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Unconditional: Stories of Women and the Animals They Love
Not yet published
Expected 3 Mar 26An intimate and moving collection of stories about women and their life-changing relationships with their animals told in vivid graphic novel style.
240 pages, Paperback
Expected publication March 3, 2026
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17 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 16, 2025
Unique, poignant, and beautifully illustrated, this graphic nonfiction gem captures the profound bond between women and their animal companions. Twenty such pairs are featured through story and art and I found my heart calming and breath easing as I read through the lovely pages. Highly recommended!
November 28, 2025
A surprisingly sentimental ARC read, I was tearing up in the first few pages. What a powerful thing to so eloquently and subtly take your stand while inviting such warm moments into your hands and your home.
October 28, 2025
I got an arc from Netgalley and Chronicle Books in an exchange for a review.
I don't quite think that this book was close to my tastes. I am a woman who likes my dog, but wouldn't describe myself as a feminine woman, and I've never connected with that divine feminine stuff.
I wish that the stories were longer because they never left much of an impact on me as they are. It goes by fairly quickly though, and some may find it cute. The art grew on me as I read it.
I think that a person who more closely aligns with its intended reader could find this book better than I do
I don't quite think that this book was close to my tastes. I am a woman who likes my dog, but wouldn't describe myself as a feminine woman, and I've never connected with that divine feminine stuff.
I wish that the stories were longer because they never left much of an impact on me as they are. It goes by fairly quickly though, and some may find it cute. The art grew on me as I read it.
I think that a person who more closely aligns with its intended reader could find this book better than I do
October 13, 2025
Thanks to NetGally and Chronicle Books for the ARC. I enjoyed all the pet stories and this book was truly a pleasure to read. Love the artwork.
January 5, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley and Chronicle Books for providing me with this eARC in exchange for honest review.
This was a really quick read. I really enjoyed reading about the relationships other people have with their pets, whether it’s a traditional dog or cat, or a temporary rehab animal. I teared up over a few of the stories and laughed at others. The illustrations are beautiful and complement each short story. Additionally, I appreciated the author for also including additional information about certain histories and current issues.
Overall, this is a lovely short book that any pet owner and/or animal lover would enjoy.
This was a really quick read. I really enjoyed reading about the relationships other people have with their pets, whether it’s a traditional dog or cat, or a temporary rehab animal. I teared up over a few of the stories and laughed at others. The illustrations are beautiful and complement each short story. Additionally, I appreciated the author for also including additional information about certain histories and current issues.
Overall, this is a lovely short book that any pet owner and/or animal lover would enjoy.
December 27, 2025
⭐ Animals | Women | Heartwarming Stories
Thank you, Chronicle Books, for allowing me this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Unconditional: Stories of Women and the Animals They Love features heartfelt tales about diverse women and their equally diverse pets. The stories celebrate the deep, emotional connections between humans and animals, from playful companions to sources of comfort and strength.
While the content is touching, the book is quite text-heavy. The repeated use of rectangular text boxes framing the illustrations makes it a bit difficult to read, especially with the small font size. It would have been more engaging if the text layout had more variety or visual flow.
The illustrations are fine and complement the stories, though I found myself most drawn to the ones featuring cats, maybe I’m just a bit biased!
Thank you, Chronicle Books, for allowing me this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Unconditional: Stories of Women and the Animals They Love features heartfelt tales about diverse women and their equally diverse pets. The stories celebrate the deep, emotional connections between humans and animals, from playful companions to sources of comfort and strength.
While the content is touching, the book is quite text-heavy. The repeated use of rectangular text boxes framing the illustrations makes it a bit difficult to read, especially with the small font size. It would have been more engaging if the text layout had more variety or visual flow.
The illustrations are fine and complement the stories, though I found myself most drawn to the ones featuring cats, maybe I’m just a bit biased!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Unconditional by Cat Willett
Ok. I have a pet bunny and it's one that I love dearly. Everyday I wish I could provide more to my bunny but with my busy schedule I can only spare a few moments with him. And every time I think about it, I realize that I want to work harder and make sure my bunny lives a better life.
And I stumble across this book and take a gander and decide to go for it. Mainly because I need to add more reviews to my belt. You know, get more experience and hone my skill. But I was pleasantly surprised that I would learn something that I didn't expect.
For context, the creator is Cat Willett. According to her website (https://www.catherinewillett.com/), she's a freelance illustrator who makes artworks and editorial pieces for brands, newspapers and institutions which is quite the resume. She has also made comics that are also popular focused on issues such as growing up, small acts of kidness and about the life of cows. Which I gotta say, I didn't know she did that but props to her. We love niche topics.
One of those topics we are talking about is Unconditional. This is a collection of comics that are autobiographical tales of pets and their owners all of which are female. And each of these stories which are chapters which are named after the pet, goes into details about the pet owner's met their pets, how each of them feels about the pet that they own, the creator's relationship with the pet owner and fun facts about the pet that details what the pet could be symbolically.
