Book Review: The Cat Who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa

Today’s book review is about THE CAT WHO SAVED BOOKS by Sosuke Natsukawa. Magical realism takes the reader on a philosophical adventure with a high schooler and a talking cat. Together they save books to keep them alive and unique and where they belong: actively being read by fellow book lovers.

Author: Sosuke Natsukawa
Series: None
Age Category: Young Adult/Adult
Publisher: HarperVia
Publish Date: December 7, 2021
Print Length: 208

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WWW Wednesday: January 19, 2022

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme revived and hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words.

The idea is to answer the three questions below and leave a link to your post in the comments for others to look at. No blog? No problem! Just leave a comment with your responses.

What are you currently reading?

What have you just finished reading?

What are you going to read next?

Currently Reading: I decided to step out of my comfort zone and into the land of YA romance. I can’t remember the last time (or if) I read something in this genre, but I somehow stumbled across Field Notes on Love by Jennifer E. Smith. I thought the cover was cute and I thought why not give it ago? So far it’s a nice, light read and I’m enjoying the genre switch.





Recently Finished: The last book I finished reading is The Cat Who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa. Before that I finished A Land of Never After by R.L. Davennor. You can read my review here. It’s a Peter Pan retelling that’s not particularly fit for a child’s bed time story. Think light fantasy horror regarding a curse where the characters must kill or be killed to survive.




Reading Next: Sometimes I can answer this one, and sometimes I can’t since I’m a mood reader. I might get a head start on a book tour book, or I might try and squeeze in another NetGalley request. If I go the NG route, I’ll read Out Front the Following Sea by Leah Angstman.





First Lines Fridays: January 14, 2022

First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?  The rules are as follows:

  • Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
  • Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
  • Finally… reveal the book!

If you’re using Twitter, don’t forget to use #FirstLinesFridays!

First things first, Grandpa’s gone.

The tale that follows is pretty outrageous, but he knows that one fact is absolutely real.

It’s as real as the sun rising in the morning, and his stomach rumbling with hunger at lunchtime. He’s tried closing his eyes, blocking his ears, pretending he doesn’t know anything, but his grandfather isn’t coming back.

Do you know what book this is?

Still guessing?

Well, the book reveal is…



The Cat Who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa

From Pan Macmillan:

Grandpa used to say it all the time: books have tremendous power. But what is that power really?

Natsuki Books was a tiny second-hand bookshop on the edge of town. Inside, towering shelves reached the ceiling, every one crammed full of wonderful books. Rintaro Natsuki loved this space that his grandfather had created. He spent many happy hours there, reading whatever he liked. It was the perfect refuge for a boy who tended to be something of a recluse.

After the death of his grandfather, Rintaro is devastated and alone. It seems he will have to close the shop. Then, a talking tabby cat called Tiger appears and asks Rintaro for help. The cat needs a book lover to join him on a mission. This odd couple will go on three magical adventures to save books from people who have imprisoned, mistreated and betrayed them. Finally, there is one last rescue that Rintaro must attempt alone . . .

The Cat Who Saved Books is a heart-warming story about finding courage, caring for others – and the tremendous power of books. Sosuke Natsukawa’s international bestseller, translated from Japanese by Louise Heal Kawai, is a story for those for whom books are so much more than words on paper.

WWW Wednesday: January 12, 2022

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme revived and hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words.

The idea is to answer the three questions below and leave a link to your post in the comments for others to look at. No blog? No problem! Just leave a comment with your responses.

What are you currently reading?

What have you just finished reading?

What are you going to read next?

Currently Reading: I’m currently reading The Cat Who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa, which I received via NetGalley. If you’re reading this you already know I’m a sucker for books. Throw in a cat and I’m in it to win it.






Recently Finished: I recently finished Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan. I posted my review a couple of days ago. It’s a great book if you enjoy mythology retellings, or more specifically, Chinese mythology retellings; quests; love; betrayal; and a strong female protagonist. The last book I finished reading, though, is The Land of Never After by R.L. Davennor. This is another NetGalley read and, in a nutshell, it’s a dark retelling of Peter Pan. I haven’t written my review yet, but it’s on my docket to do so.


Reading Next: I’m not quite sure what I’ll read next. I’ve made great progress already on my NetGalley approvals. I’m currently on my third backlogged NG approval this month. I can’t decide if I want to continue this NG trend, or take a break and read Culture Warlords (nonfiction) by Talia Lavin or Field Notes on Love (romance) by Jennifer Smith.