crystal_reading's review against another edition
4.0
This was a very fun rompy kind of book. It left me laughing and smiling.
snazel's review
That was fun, and I really loved the main character's friendships. I'm not sure if I'm missing references, however, by never having watched Ferris Beuller's Day Off.
catladyreba's review
2.0
I know. Only 2 stars. I thought I would like this so much more than I did, but it was only OK for me. Between the Ferris side plot and the fact that my e-mail is catladyreba it should have been a slam dunk, but it kind of fell flat in more places than I would have liked.
buuboobaby's review
4.0
4.5 stars
I enjoyed this one quite a bit, despite the annoying, stereotyped BFFs. I consider this a popcorn read; it's quick and the prose is breezy and humorous. I loved all of the cats, even if Nat wasn't so fond of all of her new feline friends. Pack this one in your beach bag - it's the perfect book to consume while lounging in the sun.
Full review soon at www.mangamaniaccafe.com
I enjoyed this one quite a bit, despite the annoying, stereotyped BFFs. I consider this a popcorn read; it's quick and the prose is breezy and humorous. I loved all of the cats, even if Nat wasn't so fond of all of her new feline friends. Pack this one in your beach bag - it's the perfect book to consume while lounging in the sun.
Full review soon at www.mangamaniaccafe.com
thebrainlair's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars. Fun read but a little draggy. Lots of suspending disbelief required of the reader
eviebookish's review against another edition
5.0
***Originally posted to: Bookish Book Blog |YA and Adult Book Reviews, Author Interviews, Guest Posts, Giveaways and news! ^___^
I loved, loved, LOVED this book. Humorous, delightfully cheerful, clever, and refreshingly quirky, Cat Girl's Day Off is one of the most enjoyable novels I've ever read. You wouldn't believe how much fun I had with this book. Filled with vibrant personalities, laugh-out-loud hilarious dialogues, eye-popping situations, mysteries, and cats with attitude, Kimberly Pauley's most recent book is a cat story like you've never read before. I'm not exaggerating, this book is flipping EPIC!
Our heroine, Natalie, is a cat girl. No, I don't mean an old and grumpy cat lady that smells like cat urine and is totally socially awkward. I mean a girl that can hear cats and carry out full-blown conversations with them. The ability to talk to cats is Natalie's talent. In fact, each of her family members has some sort of a special talent/ability: her little sister is uber-smart and can blend into the environment much like a chameleon, her older sister is a human-lie detector, her mom - is super intelligent (highest IQ in the world) and has incredible laser vision, and her dad's talent is so complex it's practically not possible to classify it. Natalie always thought that from all the talents she could've ended up with, she got the most boring one. She's so ashamed of it, keeps it a secret and never ever talks about it. Only her two best friends, the geektastic celebrity-gossip-machine Oscar and gorgeous born-to-be-famous Melly, know about Natalie's ability. It isn't until the famous celebrity blogger, Easton West, gets kidnapped that Natalie's unique skills finally come in handy. With the help of the most aristocratic pink cat you'll ever meet, Nat and her two faithful side-kicks will make saving Easton their mission. And let me just tell, it won't be an easy one!
Where do I begin? I loved everything about this book, from the phenomenal, three-dimensional characters to intriguing plot line to Kimberly's fluid and entirely captivating writing style. This book is a treat, and not only for cat people - I don't consider myself a cat person (please don't tell Rufus!), but I enjoyed every second of this novel. The plot line was mysterious, funny, romantic and positively energetic. It kept me intrigued and well entertained throughout the entire time. There were some paranormal elements to it (the talents), but I can't really call it a paranormal book, to me it was a contemporary novel with paranormal elements (and I will stick to that!). Light, fluffy, and colourful, this is an uplifting read, and one that is sure to bring a huge grin to your face.
