Reviews

Leonard by Carlie Sorosiak, Carlie Sorosiak

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meg2009's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

marzipan951's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

meg_seekings's review against another edition

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5.0

Since starting work as a bookseller about a year ago, I've been reading far more children's fiction. I loved Carlie's book I, Cosmo (told from the perspective of a golden retriever) last year and was really excited when My Life as a Cat was announced. I loved it - thanks to Nosy Crow for the ARC.

In the story, aliens from Leonard's galaxy get to spend a month in the body of an Earth Creature on their 300th birthday. He had dreams of being a park ranger. He'd researched every part of it, longing to own the uniform, sleep in a tent, all of it. Except, something goes wrong, and Leonard becomes... a house cat. Luckily, young human Olive is around to rescue him.

With just a month to spend on Earth, and a whole lot of exploring to do - albeit without opposable thumbs - adventure ensues. This is a quirky, heartwarming story exploring what it means to be a human, discovered through the eyes of an alien cat. Perfect for young animal (and alien) lovers!

zabcia's review against another edition

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5.0

92%

"A toaster! Only humans could invent something so quaint. People cared deeply, about everything, even if it was just the crispness of their bread."

I love when books deconstruct the human experience from a sort of outside anthropological point of view, which is exactly what this book does because Leonard the cat is an alien. It's a heartfelt, heart-warming, ode to the best aspects of humanity. I need more books like this: maybe we're not all bad....

"From what I was able to piece together, commercials were a sort of guidebook for humanity. They told you what salad dressing to buy, what mattress to sleep on, what type of medicine to consume [...] There was so much should, so much that made no sense."

"From my galaxy, Earth is a pinprick, and water is just a color: not a moving, breathing, living thing. Not something to be painted and studied and waded in; you cannot dip your toes in a color, especially when you have no toes."