rach260's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death
melissapalmer404's review
5.0
Book #56 Read in 2013
Cleo: The Cat who Mended a Family by Helen Brown
This book begins with a tragic death. Helen's family is trying to deal with their grief when a little kitten comes there way and their lives are forever changed by Cleo. Cleo is an intelligent cat who brings a smile back to their faces when they never thought they would smile again. Cleo immediately becomes part of their family and is an important member of such. This is a must read for cat lovers...but it is not just a cat book. This book is also a well written memoir of a family struck by tragedy and how they overcame that. I loved it.
http://melissasbookpicks.blogspot.com
Cleo: The Cat who Mended a Family by Helen Brown
This book begins with a tragic death. Helen's family is trying to deal with their grief when a little kitten comes there way and their lives are forever changed by Cleo. Cleo is an intelligent cat who brings a smile back to their faces when they never thought they would smile again. Cleo immediately becomes part of their family and is an important member of such. This is a must read for cat lovers...but it is not just a cat book. This book is also a well written memoir of a family struck by tragedy and how they overcame that. I loved it.
http://melissasbookpicks.blogspot.com
marinazala's review
4.0
*Books 93 - 2014 *
saya akan berikan 3,8 dari 5 bintang untuk buku ini! kisah kucing yang bernama Cleo yang berusaha menyembuhkan luka hati dari seorang keluarga yg kehilangan anggota keluarganya, Sam!
kisah2 dan tingkah laku cleo yg sangat menggemaskan bikin saya penasaran.. sayangnya dia meninggal di usia 24 tahun.. itu kayak usia 110 tahunan lo di manusia..
ahh! jujur saya seorang pecinta kucing. dirumah ada 4 ekor kucing dewasa dan 5 ekor anak kucing! tiap ekor bisa saya timang2 atau ciumin satu2.. dan kucing adalah satu yg tidak terpisahkan dari keluarga saya.. mulai saya, adik, ibu, tante, sepupu, kakek dan ayah kakek saya sangat menyayangi kucing.. masih ingat di ingatan saya, ketika ayah kakek meninggal dunia kucing hitam yg sering disampingnya ikut menghilang dan ternyata pas ditemukan si kucing sudah mati diatas kuburan ayah kakek.. *air mata mrembes*
saya akan berikan 3,8 dari 5 bintang untuk buku ini! kisah kucing yang bernama Cleo yang berusaha menyembuhkan luka hati dari seorang keluarga yg kehilangan anggota keluarganya, Sam!
kisah2 dan tingkah laku cleo yg sangat menggemaskan bikin saya penasaran.. sayangnya dia meninggal di usia 24 tahun.. itu kayak usia 110 tahunan lo di manusia..
ahh! jujur saya seorang pecinta kucing. dirumah ada 4 ekor kucing dewasa dan 5 ekor anak kucing! tiap ekor bisa saya timang2 atau ciumin satu2.. dan kucing adalah satu yg tidak terpisahkan dari keluarga saya.. mulai saya, adik, ibu, tante, sepupu, kakek dan ayah kakek saya sangat menyayangi kucing.. masih ingat di ingatan saya, ketika ayah kakek meninggal dunia kucing hitam yg sering disampingnya ikut menghilang dan ternyata pas ditemukan si kucing sudah mati diatas kuburan ayah kakek.. *air mata mrembes*
sbunyan's review
3.0
I liked this book, I didn't LOVE it. It was a nice story about a nice family and a nice cat. In the end I just didn't get very emotionally involved.
unreliablebooknerd's review
5.0
Heartbreaking and touching at the same time.... Really made me cry till the end... If you're animal lover, you'd definitely go on this one!!
megs_readstoomuch's review
3.0
There were too many words in the story (I know some of you know what I mean). Too many descriptions and comparisons and just waste. I wasn't sure if I liked all the humans in the books (exceptions, I loved Rob and sympathized with him as the left behind sibling when another dies), but I loved Cleo. I love the power of a good cat.
aliensupersoldier's review
5.0
I put this book on my TBR not knowing what it was about. All I saw was a cute black kitten walking purposefully across the white cover. That was enough to get this cat lover's attention. A few weeks ago, I saw a pair of gigantic green eyes on the most adorable black face on a shelf at my library. It was Cleo. A different edition. In Swedish. Without hesitating, I swept the volume off the shelf before some other cat lover would beat me to the punch. Still, I had no idea what the book was about.
Then I read it.
Cleo is a great book. Helen tells her life story with such honesty and openness that you feel thankful that she lets you into her life and shares some of her deepest emotions. All the time that I was reading the book, I kept thinking that this is real. This is not fiction. Her son really died and there will be no magical fix in the end that will bring him back, or make the family's pain dissappear.
But real life has happiness in it as well as tragedy, and Helen and her family did move on eventually, leading an interesting life with its ups and downs.
She describes her friendship with some wonderful people who helped her deal with Sam's death by just being there. And by helping her take care of young Cleo.
When Cleo became the member of their family, not only did she turn the house upside down, making the family think about something else than the death of Sam, but her very presence brought Comfort into their life. Helen loved listening to Cleo's purr, and to stroke her soft fur. She also realised that she could learn something from the cat. To simplify things, to live in the moment, to love yourself - that's what Helen tried to learn from Cleo.
Cleo shatters every prejudice and misconception people hold against cats. The main proof is Helen herself, who didn't even like cats very much until Cleo. Cleo was an intelligent and kind animal, who loved her family.
And Helen Brown is an inspiration in every sense of the word. And she's a fantastic writer. I am looking forward to reading some of her other books - After Cleo: Came Jonah, and Tumbledown Manor, Helen's first fiction novel.
If you'r a cat person, read this book. If you're not a cat person, read this book. If you're not a book person, read it anyway.
Then I read it.
Cleo is a great book. Helen tells her life story with such honesty and openness that you feel thankful that she lets you into her life and shares some of her deepest emotions. All the time that I was reading the book, I kept thinking that this is real. This is not fiction. Her son really died and there will be no magical fix in the end that will bring him back, or make the family's pain dissappear.
But real life has happiness in it as well as tragedy, and Helen and her family did move on eventually, leading an interesting life with its ups and downs.
She describes her friendship with some wonderful people who helped her deal with Sam's death by just being there. And by helping her take care of young Cleo.
When Cleo became the member of their family, not only did she turn the house upside down, making the family think about something else than the death of Sam, but her very presence brought Comfort into their life. Helen loved listening to Cleo's purr, and to stroke her soft fur. She also realised that she could learn something from the cat. To simplify things, to live in the moment, to love yourself - that's what Helen tried to learn from Cleo.
Cleo shatters every prejudice and misconception people hold against cats. The main proof is Helen herself, who didn't even like cats very much until Cleo. Cleo was an intelligent and kind animal, who loved her family.
And Helen Brown is an inspiration in every sense of the word. And she's a fantastic writer. I am looking forward to reading some of her other books - After Cleo: Came Jonah, and Tumbledown Manor, Helen's first fiction novel.
If you'r a cat person, read this book. If you're not a cat person, read this book. If you're not a book person, read it anyway.
jennycaples's review
4.0
This book is more about the family going through struggles than the cat, but it is still an excellent memoir. If you have your own kids be prepared to cry. The cat is a key player but the story isn't just about kitty antics. Worth reading!