One aspect of Cat Girl's Day Off was especially fascinating to me, and I'm talking about this book being minority and LGBT friendly. The story featured not one, but many Asian or half-Asian (like Oscar) characters and they were all brilliantly fleshed-out, and - what is extremely important - in totally non-stereotypical way. I can't tell you how refreshing it was to read a book with such multicultural diversity, and one that would also be incredibly tolerant and accepting of homosexual characters. A breath of fresh air, to say the least! I loved that the lead protagonist was not yet another gorgeous blond girl with blue eyes. I'm so tired of clones! I needed Nat to be different, and she was - in so many ways, all of them absolutely wonderful. Her vibrant personality really stood out to me (and so did Oscar's and Melly's, not to mention the absolutely fabulous Rufus!), and I quickly warmed up to her. She was likeable, just a little bit shy (but not embarrassingly so), full of energy, and with a charming sense of humour. I was so proud of her when she asked Ian out! She did it in the most stylish, bad-ass, adorable way, and at that time all I wanted to do is high-five her - I was so proud, I think I almost teared up! Oscar was just wicked awesome, and I absolutely and utterly adored him. Next to Nat and Rufus he was one of my top three favourite characters. And out of all the characters in this book, I believe Oscar to have the most approachable, sparkly personality - I couldn't help but to love him.
Cat Girl's Day Off is not only an action-packed and intensely entertaining story. This book is also layered up with meaning and profound messages. Featuring themes like friendship, family, self-discovery and self-acceptance, it's a book that will not only make you snort your drink through your nose, but also make you stop and think. To me, this book is a gem. It's a pocket full of sunshine that brightened my day, made me laugh like a maniac (and in public, too!), and left me feeling satisfied, mellow, and enriched.
I loved, loved, LOVED this book. Humorous, delightfully cheerful, clever, and refreshingly quirky, Cat Girl's Day Off is one of the most enjoyable novels I've ever read. You wouldn't believe how much fun I had with this book. Filled with vibrant personalities, laugh-out-loud hilarious dialogues, eye-popping situations, mysteries, and cats with attitude, Kimberly Pauley's most recent book is a cat story like you've never read before. I'm not exaggerating, this book is flipping EPIC!
Our heroine, Natalie, is a cat girl. No, I don't mean an old and grumpy cat lady that smells like cat urine and is totally socially awkward. I mean a girl that can hear cats and carry out full-blown conversations with them. The ability to talk to cats is Natalie's talent. In fact, each of her family members has some sort of a special talent/ability: her little sister is uber-smart and can blend into the environment much like a chameleon, her older sister is a human-lie detector, her mom - is super intelligent (highest IQ in the world) and has incredible laser vision, and her dad's talent is so complex it's practically not possible to classify it. Natalie always thought that from all the talents she could've ended up with, she got the most boring one. She's so ashamed of it, keeps it a secret and never ever talks about it. Only her two best friends, the geektastic celebrity-gossip-machine Oscar and gorgeous born-to-be-famous Melly, know about Natalie's ability. It isn't until the famous celebrity blogger, Easton West, gets kidnapped that Natalie's unique skills finally come in handy. With the help of the most aristocratic pink cat you'll ever meet, Nat and her two faithful side-kicks will make saving Easton their mission. And let me just tell, it won't be an easy one!
Where do I begin? I loved everything about this book, from the phenomenal, three-dimensional characters to intriguing plot line to Kimberly's fluid and entirely captivating writing style. This book is a treat, and not only for cat people - I don't consider myself a cat person (please don't tell Rufus!), but I enjoyed every second of this novel. The plot line was mysterious, funny, romantic and positively energetic. It kept me intrigued and well entertained throughout the entire time. There were some paranormal elements to it (the talents), but I can't really call it a paranormal book, to me it was a contemporary novel with paranormal elements (and I will stick to that!). Light, fluffy, and colourful, this is an uplifting read, and one that is sure to bring a huge grin to your face.
One aspect of Cat Girl's Day Off was especially fascinating to me, and I'm talking about this book being minority and LGBT friendly. The story featured not one, but many Asian or half-Asian (like Oscar) characters and they were all brilliantly fleshed-out, and - what is extremely important - in totally non-stereotypical way. I can't tell you how refreshing it was to read a book with such multicultural diversity, and one that would also be incredibly tolerant and accepting of homosexual characters. A breath of fresh air, to say the least! I loved that the lead protagonist was not yet another gorgeous blond girl with blue eyes. I'm so tired of clones! I needed Nat to be different, and she was - in so many ways, all of them absolutely wonderful. Her vibrant personality really stood out to me (and so did Oscar's and Melly's, not to mention the absolutely fabulous Rufus!), and I quickly warmed up to her. She was likeable, just a little bit shy (but not embarrassingly so), full of energy, and with a charming sense of humour. I was so proud of her when she asked Ian out! She did it in the most stylish, bad-ass, adorable way, and at that time all I wanted to do is high-five her - I was so proud, I think I almost teared up! Oscar was just wicked awesome, and I absolutely and utterly adored him. Next to Nat and Rufus he was one of my top three favourite characters. And out of all the characters in this book, I believe Oscar to have the most approachable, sparkly personality - I couldn't help but to love him.
