Reviews

Catfishing on CatNet by Naomi Kritzer

thebooklovingduck's review

adventurous inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

dixiet's review

4.0

Very enjoyable! Looking forward to the sequel.

brokenrecord's review

4.0

4.5 stars. This was such an unexpected delight! It was a gift, so I didn't know much about what to expect and hadn't heard anything about it before, but it was so enjoyable. I've been a bit tired of YA for the past year or so (not all YA, there have been things I've enjoyed, but there have been a number of YA books that I've thought were fine but also feel like I would've been more into a couple years ago), but this was different enough that it worked for me. I always love stories with non-human (animals, inanimate objects, etc.) characters, so CheshireCat was great.

Spoiler

I also loved that in a book with an AI and internet friends, the true monster was the main character's father. It's like the opposite of what you're warned about with the internet/technology — I kept expecting one of the Clowder to turn out to secretly be evil or even the dad spying or something like that, but no, even if in real life they weren't 100% what Steph expected, they were all decent people. And the AI just wanted to do good!!! It was also great that Julie turned out to be alive in the end (I was half-convinced part of what Steph couldn't remember about Julie or her 8th birthday involved her dad finding them and hurting or killing Julie). I was also very glad that the dad DID turn out to be a monster, because there were a few hints early on that Steph's mom hadn't told her everything, and if the story had gone down that path, that her mom had really kidnapped her and the dad was a good guy, I would've been annoyed (I just never care for stories where it turns out a woman claims abuse/mistreatment and turns out to be lying). It was a relief that she just hadn't given Steph all the details but hadn't been lying.

Also, the pregnant cat Steph adopts!!! The robot sex-ed teacher!!! Rachel and Steph's cute little romance!!! Briony exploring using different pronouns!!! There were so many nice little touches to this. I liked all the characters in this so much, and they were all really distinct and felt like real people even if a lot of the Clowder are fairly minor characters and don't get POVs or a huge amount of development. CheshireCat was probably my favorite, though.

My only disappointment was that this appears to be intended as a start of a series so there were a few threads left dangling which I wasn't expecting, but I do hope there are more installments because I'd love to get more of Steph and CheshireCat and everyone.

sierralennon's review

*Read for college

gnashchick's review

5.0

Truly enjoyed reading this book. I loved the original "Cat Pictures Please" and embarrassed that I didn't know there was more! It was a fast read, the characters were vibrant, and the tension of the whole situation kept me riveted. Great stuff.

eschorrlesnick's review

dark emotional informative mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

AI

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Stalking, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Car accident and Murder

Minor: Suicide

essjay's review

4.0

Genuinely did not expect to get sucked into this as deeply as I did, but my reader says I finished it in just over 4h. The pacing and characterization were excellent, and omg so delightfully captured the awkweirdness of meeting online friends IRL for the first time. Checked the second one out of the library before I'd even finished this and will be starting it immediately. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Kidnapping

titusfortner's review

4.0

I tore through this one. Fun story, interesting characters, interesting themes without getting dark about it. Early favorite for my Lodestar vote.

2021 Re-read in preparation for the sequel...
Oh yes, so much fun. Very decidedly deserved the Lodestar Award last year.
Love love love. This is 4.5 stars, maybe closer to 5...

ceridwenanne's review

adventurous emotional funny mysterious tense

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

 I went into this novel not really knowing much about it. I guess I read the blurb, and that told me whatever the blurb told me, but I feel like this novel veered from that almost static-sounding setting in the best, most entertaining way. Steph is 16, and her mom has been moving her from town to town all over the West and Midwest for as long as she can remember. Her mom told her her father was abusive, but she doesn't know just about anything about her origins. As a consequence of all the moves -- and also because zoomers -- most of her real friends are on CatNet, a sort of chat-roomy app which felt a little bit like an old school bbs to me. (Gotta slay that goto> dragon, amiright? Fuck, I'm old)

Anyway, CatNet is almost entirely run by an AI who goes by CheshireCat in the chatroom Steph frequents. They start helping Steph with some classroom hijinks which ends up having unintended consequences, namely, Steph's psycho dad finding her in Coburn, WI. At this point I became an entire junkie for this book, and stayed up way too fucking late last night completely obsessed with the everything about the plot. It's this just great mix of careful character study, lightly touched philosophy of the mind, and really cool shit.

Like I don't think I've ever seen anyone pull off how bizarre it is to meet someone you know really, really well from a long term friendship online, how they inevitably don't look like how you expect -- even if you've seen pictures -- but both how easy and strange it is to fall into the conversation patterns you have long ingrained. I think the only time I've ever seen that in fiction was at the end of Pattern Recognition by William Gibson, which was like a million years ago, and hadn't quite caught up to how exactly online communities work right now. (And look, people give him shit about not predicting cell phones in Neuromancer, but the fact he anticipated this kind of closer-than-parasocial but farther-than-meatspace relationship 20 years ago is a godamn prophesy.) 

A really godamn entertaining read, and I will be reading the shit out of the next book toot sweet. 

anaiira's review

3.0

Ah it was good, a little bit trite and sappy, but definitely fun. I think some of the issues that Kritzer points to are somewhat underdevelopped, but it's not meant to be that kind of book. I just kind of wish there was some more substance.

Disappointed there was 0 catfishing in this novel though. Not that the story needed it, but when the title says something, like chekhov's gun, you know.