I think I just found my favorite book of the year!  The Cat Who Saved Books is a love letter to books and readers.  With sarcastic humor and powerful quotes, this short novel is a worthwhile read for all book lovers!

Thank you to HarperVia, BiblioLifestyle, and the author for the gifted copy of The Cat Who Saved Books!  All opinions in this review are my own.

When Rintaro Natsuki's grandfather dies, Rintaro retreats into his shell.  He stops going to school and spends all of his time in his grandfather's second-hand bookshop.  While Rintaro is trying to make sense of everything, a talking tabby cat named Tiger arrives and requests Rintaro's help to save books.  Tiger leads Rintaro on multiple adventures to help stop people who claim they love books but are actually doing more harm than good.  Through his travels with Tiger, Rintaro learns to become confident in himself and trust what is important.

Originally published in Japan in 2017, The Cat Who Saved Books is an adventure like no other.  Tiger the talking cat is really funny and seeing Rintaro's growth over the course of the novel is heartwarming.  While the novel is under 200 pages, it will make you contemplate various aspects of reading, like whether it is worthwhile to reread a book or read a new one and the threat of some titles disappearing forever.  I will be recommending The Cat Who Saved Books to everyone!

The Cat Who Saved Books is available on December 7, 2021!