Cat Girl's Day Off is not only an action-packed and intensely entertaining story. This book is also layered up with meaning and profound messages. Featuring themes like friendship, family, self-discovery and self-acceptance, it's a book that will not only make you snort your drink through your nose, but also make you stop and think. To me, this book is a gem. It's a pocket full of sunshine that brightened my day, made me laugh like a maniac (and in public, too!), and left me feeling satisfied, mellow, and enriched.
ejimenez's review against another edition
4.0
Pretty cute and generally clever, but could be a little more polished.
readingrobyn's review
1.0
The best way I can describe my experience with Cat Girl's Day Off would be that it was like having a bad day. A bad day is when you wake up late, drop your toothbrush on the bathroom floor, can't find the car keys, see some young kid screaming in the grocery store, and don't get the last piece of pizza at dinner. Sure, if any of these individual moments happened on a perfectly normal day it wouldn't really matter overall, but on a bad day it's the way the little things add up and build upon each other that makes it so bad.
With Cat Girl's Day Off the overall picture is actually very pretty. The main character, Natalie Ng, is so likeable that I was rooting for her almost instantly. Her world of superpowers being less-than super is also just a really great concept for a YA novel. The way Natalie's cat communication abilities played into her personality and the plot worked very well.
Something else I would really praise the book for is the attention paid to the social environment of teenagers. The book acknowledges the popular use of blogging, tweeting, and characters actually calling each other without making it feel like a gimmick or dating itself with references that won't work a year from now. Here we get that acknowledgement as well as incorporation in a natural way that makes the story better for it.
I would actually compare this book to something like the Mediator series with [b:Shadowland|187811|Shadowland (The Mediator, #1)|Meg Cabot|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327886166s/187811.jpg|2013718] or [b:The Ghost and the Goth|7008041|The Ghost and the Goth (The Ghost and the Goth, #1)|Stacey Kade|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1268423785s/7008041.jpg|7252832] books. You have a main character that has this special ability, only here it's cats instead of ghosts, they are then put into a situation where they have to use their secret gift to try and get to the bottom of whatever unnatural event has presented itself at their front door. They are the only one who can help, but they don't necessarily want to stick their neck out.
Unfortunately, although I am a fan of these sort of novels where Cat Girl's Day Off goes wrong is that it just doesn't give you enough. It needed more world building, it needed more character building, it needed more urgency, it needed some serious editing, and it needed to be a series instead of a stand alone.
Where the book starts off is very promising. We are introduced to Natalie and her family dynamic of being the middle child. She's also half-Chinese, which automaticly earns diversity points and a high five. We then get introduced to her friends Oscar, who is gay/Asian, another high five, and Melly who both seem like very interesting companions. All is going well until the mystery kicks in and every character (aside from Natalie) becomes unrealistic and unbearable. This is where the bad day started.
The characters of Melly and Oscar start off pretty good and go down hill fast. Oscar and Melly just don't seem like they're really Natalie's friends. They treat her like a play thing and it's a little condescending the way they act around her. There was never a moment where it seemed like this group even had anything in common. I never understood why she hung out with them, which is a fatal flaw considering most of the book is based around their friendship.
Oscar took the brunt of my dislike. He's a lot like Jack from Will and Grace, except not over-the-top funny. There were a lot of smaller moments centred around Oscar that left me wondering what the author was trying to accomplish with this guy. And then there's Melly who was almost completely defined by her looks. Any mention of her centred around how pretty she is or how she's using her attractiveness to get something.
This happened on page 40, which was possibly the worst moment in the entire book. Melly is about to use her feminine wiles to distract this guy at the front desk of a hotel so Oscar and Natalie can sneak into the elevator to get to one of the rooms. So, Melly has gone up to this guy who is older then herself with the intent of heavily flirting with him, even though she's only sixteen. This didn't bother me because it's been done before and keeps the plot moving. However, then our main character turns around in the middle of her sneaking to make the point that this guy is a "Dirty old man" because he's smiling and laughing at the attention. This bothers Natalie because she says it's clear Melly "doesn't look a day over sixteen". This is followed up on page 43, with "Melly still has that perv talking to her up at the desk". These two quotes bothered me. It bothered me to the point of complete rage on behalf of the guy.