And each one genuinely feels like the pet is supporting the owner. Each one is through my eyes realistic about their relationship. For example, I am a bunny owner and there is only one chapter on a bunny. That is because Cat Willett knows that bunnies are the best pet and that only one chapter is needed as more would only make it unfair for other animals to get adopted. That being said, the chapter Pam + Finn stands out to me. In this chapter, they speak about Greek Mythology,Aphrodite, and how bunnies are seen as gifts of love and symbols of desire. Finn, the bunny, spends time with the owner Pam during a period of time in her routine as a time of consistent bonding and quality while she works. I can't say that I can relate as even though it would be cool to bring a bunny to work it would also cause problems. But the images showcase how some would actually pet a bunny and a item one could buy for bunnies to rest on.
Adding to that, I found something out during the chapter Clare + Boo, Clare has chosen to take care of a bat named Boo which is something she has had years of experience as this isn't the first time she's done this. I never knew there were bat rescues which lead me to learn more about bats. I knew there were fruit bats, but also was delighted to find out that a lot of bats don't drink blood nor that they are now a protected species and was relieved reading the story that the bat Boo recovered. I also found out NYC has a bat conservancy.
Overall, the point of the book is met. Not only does the book meet expectations, it excels. We get what we expect which are:
- Accurate depictions of pets and their antics
- The pet and pet owner histories
- Fun historical/mythological stories/tales related to the animal
all in a graphic memoir in multiple stories contained in this book.
And because it meets these expectations and then some to the point that most people will feel when reading these tales, I can't not give it a perfect score. What we see is what we get. We got what we saw and we are fed pretty well.
That being said, I have to give this artstyle a 0.5/2.5. I hate this style. I think of this artstyle as tracing. I am going to be honest, it feels as though the creator just took photos of people and their pets, put the image on photoshop and then traced all over it. I don't mind the paneling as nothing much is done with paneling technique to tell the story but for the artstyle to be better I would suggest using making the forms feel more 3d by using lines to wrap around key parts or at least suggest form instead of adding to them to tell the viewer that the entity you see is not just a blob. Furthermore, keeping in mind line thickness. Some lines make sense to be thick such as eyebrows but some pages have thick lines in parts that make it stand out in a bad way. Some strands of hair have shadow inside the hair for example, and while it does show depth it would be better to group strands of hair and through multiple groupings into one group a more cohesive hairstyle.
Overall score 3/5. Would be higher if the artstyle improves.
Ok. I have a pet bunny and it's one that I love dearly. Everyday I wish I could provide more to my bunny but with my busy schedule I can only spare a few moments with him. And every time I think about it, I realize that I want to work harder and make sure my bunny lives a better life.
And I stumble across this book and take a gander and decide to go for it. Mainly because I need to add more reviews to my belt. You know, get more experience and hone my skill. But I was pleasantly surprised that I would learn something that I didn't expect.
For context, the creator is Cat Willett. According to her website (https://www.catherinewillett.com/), she's a freelance illustrator who makes artworks and editorial pieces for brands, newspapers and institutions which is quite the resume. She has also made comics that are also popular focused on issues such as growing up, small acts of kidness and about the life of cows. Which I gotta say, I didn't know she did that but props to her. We love niche topics.
One of those topics we are talking about is Unconditional. This is a collection of comics that are autobiographical tales of pets and their owners all of which are female. And each of these stories which are chapters which are named after the pet, goes into details about the pet owner's met their pets, how each of them feels about the pet that they own, the creator's relationship with the pet owner and fun facts about the pet that details what the pet could be symbolically.
And each one genuinely feels like the pet is supporting the owner. Each one is through my eyes realistic about their relationship. For example, I am a bunny owner and there is only one chapter on a bunny. That is because Cat Willett knows that bunnies are the best pet and that only one chapter is needed as more would only make it unfair for other animals to get adopted. That being said, the chapter Pam + Finn stands out to me. In this chapter, they speak about Greek Mythology,Aphrodite, and how bunnies are seen as gifts of love and symbols of desire. Finn, the bunny, spends time with the owner Pam during a period of time in her routine as a time of consistent bonding and quality while she works. I can't say that I can relate as even though it would be cool to bring a bunny to work it would also cause problems. But the images showcase how some would actually pet a bunny and a item one could buy for bunnies to rest on.
Adding to that, I found something out during the chapter Clare + Boo, Clare has chosen to take care of a bat named Boo which is something she has had years of experience as this isn't the first time she's done this. I never knew there were bat rescues which lead me to learn more about bats. I knew there were fruit bats, but also was delighted to find out that a lot of bats don't drink blood nor that they are now a protected species and was relieved reading the story that the bat Boo recovered. I also found out NYC has a bat conservancy.
