Set in the near future, the set-up is that cats have been declared illegal because of a strain of cat flu that can jump to humans. Except, that is, if they are specially bread by one of two private companies. Cats are big business, and only the rich can own these collared and certified symbols of their wealth.But if a 'free' cat, uncollared, appears in your back garden, how could you resist taking it in? Breaking the law leads to an exciting adventure with some food for thought - is it human welfare, or greed, that decides policy?A good book for children from about 11+ This book was seriously a disappointment. Okay, so admittedly, I had gotten this book simply because it involved cats. Being a cat-lover, I was willing to try this out. And the plotline sounded kind of interesting too. I mean, there is an apocalyptic universe where people think cats hold some kind of disease called the Cat Flu. So the government/businesses take away all cats and only the rich and famous are allowed to have these creatures. But it turns out that the cat flu is only a government-produced rumor! A girl finds one of the last stray cats in the world and decides to illegally harbor it with her mother. But when her mother dies from heart problems, her and a boy who seems to know much more than the Average Joe go on an adventure to find a safe place for her cat all while escaping government forces. Woah...this sounds kind of interesting doesn't it?! Too bad this book is a boring piece of crap.Admittedly, I was interested at the beginning. I actually was into the relationship between the girl and her mother. It seemed very real and trusting, and I liked how while the mother was paranoid of what was to come, she put her daughter's happiness over her own. It was nice. And when the Boy Character came in, it seemed like a real conflict. When he arrives, I was thinking he would be a really interesting character and was excited to see more of him.But when the mother dies, the book immediately goes down. My first problem with this book is the characters. None of them stand out. I don't even remember the names of Main Girl and Main Boy. They were basically cut outs of all those other boy-girl YA heroes you see in every other book. Eccentric, weird, daring boy who is a bit headstrong mixed with more rational, but confused, argumentive girl. The two bicker with one another, but within their bickering, they find they like each other, yada yada yada. All the other characters were just personality-less obstacles or stop points for the main characters to talk to for a few chapters before they find the new person. Nothing stood out. Everyone was some kind of cliche. But while I do consider characters the most important part of the story, there's still the plot to look at. And after all, the plot was what made me want to borrow the book at my library in the first place... but surprisingly enough, that's not even done well.A lot of plot points you think the author would explain never do get explained. For example, what is the cat flu? I mean, I get that it's a fake illness the government made up so they can get ahold of all the cats of the world... but... why is everyone afraid of it? What are the symptoms? Do you grow hives? Do you turn into a cat yourself? Do you bleed out of every orifice? What exactly happens? What was so terrible that people across the world are terrified of cats?! How did the rumors even start? Did the government really just say, "Yeah, this is happening" and everyone believed it? In fact, why does the government even want the cats? What benefit do you really earn from cats? It's never explained.How does Main Boy know so much? How does everyone know all this information?! Do they ever really explain that? There are so many unanswered questions like this and they really start to add up. Well, was the writing style interesting? No, not really. The descriptions were rather bland or boring. They were more like textbook descriptions rather than an actual, detailed description. And even when the book decides to get creative with it's descriptions, they are weird (at one point, as someone else mentioned, they compare one of the character's hands to a squirrel?) The plot is predictable. The characters are predictable. The writing is boring.Just an overall boring, generic YA book. I say, skip it.
What do You think about The Last Free Cat (2012)?
A YA book that I really enjoyed. It works out some big ideas but also a good and suspenseful story.
—robey17
Really enjoyed this one, including the ending which didn't come quite as I expected it would.
—Sara
i had to quite because this book was so awful please do not read this
—spauldo36
so sad but so amazing. i read it in 2 days!!!
—Michael