I'll be the first person to point out when some dude is acting creepy or pervy, screw those guys, but let's establish something here. He is not going up to Melly and initiating this sort of behaviour. As far as Natalie or the reader knows he is not touching her, grabbing her, harassing her, demeaning her, acting suggestively towards her, or in any way behaving inappropriately. All anyone sees him doing is smiling and laughing which makes him a both a "dirty old man" and a "perv". This guy was instantly vilified in a way that wasn't at all necessary in the story. It's true that guys should be respectful, but us girls should be expected to do the same, and I did not like the message this was sending about how it was totally fine for her to flirt with him with the intent to manipulate him, but not fine that he responded to it with anything less than "You shall not pass!".
Then there were the complete gaps in logic at the climax of the story with unrealistic character behaviour and even more unrealistic excuses in order to drive the plot forward or the way Natalie's older sister plays role in the mystery
On top of all that there would also be times when characters would be talking about the present, but using past tense. An example being when Natalie says on 102 "I really hated that guy" when I believe she's talking about how much she hates him in that moment.
There were also sometimes words that were a letter off, like on page 100, "I snitched some of the pages".
Or the way she says that her crush has the "same eyelashes" as his mother.
Or the use of little sayings in place of swear words. "monkey poo" and "flagpole sitter" being two examples.
Or how the title never plays a part in the book. Day off from what?!
All together this made Cat Girl's Day Off into a painful read that I only finished out of the bazaar hope that things would get better. Throughout the entire story I never lost hope that it might win me back because the potential was there!
To get back to something I said above (before I burst into flame), I mentioned how I think this should have been a series. This may seem confusing since I didn't like the book, but when you look at the Mediator as a comparison it starts to make a lot more sense. The Mediator series wouldn't have worked as a stand alone because if Meg Cabot had to tie everything up in a nice little bow at the end of [b:Shadowland|187811|Shadowland (The Mediator, #1)|Meg Cabot|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327886166s/187811.jpg|2013718] that story wouldn't have been as good. By opening it up to be a series it left the story with somewhere to go. Cat Girl's Day Off could have benefited from that. Instead we get the most unearned Happily Ever After that I've seen in a while.
Now, I know that there will be plenty of people who will love this book, from the description I really did think I would be one of them, but even now I can see how this would still be enjoyable for some people. However, my experience did not do the concept justice. I really wish this could have gone better or maybe more honestly that I had just avoided it altogether.
With Cat Girl's Day Off the overall picture is actually very pretty. The main character, Natalie Ng, is so likeable that I was rooting for her almost instantly. Her world of superpowers being less-than super is also just a really great concept for a YA novel. The way Natalie's cat communication abilities played into her personality and the plot worked very well.
Something else I would really praise the book for is the attention paid to the social environment of teenagers. The book acknowledges the popular use of blogging, tweeting, and characters actually calling each other without making it feel like a gimmick or dating itself with references that won't work a year from now. Here we get that acknowledgement as well as incorporation in a natural way that makes the story better for it.
I would actually compare this book to something like the Mediator series with [b:Shadowland|187811|Shadowland (The Mediator, #1)|Meg Cabot|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327886166s/187811.jpg|2013718] or [b:The Ghost and the Goth|7008041|The Ghost and the Goth (The Ghost and the Goth, #1)|Stacey Kade|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1268423785s/7008041.jpg|7252832] books. You have a main character that has this special ability, only here it's cats instead of ghosts, they are then put into a situation where they have to use their secret gift to try and get to the bottom of whatever unnatural event has presented itself at their front door. They are the only one who can help, but they don't necessarily want to stick their neck out.
Unfortunately, although I am a fan of these sort of novels where Cat Girl's Day Off goes wrong is that it just doesn't give you enough. It needed more world building, it needed more character building, it needed more urgency, it needed some serious editing, and it needed to be a series instead of a stand alone.
Where the book starts off is very promising. We are introduced to Natalie and her family dynamic of being the middle child. She's also half-Chinese, which automaticly earns diversity points and a high five. We then get introduced to her friends Oscar, who is gay/Asian, another high five, and Melly who both seem like very interesting companions. All is going well until the mystery kicks in and every character (aside from Natalie) becomes unrealistic and unbearable. This is where the bad day started.
