pass through: “If you stay here, you’ll be a barn cat,” she says. “Can you live with that?” Clarence, a former house cat, is still struggling to make it on his own. He’s sweet and charming, but he’s not a great hunter and hates eating mice and raw fish. He decides to stay at the barn, and he and Fluff grow close; as the years pass, their little family expands as Fluff gives birth to one litter and, later, another. Tragedy strikes, however, when a vicious feral male cat attacks. Erixon’s finely scripted prose fully captures the personalities and poignant emotions of three generations of a closely knit feline family. The narrative offers an enjoyable balance of poignancy, adventure, and humor; it also highlights generosity, as when, during one of Fluff’s adventures, she encounters a young fox who’s been thrown out of his den and gently teaches the youngster how to hunt. Although the narrative is a fanciful, anthropomorphic depiction of the cats’ relationships with one another and with the human who feeds them, it effectively shows Erixon’s experience with and innate understanding of the animals’ nature.

An appealing read for all cat lovers, featuring more cheers than tears.

Erixon chronicles the misadventures of and tender relationships between several generations of cats in this YA novel.

Tabby cats Terrence, aka Riser, and Phyllis, aka Dilly, are about to be rehomed. They have spent their lives as indoor cats, but now they find themselves in a carrier, in a strange car, with two little humans poking at them with their fingers; it’s all very unsettling. Soon, they are deposited on a garage floor, where the small humans gently pet them. Beyond the garage, the great outdoors begs to be explored. Life is good: They are well cared for, free to roam the farm, and, best of all, they have each other. Dilly discovers a stray cat injured by a rat trap in an open field’s tall grass. She begins to bring him food and decides to remain with him and a group of other strays. Riser is bereft without his sister. Enter Angel, a standoffish young calico in need of a new home, adopted to boost Riser’s spirits. When Angel’s brief dalliance in the woods with a stray leaves her pregnant, Riser is enchanted by her two kittens, Moonsie and Bandit: “Her family had become his family. And he promised himself he would do whatever was necessary to protect them.” Best for the younger range of YA readers, Erixon’s collection of cat tales offers an amusing and poignant portrayal of feline antics and diverse personalities, plus a few life lessons for humans. The narrative captures the animals’ devotion to one another through the generations; in one charming episode, the rambunctious Moonsie recklessly climbs a tall tree and Riser must guide him step by terrifying step back to safety. In another sweet moment, after baby kitten Chuck is brought into the fold, a grumpy Angel eventually softens and tenderly teaches him how to properly wash his face and check for debris between his toes. There are also tear-jerking losses, some peaceful and some decidedly less so.

An endearing story with memorable characters who will bring smiles to cat lovers.