Review: Kitten by Stacey Yu

Kitten by Stacey Yu

Blurb from Goodreads:

A magnetic novel about a young woman who falls in love with her boyfriend's cat.

Katie hasn't spoken to her mother in a year when her boyfriend James introduces her to his cat Silver. A small, vulnerable, incorrigible ball of need, Silver's acceptance of Katie cracks open something inside of her: an unravelling begins.

Fresh out of college and far from home, Katie is desperate to skirt the demands of adult life - especially because, as she promised her mother, the plan was to never grow up in the first place. Luckily, she has James: self-assured, generous, and seemingly happy to make decisions for them both.

When they go on holiday to James's family's seaside home, Katie's attachment to Silver grows. Silver doesn't mind that Katie can't seem to get a job, hold her own at dinner parties, or make amends with her mother. Silver, who gets to misbehave spectacularly, be childish, be gross, and still get fed, seems to have the life Katie increasingly longs for. But as their bond intensifies, Katie's other relationships reach tipping points. Soon, Katie must come to terms with what she really wants, and what she might have to risk to get it.

Delicately playful and unexpectedly heartfelt, Kitten is a sensitive reckoning with the allure of helplessness and the uncertainty of becoming yourself in a world that is as disorienting as it is full of hope and connection.

 This was weird, in a good way.  I tried so hard to get in line with the narrator and I never quire figured her out.  Granted, I don't think she figured herself out in this book and the writing conveyed that well.  But I just wanted a bit more connection.  Still, an enjoyable read!

Kitten comes out next week on August 4, 2026 and you can purchase HERE.  

When James first introduced me to silver, he planted her in my arms like she was something I  already loved. I immediately dropped her. "That's okay," said James, who forgave me for everything. "That's fine." Silver landed on her feet the way cats are supposed to, even when they fall off tall buildings. I thought that was amazing.