The characters of Melly and Oscar start off pretty good and go down hill fast. Oscar and Melly just don't seem like they're really Natalie's friends. They treat her like a play thing and it's a little condescending the way they act around her. There was never a moment where it seemed like this group even had anything in common. I never understood why she hung out with them, which is a fatal flaw considering most of the book is based around their friendship.
Oscar took the brunt of my dislike. He's a lot like Jack from Will and Grace, except not over-the-top funny. There were a lot of smaller moments centred around Oscar that left me wondering what the author was trying to accomplish with this guy. And then there's Melly who was almost completely defined by her looks. Any mention of her centred around how pretty she is or how she's using her attractiveness to get something.
This happened on page 40, which was possibly the worst moment in the entire book. Melly is about to use her feminine wiles to distract this guy at the front desk of a hotel so Oscar and Natalie can sneak into the elevator to get to one of the rooms. So, Melly has gone up to this guy who is older then herself with the intent of heavily flirting with him, even though she's only sixteen. This didn't bother me because it's been done before and keeps the plot moving. However, then our main character turns around in the middle of her sneaking to make the point that this guy is a "Dirty old man" because he's smiling and laughing at the attention. This bothers Natalie because she says it's clear Melly "doesn't look a day over sixteen". This is followed up on page 43, with "Melly still has that perv talking to her up at the desk". These two quotes bothered me. It bothered me to the point of complete rage on behalf of the guy.
I'll be the first person to point out when some dude is acting creepy or pervy, screw those guys, but let's establish something here. He is not going up to Melly and initiating this sort of behaviour. As far as Natalie or the reader knows he is not touching her, grabbing her, harassing her, demeaning her, acting suggestively towards her, or in any way behaving inappropriately. All anyone sees him doing is smiling and laughing which makes him a both a "dirty old man" and a "perv". This guy was instantly vilified in a way that wasn't at all necessary in the story. It's true that guys should be respectful, but us girls should be expected to do the same, and I did not like the message this was sending about how it was totally fine for her to flirt with him with the intent to manipulate him, but not fine that he responded to it with anything less than "You shall not pass!".
Then there were the complete gaps in logic at the climax of the story with unrealistic character behaviour
Spoiler
there is this girl who has been held hostage for two years and now that she's free she seems to be totally fine! Not, you know, curled into a ball crying because she had been forced to starve and pee in a bucket.Spoiler
like when Natalie+Friends+Formerly kidnapped girl dramaticly flee the police because they think they might get arrested for breaking and entering when inside they found a girl chained to f-ing floor who had been held hostage for two years! Also, maybe she should be going to the hospital and not on your crazy adventure ride!Spoiler
by finding out very important information but never getting around to telling her sister or when she knows her sister is tangled up in this mess but conveniently doesn't ever answer her phone.On top of all that there would also be times when characters would be talking about the present, but using past tense. An example being when Natalie says on 102 "I really hated that guy" when I believe she's talking about how much she hates him in that moment.
There were also sometimes words that were a letter off, like on page 100, "I snitched some of the pages".
Or the way she says that her crush has the "same eyelashes" as his mother.
Or the use of little sayings in place of swear words. "monkey poo" and "flagpole sitter" being two examples.
Or how the title never plays a part in the book. Day off from what?!
All together this made Cat Girl's Day Off into a painful read that I only finished out of the bazaar hope that things would get better. Throughout the entire story I never lost hope that it might win me back because the potential was there!
To get back to something I said above (before I burst into flame), I mentioned how I think this should have been a series. This may seem confusing since I didn't like the book, but when you look at the Mediator as a comparison it starts to make a lot more sense. The Mediator series wouldn't have worked as a stand alone because if Meg Cabot had to tie everything up in a nice little bow at the end of [b:Shadowland|187811|Shadowland (The Mediator, #1)|Meg Cabot|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327886166s/187811.jpg|2013718] that story wouldn't have been as good. By opening it up to be a series it left the story with somewhere to go. Cat Girl's Day Off could have benefited from that. Instead we get the most unearned Happily Ever After that I've seen in a while.
Now, I know that there will be plenty of people who will love this book, from the description I really did think I would be one of them, but even now I can see how this would still be enjoyable for some people. However, my experience did not do the concept justice. I really wish this could have gone better or maybe more honestly that I had just avoided it altogether.