THE LAST FREE CAT

In a future Britain, a stranglehold has been issued on cats after a human health epidemic is blamed on the feline population in this politically savvy, lightning-paced thriller.

Jade and her mum are misfits in their working-class neighborhood, where they’ve made their home since the unexpected death of Jade's wealthy father. When a lovely calico cat materializes in their garden one night, they impulsively decide to keep it, risking arrest. Jade quickly falls in love with her new pet, naming her Feela at her mother’s suggestion. When she reveals the animal’s existence to Kris, a boy in her class with whom she has a stormy relationship, it sets into motion a tragic series of events that result in the two of them fleeing with Feela into the countryside toward Ireland, where there's a cat amnesty. Penned in a simple, almost sparse style in first-person from Jade’s perspective, this foray into an imagined dystopia is extremely plot-driven. The limited details that emerge about the restrictive nature of the society flow naturally, but may leave readers wanting a bit more.

Earnest descriptions of Jade’s love for Feela and her burgeoning feelings for Kris—“It was if she sensed we were a pride now, a family, and our place was all together”—nicely balance the plentiful action.