Overall, the point of the book is met. Not only does the book meet expectations, it excels. We get what we expect which are:
- Accurate depictions of pets and their antics
- The pet and pet owner histories
- Fun historical/mythological stories/tales related to the animal
all in a graphic memoir in multiple stories contained in this book.
And because it meets these expectations and then some to the point that most people will feel when reading these tales, I can't not give it a perfect score. What we see is what we get. We got what we saw and we are fed pretty well.
That being said, I have to give this artstyle a 0.5/2.5. I hate this style. I think of this artstyle as tracing. I am going to be honest, it feels as though the creator just took photos of people and their pets, put the image on photoshop and then traced all over it. I don't mind the paneling as nothing much is done with paneling technique to tell the story but for the artstyle to be better I would suggest using making the forms feel more 3d by using lines to wrap around key parts or at least suggest form instead of adding to them to tell the viewer that the entity you see is not just a blob. Furthermore, keeping in mind line thickness. Some lines make sense to be thick such as eyebrows but some pages have thick lines in parts that make it stand out in a bad way. Some strands of hair have shadow inside the hair for example, and while it does show depth it would be better to group strands of hair and through multiple groupings into one group a more cohesive hairstyle.
Overall score 3/5. Would be higher if the artstyle improves.
October 18, 2025
I am an animal lover, especially a cat lover. A week or so after I got this on NetGalley I unexpectedly lost my soul cat, Lucky, and I honestly did not think I’d be able to read this wholesome and heart warming graphic non-fiction book, ever. But as a single, unmarried cat lady I decided to read it now. I am glad I did. It is filled with stories of love and loss from women with all different kinds of pets. I especially loved the authors story of her beloved cat Edgar, Tera and Pooja the parrot, and Joan and Mama Rooster. This book made me smile and cry. Also, I am not the Jennifer Thompson mentioned in the acknowledgments lol.
I’d definitely buy this for myself or for a pet lover in my life, especially an independent female pet lover.
**Thanks to the author and publisher for the e-arc I received via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.**
I’d definitely buy this for myself or for a pet lover in my life, especially an independent female pet lover.
**Thanks to the author and publisher for the e-arc I received via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.**
October 9, 2025
4 stars
I am insanely nuts about dogs, my own and yours. Crazy about them. Maybe a little obsessive (but my husband totally agrees with me which is why I married him, I think.). I knew this would be a book for me (I read almost no graphic novels,) and it was. I really related to some of these women and their love for their animal companions (and, yes, there was one where I thought, "wow, I'm not so bad!). The illustrations are gorgeous and I even teared up at a lovely story of a woman and a rooster. The author/illustrator is lucky to have such interesting people in her life, too!
Recommend if you like this sort of thing. You know who you are.
I am insanely nuts about dogs, my own and yours. Crazy about them. Maybe a little obsessive (but my husband totally agrees with me which is why I married him, I think.). I knew this would be a book for me (I read almost no graphic novels,) and it was. I really related to some of these women and their love for their animal companions (and, yes, there was one where I thought, "wow, I'm not so bad!). The illustrations are gorgeous and I even teared up at a lovely story of a woman and a rooster. The author/illustrator is lucky to have such interesting people in her life, too!
Recommend if you like this sort of thing. You know who you are.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I love animals so much, and I think it's a blessing to love and be loved by them.
I felt this book captured those feelings of unconditional love well. All of the stories were so heartwarming, and some of the stories had me close to tears. I really enjoyed reading about the various pets and connections the people had with them. I also liked that the author included information and history about the animals. They were interesting, and I learned something new.
Overall, it was an enjoyable read, and I think animal lovers will enjoy it.
Thank you to NetGalley and Chronicle Books for the ARC.
I felt this book captured those feelings of unconditional love well. All of the stories were so heartwarming, and some of the stories had me close to tears. I really enjoyed reading about the various pets and connections the people had with them. I also liked that the author included information and history about the animals. They were interesting, and I learned something new.
Overall, it was an enjoyable read, and I think animal lovers will enjoy it.
Thank you to NetGalley and Chronicle Books for the ARC.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
My soul cat died 10 months ago and ever since she died I have been trying to find books to help me process my grief. This book perfectly captures the beautiful bond between women and their animal companions (cats, dogs, horses, bunnies). I cried throughout the entire book so overcome with emotion. I will be buying the book when it is released! Highly recommend for all animal lovers.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Chronicle Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Chronicle Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
October 29, 2025
This was lighter than I anticipated - the stories were very short and quirky sweet. It invokes the spirit of community and the feeling of sonder. I wish the writing had a little more depth, it came off slightly patchy for me.
Thank you to Chronicle Books and NetGalley for my graphic novel arc!
Thank you to Chronicle Books and NetGalley for my graphic novel arc!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews