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Paws for Thought
Twelve-year-old Jamie's world turns upside down when he discovers his grandad’s been reincarnated as a cat, Theo. Grandad has wrongs that need righting, and the ‘family fortune’ is on the line. Jamie and Theo battle pesky aunts, a meddling uncle and even the odd dog in their attempt to get the family back on track. Along the way, the duo begin to realise that true wealth is not about cold hard cash but the love and support of family and friends.
A heartwarming adventure about a boy and his cat.
A heartwarming adventure about a boy and his cat.
- GenresMiddle Grade
180 pages, Paperback
Published May 7, 2023
4 people want to read
About the author
Shirley Day
11 books15 followersHi all
In short, I love stories.
I write thrillers, murder mysteries & domestic noir. Two of my thrillers are coming out this year through Bloodhound Books.
I'm also proud to have been selected for this year's prestigious Escalator Award, for a cosy crime thriller I'm writing.
In the darkest corners of the darkest moments of my darkest stories, there’s always a dry sense of humour. In my spare time, I dabble in quirky tales for the YA/MG market
I'm lucky enough to teach screenwriting and theatre at two universities in London and work for The Literary Consultancy as a script consultant.
I've written literary short stories for Radio4, been shortlisted for Granta, and had work in anthologies, winning awards for my theatre & screenplays.
The Insect House is my first novel.
In short, I love stories.
I write thrillers, murder mysteries & domestic noir. Two of my thrillers are coming out this year through Bloodhound Books.
I'm also proud to have been selected for this year's prestigious Escalator Award, for a cosy crime thriller I'm writing.
In the darkest corners of the darkest moments of my darkest stories, there’s always a dry sense of humour. In my spare time, I dabble in quirky tales for the YA/MG market
I'm lucky enough to teach screenwriting and theatre at two universities in London and work for The Literary Consultancy as a script consultant.
I've written literary short stories for Radio4, been shortlisted for Granta, and had work in anthologies, winning awards for my theatre & screenplays.
The Insect House is my first novel.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 25, 2023
My favorite parts were:
The cover and the concept of a dead grandfather returning as a cat made me pick up this book. From the cover, I thought the cat and kid were going to bond into a deeper relationship, but that didn't happen.
The humor and Jamie's point of view are awesome. He describes his family with his personal comments and it balances really well the death-in-the-family situation with humor.
The scene with Jamie's mom, speaking to her dying father, is great and very emotional. The words she says, and how the author describes the scene hit the note and teach us what can we say in a time like this if this would be the first time in such a situation. Usually in books of loss, we pick up after the funeral and authors skip this part.
The parts I didn't like:
The concept is cool and I was excited to get into it but it lost me as the cat begins his "journey" with Jamie and retells all his experiences in the afterlife. Still, I kept going keeping in mind the author relies on humor.
The author qualifies this book as a middle grade (ages from 8-13) and the book has a middle-grader main character but he is not the main subject of the story. He is only a bystander who loses his voice (seems to act as a plot device and not from grief) and accompanies a cat (his grandfather) through vortexes back and forth in time, trying to understand what is wrong with his family…
None of these are ways to connect Jamie with his recently lost grandfather or with his family. The middle grader is subtracted from the story.
Is something left for his grandfather to do? Yes, but it's not about Jamie who is confused the whole time.
Why not a higher score?
It's not about dealing with Jamie's grandfather's death, growing up, or deepening his relationship with his family. We don't go to his school, or deal with friends or others. There is no grief on his part. Jamie only has a sort of relationship with his older sister, with whom he communicates with nods and expressions.
The book is well-written, and it is funny and will make readers who enjoy the themes search for more adult works from this author. It's just that I am not interested in the issues that belonged to the adults, but in the issues that are more relatable to the age of the kid.
Ignoring my expectations and the main character. This is a funny short story of sisters who lose their dad and need to straighten up their lives after failed marriages or wrong choices. The two mean sisters only care about money and one of them is about to be punished. This novel is more of a dark comedy for rom-com fans focused on the decease's daughters who are very caricatured characters. A mix of Roald Dahl's mean women with Cinderella's stepsisters. They only care for money and they are awful people focused on greed.
I can see it working with an older teenage female lead who would have connected and understood her mother and aunt's situations better.
There is another villain adding to these characters and that's the one Jamie is supposed to help stop.
I received this free copy and I am leaving this review voluntarily, and my opinions are honest and my own. (From Book Siren)
The cover and the concept of a dead grandfather returning as a cat made me pick up this book. From the cover, I thought the cat and kid were going to bond into a deeper relationship, but that didn't happen.
The humor and Jamie's point of view are awesome. He describes his family with his personal comments and it balances really well the death-in-the-family situation with humor.
The scene with Jamie's mom, speaking to her dying father, is great and very emotional. The words she says, and how the author describes the scene hit the note and teach us what can we say in a time like this if this would be the first time in such a situation. Usually in books of loss, we pick up after the funeral and authors skip this part.
The parts I didn't like:
The concept is cool and I was excited to get into it but it lost me as the cat begins his "journey" with Jamie and retells all his experiences in the afterlife. Still, I kept going keeping in mind the author relies on humor.
The author qualifies this book as a middle grade (ages from 8-13) and the book has a middle-grader main character but he is not the main subject of the story. He is only a bystander who loses his voice (seems to act as a plot device and not from grief) and accompanies a cat (his grandfather) through vortexes back and forth in time, trying to understand what is wrong with his family…
None of these are ways to connect Jamie with his recently lost grandfather or with his family. The middle grader is subtracted from the story.
Is something left for his grandfather to do? Yes, but it's not about Jamie who is confused the whole time.
Why not a higher score?
