A review by charvi_not_just_fiction
The Cat Who Saved Books by Sōsuke Natsukawa

adventurous mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

While I think the concept of a cat and a reader trying to 'save' books was quite interesting the execution failed me a bit. It's a very cosy read and I like how we explore Rinatro, our mc's life after the death of his grandfather aka his only living family. Left behind with the bookstore, Rintaro seems to lose his soul in books but over the course of the book we see him develop and come out of his shell.

I didn't quite enjoy the saving of the books and the lessons gained from them. They seemed too on the nose or kind of obvious, at least for me. So there was no real moment when I went ohhh with some sort of revelation or insight which is what made the book sort of boring for me. Some readers say they didn't like how preachy the cat and Rintaro were about other people reading their own books which I guess I agree with to some extent.

Overall, this is one you can choose to skip.