2 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
Diary of a Snoopy Cat by R.F. Kristi takes the reader on a whimsical journey with the book's feline heroine, Inca. Since moving from Paris to London with her human mom and kitty siblings, Inca has set her sights on becoming the greatest cat detective of all-time. Inca decides to begin keeping a diary as a means of recording her success stories as she works toward her goal. Having previously solved a mystery involving a stolen diamond necklace, Inca's growing reputation as a cat detective has landed her another case to un-caper.
Joined by her siblings and canine friends, Inca embarks on a mission to solve a mystery brought to them by Boss, a doggie foe-turned-friend who is in danger of losing the home he shares with his owner. An additional plot, in which a human friend goes missing in another country, sends some of the furry investigators abroad in hopes of finding him.
The book is told in a first person point-of-view, through the eyes of Inca, as she goes through her days enjoying family life as well as detective life. Relationships play an integral role in this story, as different personalities must learn to work together for the greater good. Real-life emotions such as jealousy, self-centeredness, forgiveness, greed and compromise are speckled generously throughout, adding an unexpected depth. Additionally, the pets must use their problem-solving skills to overcome any obstacles or physical limitations they may have in order to ascertain evidence or sneak around undetected.
I found this tale to be creative and I enjoyed the abundant illustrations , as they really helped me to visualize the characters. I liked that there were multiple storylines interwoven and I felt like the author did a great job giving distinct personalities to each of the many characters. There was boundless enthusiasm, as was showcased by the varying font sizes and indulgent exclamation points.
Unfortunately, I found this book to be poorly written. The sentence structuring was unnecessarily wordy and often confusing. The non-primary storylines were underdeveloped and incomplete, leaving me uninterested in their outcomes. I thought the formatting was unpolished and the piece was obviously lacking professional editing (punctuation errors were rampant). I believe a pre-teen audience would be forgiving and find this book to be an enjoyable read, but for a critiquing eye, it fell painfully short. I believe this book would be better served as a short story. I have rated this book 2 out of 4 stars, all things considered.
******
Diary of a Snoopy Cat
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like revna01's review? Post a comment saying so!
