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The Tribe

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The tribe has been alone on the farm for many seasons, struggling to survive by their wits and will, unaided by the humans who abandoned them there years ago. Few members of the tribe outside of Tia, the eldest, and her fiercely loyal companion Bella, remember a time when two-legs--the cats' name for humans--lived in the farmhouse. Suddenly, the tribe's territory is invaded by a young two-legs couple, and the frightened cats ask themselves why have two-legs come to live there after so many seasons and what will happen to the tribe at the hands of these often cruel creatures?

378 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 2011

3 people are currently reading
39 people want to read

About the author

McCarty Griffin

4 books10 followers
McCarty Griffin lives in the Pacific Northwest, at the foot of the Cascades, with her husband, two children and several nonhuman family members. She is a transplanted hillbilly, born in Texas, but raised in the hollows and hills of West Virginia, where most of her works are set. She does not limit her creative efforts to any particular genre, although she does have a special love for horror, which she traces back to a childhood of Saturday nights eating Chef Boyardee pizza and watching Chiller Theatre with her mother. Before beginning her second life with her current husband, and settling in to raise her daughter and son, she served in the United States Army, went home to earn her undergraduate and law degrees, and then practiced criminal defense law for more than ten years. After half a lifetime spent doing everything but what she truly wanted to do, she finally just sat down and started writing, and she hasn’t stopped since.

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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
Profile Image for Kelly.
295 reviews1 follower
August 9, 2011
This book really landed in the right lap. As you loyal followers know, I am a huge animal person. About the only animal I’m not really all that into are cats. This book is mainly about kitties. The message in the book though, is for every responsible pet owner. It’s aimed at the young adult demographic but I found it to be a rather enjoyable read at my ripe old age. This book is wonderfully written and the characters (the animals) really jump off the page at you. It’s a delightful and responsible book and perfect timing for the problems we face today.

What I liked: I love the message of this book and I find it very interesting that the author chose to tell it while focusing on our kids since they will be the ones to fix problems like this. It’s a good story and well thought out. Heartwarming.

What I disliked: This wasn’t my personal cup of tea and I feel uncomfortable writing this review because of that. If you are interested in this book and looking to my review to decide your purchase, please read other reviewers of this story along with mine.
Profile Image for Jamie Kline.
198 reviews4 followers
June 15, 2011
Obviously by reading the synopsis you can tell this book is pretty unique, since over half of the story is told from the cats' point of view. I wasn't sure what to expect going into it but I wanted to give it a try since it's such a different concept. The story revolves around a "tribe" of feral cats living out in the country. The people that used to live at the house are long gone so they don't have to worry about any interference or cruelty from the "two-legs". The eldest of the tribe is Tia and so all of the other cats look to her for wisdom and advice. Her closest friend, Bella, is a lot more cynical in her thinking and has somewhat of a temper. Most of the cats on the farm have never known or seen a two-legs in their life, but suddenly they have company; Susan and her husband Rob decide to move onto the farm and fix it up. Little do they know that it already has occupants, and a lot of them at that.
Like I said, the two main cat characters are Tia and Bella; they are best friends but also very different in personality. Maybe it's due to her age, but Tia is more mellow and open to new ideas, whereas Bella is more temperamental and opposed to change. She doesn't want anything to do with the two-legs, convinced that they mean to kill and eat all of them. There are a lot of secondary cat characters, but I think one of the most important is Daca, who used to be a domesticated cat; she ended up with the tribe after her owner died and she was subsequently thrown out on the side of the road to fend for herself. She acts as sort of a mediator between the rest of the tribe and the humans, because she knows that not all humans are bad and mean to harm them. As for the human characters, Susan is the point of focus. She is a major animal lover who has worked with feral cats before, removing them from a bad environment and helping them get adopted. Unfortunately in those cases, most of the cats are not adoptable because they are so wild, so when Susan discovers all of the cats on the premises she decides to handle things on her own. Her mom helps her out a lot with all of her plans and I swear her husband is a Saint, he just agreed with whatever Susan wanted to do and helped her out when he could even though he's not a cat person. I liked the characters in this book, I just didn't love them. I had trouble forming connections with them which made the book a little difficult to get into.
I thought some of the cats' observations were clever. Especially about the water hose, they thought it was a snake and they couldn't understand why Susan grabbed it and dragged it around the yard every day (and why it would let itself be dragged around!) and why it spit out water. I thought they were so cute, because you can imagine that may be what cats actually think is happening.
This book also brought some awareness to organizations such as PAWS (Pets Are Worth Saving) which is great. I love animals and hate to see them mistreated or in danger of being euthanized. In the book Susan takes matters into her own hands by deciding to care for the cats herself, feeding them, getting them vet check-ups, and spaying/neutering them all to control the population. I don't even want to imagine what something like that would cost, even with a vet discount, but I think any animal lover would probably at least try to save all of these animals too in any way they could.
Overall I liked this book, I just didn't love it. I couldn't seem to really get into the story, at least in the first half. It was a cute, unique read though, giving you a look at the world from an entirely different perspective. I think animal lovers (especially cat lovers) will really enjoy this book.

