posted on 12 Aug 2017

The Valentine’s Day Kitten by Cathy Hopkins

This is another short, accessible read from the publisher, Barrington Stoke and we dive straight into the action on the first page of this engaging story about Marcie who is beginning to lose all hope of finding her missing kitten Misty which she received as a present from her parents on Valentine’s Day.  As her best friend Ellie is a big fan of crime stories and wants to become a detective, together they plan how they might step up the search for Misty because the trail has gone cold.

 Marcie has been having some strange recurring dreams about the kitten who always appears with a dark haired boy in an old hotel with a distinctive brightly coloured painting on the wall, and so she decides to keep a dream diary. Gradually this means that more details are added to the story of her dreams, providing helpful clues to Misty’s whereabouts, especially when she realises that she now has a name for the mystery boy – Ryan.

 ‘Operation Find Misty’ begins and the pair enthusiastically piece together the growing evidence, with the help of Marcie’s mum. The plot thickens when they all go to a family birthday party which turns out to be held at a hotel that looks remarkably like the one in the dream.

After some clever detective work, the two friends track down the dream painting in one of the hotel rooms and see that is signed ‘R.C.’ which fires them into further action. I won’t spoil the story by telling you what happens next, but you will be pleased to know that there is a happy ending after some more exciting adventures.

The author has already published lots of novels aimed at young teenagers, including the very successful Mates, Dates series and her writing style is confident and uncluttered. The slim format of the book means that a lot has to happen very quickly, but in her experienced hands, this gives the story energy and momentum.   The very lively pen and ink drawings by the talented and prolific illustrator Joelle Dreidemy add to the texture of the story.  This is splendid little book  which as the publishers publicity promises is ‘crammed with ingenious design and editorial tricks to ensure an accessible read’.

Most importantly, it is also an enjoyable story with plenty of action and strong characters – delightful.

Karen Argent

August 2017