It's not about dealing with Jamie's grandfather's death, growing up, or deepening his relationship with his family. We don't go to his school, or deal with friends or others. There is no grief on his part. Jamie only has a sort of relationship with his older sister, with whom he communicates with nods and expressions.
The book is well-written, and it is funny and will make readers who enjoy the themes search for more adult works from this author. It's just that I am not interested in the issues that belonged to the adults, but in the issues that are more relatable to the age of the kid.
Ignoring my expectations and the main character. This is a funny short story of sisters who lose their dad and need to straighten up their lives after failed marriages or wrong choices. The two mean sisters only care about money and one of them is about to be punished. This novel is more of a dark comedy for rom-com fans focused on the decease's daughters who are very caricatured characters. A mix of Roald Dahl's mean women with Cinderella's stepsisters. They only care for money and they are awful people focused on greed.
I can see it working with an older teenage female lead who would have connected and understood her mother and aunt's situations better.
There is another villain adding to these characters and that's the one Jamie is supposed to help stop.
I received this free copy and I am leaving this review voluntarily, and my opinions are honest and my own. (From Book Siren)
May 31, 2025
You know what? Perhaps we’re all just cats, trying to make sense of our nine lives, and how sometimes the people we love come back to us in the most unexpected forms. And maybe that’s enough.
Shirley Day’s Paws for Thought might be the best middle-grade book you didn’t know you needed. It’s the story of Jamie, a twelve-year-old who discovers that his grandfather has been reincarnated as a cat. Yup, you read that right: his actual grandfather, now in feline form, with all the stubbornness and unfinished business you’d expect from a grandparent who refuses to let a little thing like death get in the way of family affairs.
The plot is as delightfully odd as it sounds. Jamie and Theo the cat must team up to right old wrongs and protect the so-called “family fortune” from a cast of troublesome relatives aunts, and even the occasional dog. But, as with all the best stories, the treasure at the end isn’t gold or jewels — it’s the realization that the real wealth is the love and support of family and friends, even if one of them now has whiskers and a tendency to nap in sunbeams.
In short: Paws for Thought is a heartwarming adventure about second chances, the messiness of families, and the ways love lingers — even if it sometimes comes with claws.
Ps.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Shirley Day’s Paws for Thought might be the best middle-grade book you didn’t know you needed. It’s the story of Jamie, a twelve-year-old who discovers that his grandfather has been reincarnated as a cat. Yup, you read that right: his actual grandfather, now in feline form, with all the stubbornness and unfinished business you’d expect from a grandparent who refuses to let a little thing like death get in the way of family affairs.
The plot is as delightfully odd as it sounds. Jamie and Theo the cat must team up to right old wrongs and protect the so-called “family fortune” from a cast of troublesome relatives aunts, and even the occasional dog. But, as with all the best stories, the treasure at the end isn’t gold or jewels — it’s the realization that the real wealth is the love and support of family and friends, even if one of them now has whiskers and a tendency to nap in sunbeams.
In short: Paws for Thought is a heartwarming adventure about second chances, the messiness of families, and the ways love lingers — even if it sometimes comes with claws.
Ps.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
July 2, 2023
Princess Fuzzypants here: Losing your voice and your grandfather on the same day can be a real drag. But when your granddad returns in the form of a kitten who speaks to you, life is going to get far more interesting. It seems granddad did not do a very good job raising two of his three daughters. Scheming, entitled, cruel… it sometimes feels like I was reading about the wicked stepsisters in Cinderella. But the third daughter is very different as are the rest of her family. The grandfather has his eyes opened as he tried to make amends for the mistakes he made during his life. In spite of a gigantic effort on the part of boy and cat, it looks like it may all be for naught.
But things do have a way of turning out, even if it is not the way you planned. And karma often takes its time to bite back. It is a moving tale of love, loss and triumph. It seems in correcting the mistakes he made while he was a human, Theo has much to teach his family.
Five purrs and two paws up.
But things do have a way of turning out, even if it is not the way you planned. And karma often takes its time to bite back. It is a moving tale of love, loss and triumph. It seems in correcting the mistakes he made while he was a human, Theo has much to teach his family.
Five purrs and two paws up.
June 26, 2023
I enjoyed reading this and the part of the chapter mixed with humor. It was a fun, adventure, and lovely book I read for this month! My favorite character in the book is Jamie of course the main character of the book. I also liked the cat and the part of his family. So far the story keeps me intrigued and I like the flow of the story. Some of the parts of the book or the characters didn't really feel real to me. Cause I think it's a fiction book and also it was fantasy. The story keeps me guessing and my favorite chapter is where Jamie found a cat! They were some sad scenes and also mysterious scenes. I didn't like the whole book but I enjoyed reading it:)
May 7, 2023
I love this book. I wasn't sure how the cat would fit in at first. Now that I know how, I am not sure if I should write it out here as it would be quite a spoiler.
It deals with some very serious and thought-provoking subjects in a light-hearted and heart-warming way.
It deals with some very serious and thought-provoking subjects in a light-hearted and heart-warming way.
May 23, 2023
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.
I have not hate anyone as much as those aunts as of late.
Extremely well written book that managed to deal with the afterlife in a fascinating, unique way.
Great book 5 stars.
I have not hate anyone as much as those aunts as of late.
Extremely well written book that managed to deal with the afterlife in a fascinating, unique way.
Great book 5 stars.
August 6, 2023
What a lovely little mystery
I enjoyed the whole book this morning. The opening paragraph intrigued me and I followed along to the very last page. Ok, so this is actually a Middle Grade book, but all high quality tales interest me. Lovely!
I enjoyed the whole book this morning. The opening paragraph intrigued me and I followed along to the very last page. Ok, so this is actually a Middle Grade book, but all high quality tales interest me. Lovely!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews