Nat Ng has the stupidest superpower of all time, or so she thinks. Can Cat Girl save the day?
Nat Ng comes from a family of the super-Talented: levitation, lie-detecting, chameleon-like blending into one’s surroundings. Her Class D (as in dumb) Talent of talking to cats isn’t something they ever discuss and she’d rather no one ever knew about it anyway. Her life would be over if she became forever known as Cat Girl.
But when Nat’s celebrity-addicted best friends show her a viral Internet video of a celebrity blogger being attacked by her own cat, it’s only Nat who can see the true story. To solve the mystery and prevent a murder or two, Nat and her friends must race through Ferris Bueller’s Chicago from movie set locations (such as Wrigley Field) to the suburbs, accompanied by wisecracking cats. Perhaps Cat Girl might save the day after all!
Are you an Educator or Librarian? Click here for a FREE Teacher’s Guide for the book!
Never listen to a cat. That will only get you in trouble. Actually, scratch that. Listening to cats is one thing, but really I should never listen to my best friend Oscar. It s completely his fault (okay, and my aspiring actress friend Melly’s too) that I got caught up in this crazy celebrity-kidnapping mess. If you had asked me, I would have thought it would be one of my super-Talented sisters who d get caught up in crime fighting. I definitely never thought it would be me and my Talent trying to save the day. Usually, all you get out of conversations with cats is requests for tummy rubs and tuna. Wait . . . I go back to what I said first: Never listen to a cat. Because when the trouble starts and the kitty litter hits the fan, trust me, you don t want to be in the middle of it.
Nice Things People Have Said
“It was deliciously adorable! I now desperately want to be able to talk to cats. Thanks for the great read!” -Sarah Beth Durst, author of Drink Slay Love
Cat Girl’s Day Off was such a fun, adventurous romp! I couldn’t stop reading it. . . with my cat. –Alex Flinn
When I need to read something smart and funny and completely original, I turn to Kimberly Pauley. Cat Girl’s Day Off is a manic, madcap adventure that satisfies from the first page to the last. –Saundra Mitchell
From Publishers Weekly
“I was a freak from a family of freaks.” High school sophomore Natalie “Nat” Ng has a “Talent” she’s not proud of: the ability to talk to cats. Her younger sister is a “supergenius” with chameleonlike abilities; her older sister is proficient in truth divination and levitation, and has X-ray vision; and her parents work for the Bureau of Extrasensory Regulation and Management. When a film crew comes to Nat’s Chicago high school to shoot a takeoff of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off things get fishy: the female star isn’t acting like herself, and Nat learns from a cat that celebrity blogger Easton West may not be who she claims to be. Along with her friends Oscar and Melly, Nat gets dragged into a whirlwind adventure to find out what happened to the real Easton. Pauley (Still Sucks to Be Me) offers amusing insights into the minds of cats, snappy dialogue, and a fast-paced plot. Readers should easily relate to Nat, and cat-lovers in particular will find a lot to enjoy in this romp. Ages 12–up.
From School Library Journal
“Pauley’s homage to Chicago and her favorite teen movie is entertaining, hilarious, and exceptionally creative. Populated with wonderfully eccentric and endearing characters, this lighthearted comedy will be an instant hit, especially among teen and tween girls. One thing is for certain–readers will never again look at their feline friends in the same way.”
From Booklist
In a multicultural family bestowed with supernatural abilities, such as mind reading and laser vision, Nat Ng believes her ability to communicate with cats is more of an embarrassment than a special talent. Only her family and her two best friends, exuberant Oscar and drop-dead gorgeous Melly, know her secret. When a production crew filming a remake of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off comes to the teens’ Chicago high school, Nat reluctantly agrees to join her friends as an extra. Nat might believe that her talent is unexceptional, but cat-loving readers will thoroughly enjoy where her ability leads her as she tours through the same Chicago landmarks seen in Ferris Bueller. This title has the light, buoyant humor of a Meg Cabot book, with the same blend of superpowers and high-school life that won Pauley many fans with Sucks to Be Me (2008). And the cats! Helping, hindering, sniffing out bad guys, sneering at good guys, the cats shamelessly rule.” —Diane Colson, Booklist
From Kirkus Reviews
Natalie Ng, gifted with the Talent of being able to communicate with cats, embarks on an impetuous adventure as a movie riffing off film classic Ferris Bueller s Day Off is filmed at her Chicago-area high school. Natalie comes from a Talented family, but her two sisters and her parents all possess high-grade Talents such as blending like a chameleon, knowing when people are lying or having an ultrasensitive sense of smell. Still, Nat s unique ability to understand cats means she s the only one to hear celebrity blogger Easton s cat screaming for help because his owner has been kidnapped and replaced with a look-alike. Since there s no one else ready and able to rescue Easton, Nat and her pair of slightly off-beat friends take on the job. This leads to one perilous situation after another, many of them featuring the italicized thoughts appropriately laconic and snarky of the various cats that Nat seeks out for help. Her bumpy budding romance with classmate Ian adds an amusing love interest to the mix. The fantasy elements, solidly grounded in an otherwise real world, seem ever-so-believable. Lively conversation, strong characterizations and a fast pace make this a breezy read. The funny feline thoughts are catnip for the audience. A worthwhile adventure and an easy sell for feline fanciers who already know what their pets are saying. –Kirkus Reviews