Official Review: Diary of a Snoopy Cat by R.F. Kristi

Izesicle · Post by **Izesicle** » 11 Dec 2017, 00:17

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Diary of a Snoopy Cat" by R.F. Kristi.]

3 out of 4 stars

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Are you kitten me?
A story about a Siberian kitty with a snoopy cat-titude?
Paw-lease sign me up!

Fortunately, or should I say fur-tunately, Diary of a Snoopy Cat by R.F. Kristi does not have terrible cat puns. Illustrated by Jorge Valle, the book prefers to delight the readers with a lively story about a cat detective. It is written for children and animal lovers.

Being the fifth book in the Inca Book Series, Diary of a Snoopy Cat begins with a list of the main characters in the series, along with a short description to jog the memory of those who have read the previous books or catch up those who haven't. Inca's family includes Cara, a vain Siamese kitty; Fromage, a tabby who likes cheese; Charlotte, a dwarf Roborovski hamster; and their humans Missy and Aunt Florence.

While some parts of the book refer to the characters' adventures in the previous books, it can be read by itself. Written from the point of view of Inca, the lead character who is a Siberian cat, the book is presented as Inca's diary which counts down to Christmas. There are two main stories. Terrance, their Golden Retriever friend, leaves for the Himalayas with his human Solo, a detective. They hope to locate Raoul, the husband of Señora Conchita whom they helped locate a necklace in a prevous case, and Polo's human. Lance is tasked to take care of Solo's other pet, Monk, a Blue Russian cat but Lance is unusually interested in some members of the animal detective group. Polo, a Pekinese dog, refers to the group the case of Boss, a Rottweiler, whose favorite human, Ned, is in danger of being turned out of their house. Ned had taken care of Mr. Finchley and Boss for years and the house was willed to Ned. However, upon Mr. Finchley's death, his nephew Cyril plans to kick out Ned from the house and keep Boss. Boss pleads with the Inca and Co. detective agency to help find the will. What follows is an action-packed adventure story with a heart-pounding chase.

My favorite parts of the book were the illustrations and the sound effects. The author has definitely captured the behavior of cats, dogs and hamsters perfectly and presented the characters with their unique personalities. I liked that the lead character has hubris enough to admit that she wanted to solve the mystery by herself. Her opinions and feelings definitely lend authenticity to the diary format. Unfortunately, there were several typos and sentences that lacked a comma. There was inconsistency in referring to the animals' relationships with the humans as mom or dad but also using the terms owned and humanoid. I also didn't like that there were characters that were introduced but did not really feature in the story. I had to note down four household family trees to keep track of the characters, their breed and species. Consequently, I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars.

Nevertheless, the strengths of the book overcome its weaknesses. I would definitely recommend this book to children, the young at heart, animal lovers, and fans of detective stories. There are references to Christmas traditions of family togetherness, yet the book is not overly religious. Be warned of instances of possible peril to animals as a result of their shenanigans.

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Diary of a Snoopy Cat
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

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Sahani Nimandra · Post by **Sahani Nimandra** » 14 Dec 2017, 06:04

Sounds funny

! Book that I would not mind recommending to my younger cousins.
Thank you for the heads up information!

Insightsintobooks729 · Post by **Insightsintobooks729** » 14 Dec 2017, 11:02

My son loves animals and I think he would enjoy this book. Thank you for the well written review.

Marissa Michael · Post by **Marissa Michael** » 14 Dec 2017, 21:05

I like the part about Fromage having his own recipe of Blue Cheese cake. I chuckled when I was reading about Fromage shares this recipe to Inca, Cara, and Monk. Thank you for your detailed review.

Mercelle · Post by **Mercelle** » 15 Dec 2017, 04:57

For me, it is impossible not to love furry animals. I like that despite being the fifth in a series, this story can be read on it's own.

Kpullen0424 · Post by **Kpullen0424** » 15 Dec 2017, 11:25

The book sounds like a great one to give my daughter age 9 to read. Thank you

Ashiyya Tariq · Post by **Ashiyya Tariq** » 17 Dec 2017, 11:37

The book sounds good and the review is also good.

Izesicle · Post by **Izesicle** » 20 Dec 2017, 11:55

Sahani Nimandra wrote: ↑14 Dec 2017, 06:04 Sounds funny 😁 ! Book that I would not mind recommending to my younger cousins.
Thank you for the heads up information!

Oh, it was definitely a fun read! I could easily imagine the scenes happening in a movie or tv show. If you read this book to children, practice different cat and dog voices :)

Izesicle · Post by **Izesicle** » 20 Dec 2017, 11:57

Insightsintobooks729 wrote: ↑14 Dec 2017, 11:02 My son loves animals and I think he would enjoy this book. Thank you for the well written review.

oh, he definitely will! I think he will like the different personalities and will choose a favorite.

Izesicle · Post by **Izesicle** » 20 Dec 2017, 11:58

Mercy Bolo wrote: ↑15 Dec 2017, 04:57 For me, it is impossible not to love furry animals. I like that despite being the fifth in a series, this story can be read on it's own.

your love for animals shows in your profile picture here :). Furry animals are so huggable.

Izesicle · Post by **Izesicle** » 20 Dec 2017, 12:00

Kpullen0424 wrote: ↑15 Dec 2017, 11:25 The book sounds like a great one to give my daughter age 9 to read. Thank you :D

It's definitely worth the purchase. I recommend reading to her in different animal voices and you'll both have fun sounding out the onomatopeias. :)

Izesicle · Post by **Izesicle** » 20 Dec 2017, 12:01

Sarah Tariq wrote: ↑17 Dec 2017, 11:37 The book sounds good and the review is also good.

Thank you, Sarah. I love the quote in your signature.

Izesicle · Post by **Izesicle** » 20 Dec 2017, 12:46

ParadoxicalWoman wrote: ↑14 Dec 2017, 21:05 I like the part about Fromage having his own recipe of Blue Cheese cake. I chuckled when I was reading about Fromage shares this recipe to Inca, Cara, and Monk. Thank you for your detailed review.

LOL, yeah that was a riot! I also love the other bit about him smuggling cheese and hiding it then was found out.

Kalin Adi · Post by **Kalin Adi** » 20 Dec 2017, 13:05

I loved your puns. They were hilarious! I totally agree with your rating, that's exactly the score I gave to this book too. Good review!

pinklover · Post by **pinklover** » 26 Dec 2017, 03:56

Thanks for the review. I will enjoy reading this one since this is a free book. I love animals as well as their story of adventures. I want to read some other time. You have a nice review.