RAMA THE GYPSY CAT

Cats are less likely to be centered on in juvenile fiction than dogs, horses, or other loyal animals—the errant Black Beauty way of life is too well suited to their personality. Tears may not flow very rapidly for Rama, but she is characteristically independent. You can sympathize with her even at the times when she finds new humans to replace the old—the chain goes from a gypsy woman (who might have taken Rama from a little boy), to a poor, backwoods little boy who saves the cat's life, to a westward heading peddler who comes closest to fitting her footloose spirit. Even when she wanders off on her own to have, say, a murderous scrap with a rival, Rama is fittingly feline. The story is episodic and moody, and the frank approach may rub some readers' fur the wrong way, but objective cat lovers will appreciate this.