If you would like to read more of my reviews, please check out my book review blog, Bookerella
Profile Image for Jackie.
3,960 reviews128 followers
June 9, 2011
For a pet/cat lover this is a highly emotional and totally heartwarming story! I totally went awwww way too many times when the cat characters were relating to each other... By the time I finished the book my respect for true animal lovers and their humane efforts to rescue and turn the lives of feral cats around had increased immensely... A must read for every cat owner who is the proud custodian and provider for their rescued four-legged Kids !

When the author first approached me to read for an honest review her e-books including this one, The Tribe was the first one to really appeal to me... As a person who loved to watch cartoons featuring animal character and animated movies about cats and dogs and their humans this story was for me along the same lines... From the first page the cat characters were in full living color, their personalities jumped off the page and were so lifelike that it was like being in the scene with them as the story unfolded...
I have to say that meeting Daca and Bella and Tia was a very interesting experience, especially once the humans arrived to live on the farm the cats called home...

From the first encounter between Susan and the colony of feral felines there is an ongoing narrative of her previous work with rescuing and rehabbing to caring homes cats in the same situation as those found on the farm..

Not only was this an interesting part of the story but an integral one as well because before Susan and her husband Rob bought the farm the cats were near starvation and generally at the mercy of larger predators...

Once the routine was established by the new owner and her mother of daily watering and feeding life improved for all the nursing mothers and every other cat who lived in the barn and surrounding fields.

It was interesting to watch how the cats from the beginning were very wary and fearful of the human presence until at the end through persistence and humane actions they finally grew to understand that their lives had changed for the better!

There is a lot to this book, much more than just a tale about cats and kittens... For the average person like myself it is also a wake up call to be sure and take the extra step necessary to ensure a quality of life for our small household pets, spaying and neutering them is one way to take that extra step...

Abandoning an unwanted animal always has repercussions, this tale illustrates that very well and also brings home an obvious fact to pet owners that if you do not wish more cats and dogs to end up in a shelter or left to run wild and die from illness or injury it is best to spay and neuter them to prevent such a tragedy from occurring...

The book does not preach this sentiment, indeed it handles it calmly and matter of factly as just part of the story...

For young adults to older adults this is a book that can be enjoyed over and over!

I have to disclose that an e-copy for this book was provided to me from Smashwords by the author for an honest review... There was no other compensation for this other than the pleasure I gained from reading the book.


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Profile Image for Sonny.
27 reviews11 followers
August 1, 2011
The Tribe is an adorable sneak peek into the minds of a cat colony.

The tribe has lived at this old farm for many cat generations mostly undisturbed by human inhabitance. After the farm is sold to a young couple, the cat’s lives are seemingly turned upside down as these “two-legged” dealings begin to unravel. Tia and Bella, the tribe’s elders, keep a close eye on these new invaders to keep the tribe safe. Having only known human’s to be “evil and terrible” creatures, they are surprised when they begin to find food and water placed for them amongst the farm. For once, their bellies and those of their young are full. It becomes a struggle throughout the tribe on whether the newcomers could be trusted.
After an incident between the elders and coyotes, they begin to realize that the two-legs are not trying to overrun them, but are helping the tribe in ways that keep them healthy and safe. A small bond is finally formed.

