2 out of 4 stars
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The Diary of a Snoopy- Cat is a crime mystery adventure starring a brave novice cat detective and her team of friends and family. Inca takes bold steps to become a detective like her friends even having to work alongside a dog she is unsure of in the beginning. Inca brings the reader along to meet her family and the entire cast of characters and for the adventure of cracking the case through her diary. Thinking like only a cat could, Inca narrates her thoughts on her first case, as well as, each of her friends and family. With careful attention to detail during pivotal points in the story.
What I like most about The Diary of a Snoopy- Cat is the first-person narrative that gives way to the readers understanding of the main characters irrational and sometimes exaggerated fears that coming from a cat’s point of view suddenly become rational. The exceptional Illustration style works beautifully alongside the story to really pull the reader's eyes across the page and deeper into the story. The cultural additives of France and London give so much to the individuality of each character all the while being garnished with sparks of interesting and new destinations in the story. Overall, I liked that the characters each had very different personalities that worked together beautifully.
I was not a big fan of Inca’s selfishness of wanting to solve the case all by herself after her friends had all worked together to collectively learn the facts of the case and came up with who they thought the suspect was. Inca’s friends didn’t even seem bothered or hurt at her of lack teamwork thus giving an overall feeling that it’s ok to not be a team player. I also found the conflict disappointing after all the attention to character detail and build up the actual conflict felt rushed and thoughtless before a crescendo into a victory. The triumph is short-lived before jumping back into a previously mentioned adventure leading to an altogether less than an ambitious ending.
Overall the storyline and the concept of the plot were well thought out with strong characters and fun anecdotes of comedic relief. The Diary of a Snoopy-Cat is a great introduction to chapter books for the curious mind. I found the use of illustrations to be very appealing though not heavy-handed and thus a refreshing focus point on the unfolding story as written. The subtle mentions to previous books in the series give a natural curiosity to more from this author.
I rated this story 2 out of 4 stars because though the conceptual idea is intriguing and well thought out with a strong cast of characters, the focus of the story does diverge from time to time to unequivocal matters in terms of the plot line leading to having to focus on rerouting back on track of the storyline rather than flowing along. I personally think this would be a great book for young audience’s that are interested in crime solving, and adventure. Perhaps not the best fit for young readers who are just starting their reading careers that may not be able to comprehend the chapter book first person style.
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Diary of a Snoopy Cat
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