Catnipped

Bad Kitty: The Graphic Novel #1

by Michele Jaffe, Lince (Illustrations)

Trouble seems to follow aspiring detective Jasmine Callihan. Or maybe it's that Jas (who apparently never learned what Curiosity did to the Cat) follows trouble. All Jas wants to do today is hang out with her pals (and her superfantastico boyfriend, but, shh , don't tell the Thwarter, aka her dad, who's trying to keep her under permanent lockdown). Simple. Straightforward. But catastrophe is lurking. First Jas stumbles upon a schoolmate's lost purse. Then there's the jewelry store heist, the wrongly accused man, the clueless cops, the seven words that destroy her relationship, and . . . well, before she knows it, Jas has got a lot more than brunch on her plate. Now it's up to her and her mega-cool crew, Roxy, Polly, and Tom, to catch the thief. It won't be easy—not with Jas's cousin Alyson and her Evil Hench Twin Veronique tagging along for the ride and having to elude the Thwarter with his All-Seeing Eye. Oh, and her heart breaking into a million tiny pieces. Trying to right wrongs and have brunch with a hot guy shouldn't be this taxing, should it?

Genres: Manga, Graphic Novels, Young Adult, Mystery, Humor, Comics, Comedy

176 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2008

About the author

Michele Jaffe (b. March 20 in Los Angeles, California), is an American writer. She has authored novels in several genres, including historical romance, suspense thrillers, and novels for Young Adults.

Reviews

[Hanii Aburame · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nancy Drew, meet Jas.

This was a really fun read. The wholesome nature of it all, between the really funky inventions, innocent teen romance drama, the jewel highest mystery, and the Thwarter (Jas's dad), the whole thing gave me 90s/early 2000s, cheetah girls (because of the teen slang) meets Nancy Drew vibe.

The art is really cool, with bold lines the characters pop out of the scenes and the interludes in panels where Jas & co. talk amongst themselves is a really fun touch. The art with the over-the-top teen slang and really bad puns gives Bad Kitty a nostalgic feel for my younger years and makes me want to watch some Disney shows and of course the Cheetah Girls movies. (I loved their music and Jasmine reminds me a bit of Raven Simone's character, mostly both being a born leader.)

Overall, this is a fun story that anyone, kid or adult, would enjoy. Now I just have to find the illusive second volume.

[Ubalstecha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jas is many things: a daughter, a detective, beautiful, in love with a rock star, a teenager. She stumbles across a theft at the local mall where she knows the cops have the wrong guy. She and her friends set out to clear the wrongfully accused shop owner, but in doing so, she puts her romantic relationship with a pop star in jeopardy.

The problem with this kind of book is that you have to suspend your disbelief that a teenage girl can have so much going for her, but then this kind of book is fantasy wish fulfillment aimed at the teenage girl.

Cute. Not going to change your life.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is based on the book Bad Kitty, by the same author. I never read it, but I believe it was one of the YALSA top ten teen books last year. Anyway, this was very cute. Jas is a girl next door type who just falls into mysteries to solve, this one being a jewelry store robbery. She has a crew of friends and a world-famous guy she is sort of seeing. Anyway, I really liked it, and it made me want to move Bad Kitty and its sequel Kitty Kitty further up on my reading list.

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

If this is any indicator of the book, ugh, I don't think I'm gonna like it. The characters spoke in way too over-the-top-trying-to-be-trendy language and the illustrations were annoying as well. Jas, the main character had these huge eyes completely surrounded by outlandish eyelashes and a lion's mane of hair. None of the right notes hit with me with this one, sorry fans.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This manga was given to me to read by a friend, and I found it to be really cute. It took me a minute to get into it, but once I did I was curious. I liked the set-up of the main character's life, and the point of view for the story. It's not exactly a believable story, but it's a well-told, nicely drawn, interesting one.

[Tiff · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was entertained by reading this, however, as detective skills go, this seemed like an amateur story.

But still I had a few silly smiles while reading this. Because for one you just don't ask someone special to you what toothpaste they use after him telling you, he's got the hots for you. It was ridiculous. Hahaha and I think that's that.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute follow-up to the Jaffe's novels about Jas. I enjoyed the little sections with witty dialog between Jas and her friends. The story itself didn't really stand out in my mind, but fans of the novels "Bad Kitty" and "Kitty Kitty" will enjoy this.

[Rachelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

had difficulty finishing this book, who ever did the manga adaption did not understand less is more when it comes to filling in speech bubbles, each one was almost like reading a paragraph. this made it difficult to enjoy the art when you had to stop every couple of seconds to read a paragraph

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really cute and funny.

[Jenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the regular series, so finding this was icing on the cake! It is so funny, fans of the regular series won't be dissapointed.

[Kimberly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ehh....it was alright, but I think I would have understood it more if I had read the original book series before.

[Sonia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it!!!!!!

[Angel.girl Devil.world · Rating 5 out of 5]

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[Sana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nowhere near good enough as the novels.

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have this book in my room and have enjoyed reading it for quite a while. I love how the character looks and acts so much like me!

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was really funny and enjoyable. I thought it was corky-cool, but it had me LOLing.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute! I love these characters!
Of course I'd prefer them more in novel form.