This story warmed me right to my core. I love the idea that the author wrote this book from the view of the cats and the humans. It gave a wonderful depth to the actual storyline. Not only were you seeing the cats converse amongst themselves and speculate what the humans could be up to, but you were also given the chance to hear what the humans were actually doing. They are trying to keep the tribe healthy, yet the cats see them as a threat to their way of life.
Along with the different viewpoints of the characters, there is also much information that I learned about being humane to cats, how to care for cats in certain situations, and also what a kitty could be thinking and why they act the way they do. Once during the book when Susan and Rob, the young couple, were discussing different breeds of dogs to keep the cats safe, I found myself looking the dog up on the internet to see exactly what it looked like! I enjoyed the facts given throughout the story in a way that incorporated it into the happenings.
Although the direction of the story was not always evident, it did eventually become clear that it was a story of trust between two different species. And, I would have loved to know how the Tribe and the couple eventually got along after the story did end. Did the trust blossom into a relationship fit for both the cats and the human’s? I guess these are the cliffhangers that we as readers endure after a good story end.
The Tribe was a fantastic book for readers of all ages. It is especially an excellent read for children.
Profile Image for Brenda.
1,150 reviews15 followers
July 23, 2011
A tribe of cats has been living alone on an old farm for many years. The tribe is led by two cats Tia and Bella. There is only one cat in the tribe that has any positive memories of humans and that cats name is Daca. So you can imagine when two legs( humans) start coming to the farm the tribe believes no good can come of it. When the humans move to the farm things start looking up, the female human starts putting out food and water in the hopes of gaining the cats trust so that she can eventually catch them to have them spayed and neutered. While the tribe watches the humans with trepidation, Daca decides the only way to protect her kittens from a coyote that is hanging around is to move them in with the humans. When Bella and Tia are attacked by the coyote they soon come to realize that not all humans are the same.
I loved this book! The author does an amazing job of telling the story not only thru the eyes of the cats but also thru the eyes of the humans. It was so easy to understand the fear that the tribe had of the humans. Bella and Tia were convinced that the humans would kill and eat them. The bond between Tia and Bella was heartwarming,and the way the tribe members looked out for each other allowed the reader to see the bond that had formed between the members of the tribe. You could easily imagine the longing Daca had for her former human owner, and she sort of became the ambassador cat traveling between the tribe members and the humans. I found the message of spaying and neutering very appropriate, but not preachy at all. A quick read that would make a wonderful gift for cat lovers, or anyone who enjoys a great animal story.



A complimentary copy of this e-book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Profile Image for Lainy.
1,989 reviews72 followers
March 10, 2012
Time taken to read - 4 hours

Blurb From Goodreads

The tribe has been alone on the farm for many seasons, struggling to survive by their wits and will, unaided by the humans who abandoned them there years ago. Few members of the tribe outside of Tia, the eldest, and her fiercely loyal companion Bella, remember a time when two-legs--the cats' name for humans--lived in the farmhouse. Suddenly, the tribe's territory is invaded by a young two-legs couple, and the frightened cats ask themselves why have two-legs come to live there after so many seasons and what will happen to the tribe at the hands of these often cruel creatures?

My Review

The tribe (a huge and mixed family of cats) have lived on the farm for years, mostly in peace since the previous two-legs(human) left. Now there are new two-legs, two females and a male and the cats know things will never be the same.

The story is told half from the cats point of view and half from the humans. It is a very unique story and to be honest I haven't read anything like it before. The two-legs want to help the cats anyway they can and the cats don't trust them for a second as many have been before and tried to kill them. The story tells of how things progress, what the humans do and how the cats view and react to it.

