The Five Lives of Our Cat Zook

In this warmhearted middle-grade novel, Oona and her brother, Fred, love their cat Zook (short for Zucchini), but Zook is sick. As they conspire to break him out of the vetÆs office, convinced he can only get better at home with them, Oona tells Fred the story of ZookÆs previous lives, ranging in style from fairy tale to grand epic to slice of life. Each of ZookÆs lives has echoes in OonaÆs own family life, which is going through a transition sheÆs not yet ready to face. Her father died two years ago, and her mother has started a relationship with a man named Dylanùwhom Oona secretly calls ôthe villain.ö The truth about Dylan, and about ZookÆs medical condition, drives the drama in this loving family story.