I wouldn't say it is a story for children as there is one scene in particular about a cat devouring its prey and blood and organs mentioned. It is a light hearted tale for adults and cat lovers would really like it I think. Some of the cat dialogue is a bit silly "great mouse droppings" but I think some readers might actually really like it. A nice different wee story to break up the usual kind of genres I have been reading, 3/5 for me.
Profile Image for Kim.
Author 15 books246 followers
July 25, 2011
The Tribe was unlike anything I have read and was a fun read. When the story opened and I realized that the initial conversation was taking place between cats, I was intrigued. Well over half of the story is told from the point of view of the cats. Abandoned years ago on a rural farm, the tribe of cats has survived by their wits, with no "two-legs" help. Over the years, the tribe has grown out of control and few of the cats remember "two-legs" as being anything but cruel. So when a young couple moves into the farmhouse, the entire tribe is scared and confused. Tia, as the oldest cat, is the tribe's elder and, with her best friend Bella, rules the tribe. But even Tia is out of her league when it comes to the humans, so she turns to Daca, a formerly domesticated house cat, for help.

Being an owner of two very particular cats, I really liked this book. It was eye-opening in spots, to think of what my cats must think of the things I do or say. The banter between the cats was often light and funny, but there were definately some poignant moments as well. The author created an entire society within this tribe of cats. It was different, being emotionally involved with the cats, but as you followed their story as they learned about their new "two-legs" and began to trust them, you truly did become invested in them. This is definately a book for anyone who loves cats!
Profile Image for L.E.Olteano  .
514 reviews70 followers
July 29, 2015
Originally posted at Butterfly-o-Meter Books on Jul 30 2011:

This one, I loved. Of course, I might be biased, I’m a big time cat-lover :)

This is a quick read and a joy, a real page turner. Very original, and most entertaining, it gives voice to those that are often the silent part of the tale, in this case, cats. I loved their tribe-chemistry and their diverse and charming personalities. Their clever, witty and banter-y sort of way of managing whatever happens strikes me as a really good take on cats, in general.
I can totally visualize their conversations going as McCarty Griffin portrays them.
The `two-legs’ were almost as endearing as the cats. Almost :D

Another proof of McCarty Griffin`s talent to bring together humor and unique, original perspectives on things, this little darling of a read had me giggling pretty much all the way through.
(And, I just have to say, the cover is completely adorable!)

I highly recommend this to anyone that enjoys a short, light hearted, fun and entertaining read, and animal lovers such as myself will surely enjoy it thoroughly.
Profile Image for Andrea Guy.
1,483 reviews67 followers
October 29, 2011
I am a fan of the Warriors books by Erin Hunter, so when I was offered a chance to read The Tribe, I thought I might be getting something similar. That's partly true, but this book is much different, although it does tell the story of a feral cat colony.

The cats in The Tribe aren't fighters and though there is a hierarchy to the farm colony, they are more of a family. The elder cats in this story are Tia and Bella. They are a spunky pair of kitties that you come to love. Then there is Daca, a cat that is part of the colony who is a "throw away." She was tossed out of a car when she was pregnant and the tribe took her in.

These three cats share their point of view in the story. The rest of the story is told by the two-legs (humans) that moved into the farm where the tribe resides.

I really liked the different perspectives that this brings to the story. What I really loved about The Tribe, NO CATS DIED! As much as I love the Warriors books, some kitty always dies, reading a book with a totally happy ending for both ferals and the two legs was perfect.

This is a must read for cat lovers. It is great to see a book that shows people caring for feral cat colonies. I have dealt with this in my home town, and it takes a lot of love to get feral cats to trust you.
Profile Image for Sarah.
1,085 reviews101 followers
November 8, 2011
This is a very cute heartwarming story that would be perfect for cat lovers. I am not a cat lover, but I still found the story enjoyable. Told in alternating viewpoints from the cats and the two-legs, it was an interesting look at what humans are like from a cat perspective.

I was pleasantly surprised at how natural the cat's stories were, and how distinct each cat's personality was. I definitely favoured Daca, but maybe only because she knew how to live it up.


This is a clean read that is perfect for young teens.
Profile Image for Lynn.
3,045 reviews85 followers
February 7, 2012
This was not what I expected at all,very well written, great plot and you need NOT be a cat person to enjoy it! Adored how the wild cats called people two legs and interacted with them. Great being told by the cats! I really enjoyed how the cats reacted, inter-acted and survived! Most enjoyable read!
96 reviews
February 7, 2012
This was a fun read, especially to a cat lover.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews

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