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Kitten
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A magnetic, stirring debut novel about an adrift young woman whose growing fascination with her boyfriend’s cat ushers her into the possibilities of her own life—but not without first threatening to unravel it.
Katie is far from home and fresh out of college, desperate to skirt adulthood’s demands, and all too willing to let her wealthy boyfriend James make decisions for them both. It doesn’t help that she’s no longer speaking to her mother. Or that her roommate has abruptly moved out of their New York City apartment. But when James takes Katie on vacation to his family’s seaside house, he brings Silver, his childhood cat, and Katie discovers a sudden, strange, and giddy sense of connection.
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 lie around all day, misbehave spectacularly, be cute, gross, and still get fed, seems to have the life Katie increasingly longs for. Soon enough, they’re inseparable, and something inside Katie begins to crack open, or maybe just…crack.
Because if Katie has learned anything from her estranged mother, it’s that devotion comes at a price. As Katie’s affection for Silver deepens, all of her other relationships begin to falter. Soon, Katie must confront what it is she desires from her life, and what she might have to risk to get it.
Both darkly playful and unexpectedly heartfelt, this debut from a major new voice in fiction is a timeless reckoning with the uncertainty of becoming a person in a world that is as disorienting as it is full of hope and promise.
Katie is far from home and fresh out of college, desperate to skirt adulthood’s demands, and all too willing to let her wealthy boyfriend James make decisions for them both. It doesn’t help that she’s no longer speaking to her mother. Or that her roommate has abruptly moved out of their New York City apartment. But when James takes Katie on vacation to his family’s seaside house, he brings Silver, his childhood cat, and Katie discovers a sudden, strange, and giddy sense of connection.
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 lie around all day, misbehave spectacularly, be cute, gross, and still get fed, seems to have the life Katie increasingly longs for. Soon enough, they’re inseparable, and something inside Katie begins to crack open, or maybe just…crack.
Because if Katie has learned anything from her estranged mother, it’s that devotion comes at a price. As Katie’s affection for Silver deepens, all of her other relationships begin to falter. Soon, Katie must confront what it is she desires from her life, and what she might have to risk to get it.
Both darkly playful and unexpectedly heartfelt, this debut from a major new voice in fiction is a timeless reckoning with the uncertainty of becoming a person in a world that is as disorienting as it is full of hope and promise.
304 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication August 4, 2026
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July 28, 2026Stacey Yu's debut novel is all about becoming: yourself, an adult, unstuck. Katie is in her early 20s and really hasn't made many of her own decisions in life, except leaving her small town for a New York City college. And dating her boyfriend. And basically not really making much of a plan for herself after graduating. But when she spends 2 weeks at her boyfriend's family's beach house with him and his childhood cat, Silver, she becomes smitten with the feline and wonders: why can't I just live my life like a pet? Why do they get to have all of the fun with no responsibilities?
This is an insightful, and at times painful, coming-of-age that has a lot more going on under the surface than it might seem. Through Katie's story, Yu also explores complex mother/daughter relationship, the immigrant experience, and how NOT making a choice is making a choice which can shape your entire future, for better or worse.
The right reader of this will find a lot to relate to in Katie's malaise, though her actions can be frustrating and confusing, she seems just as frustrated and confused with herself that all you can do is go along for the ride. It's a surprisingly quiet, contemplative novel that reminds us that we never really stop discovering ourselves, which can be an uncomfortable process but one that requires action and intention, not listlessness and escape.
This is an insightful, and at times painful, coming-of-age that has a lot more going on under the surface than it might seem. Through Katie's story, Yu also explores complex mother/daughter relationship, the immigrant experience, and how NOT making a choice is making a choice which can shape your entire future, for better or worse.
The right reader of this will find a lot to relate to in Katie's malaise, though her actions can be frustrating and confusing, she seems just as frustrated and confused with herself that all you can do is go along for the ride. It's a surprisingly quiet, contemplative novel that reminds us that we never really stop discovering ourselves, which can be an uncomfortable process but one that requires action and intention, not listlessness and escape.
May 9, 2026
nobody is doing it like her !!! a star !!!!
Want to Read
January 24, 2026This cover means everything to me I'm so serious
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Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to NetGalley, Random House, and Stacey Yu for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!♡
College graduate Katie is estranged from her mother, far from her home, avoiding the demands of adulthood, and is a bit lost in life. Her boyfriend, James, is her primary provider, financially and emotionally. When James takes Katie to see his family’s vacation home, his parent’s cat, Silver, joins them.
Katie finds something deeper than friendship and solace in Silver, and grows overly attached to the kitten. She begins seeing herself in Silver, almost wishing to take her place. No consequences for her actions, no responsibilities, no estranged mothers. When it’s time for Silver to be returned to James’ parents, Katie can’t fathom this. She goes to desperate lengths to keep the relationship she now values above all others.
This book has such intense, deeper meanings into relationships (romantic, platonic, parental), and transitioning into adulthood. While Silver and Katie’s increasingly odd behavior was giving the perfect weird girl litfic, Silver was representing a deeper metaphor in the book. Silver was showing Katie the laid back life that she wished she could live in. Free from her responsibilities and receiving love with no effort.
Overall I loved the story and the deeper meanings behind it all. Character growth was had and relationships reconciled. Katie’s emotions are portrayed so well in this story. My complaint is how a few scenes started feeling repetitive. For being a shorter book, I think a few locations and settings could’ve been moved around and played with more.
Go into this book knowing Katie is hard to understand, but not hard to relate to. This book is perfect for fans of My Year of Rest and Relaxation and The Bell Jar. This isn’t the kind of book you forget about!
Kitten by Stacey Yu, her debut novel, will be available on 8/4/26!
College graduate Katie is estranged from her mother, far from her home, avoiding the demands of adulthood, and is a bit lost in life. Her boyfriend, James, is her primary provider, financially and emotionally. When James takes Katie to see his family’s vacation home, his parent’s cat, Silver, joins them.
Katie finds something deeper than friendship and solace in Silver, and grows overly attached to the kitten. She begins seeing herself in Silver, almost wishing to take her place. No consequences for her actions, no responsibilities, no estranged mothers. When it’s time for Silver to be returned to James’ parents, Katie can’t fathom this. She goes to desperate lengths to keep the relationship she now values above all others.
This book has such intense, deeper meanings into relationships (romantic, platonic, parental), and transitioning into adulthood. While Silver and Katie’s increasingly odd behavior was giving the perfect weird girl litfic, Silver was representing a deeper metaphor in the book. Silver was showing Katie the laid back life that she wished she could live in. Free from her responsibilities and receiving love with no effort.
Overall I loved the story and the deeper meanings behind it all. Character growth was had and relationships reconciled. Katie’s emotions are portrayed so well in this story. My complaint is how a few scenes started feeling repetitive. For being a shorter book, I think a few locations and settings could’ve been moved around and played with more.
Go into this book knowing Katie is hard to understand, but not hard to relate to. This book is perfect for fans of My Year of Rest and Relaxation and The Bell Jar. This isn’t the kind of book you forget about!
Kitten by Stacey Yu, her debut novel, will be available on 8/4/26!
July 22, 2026
Some books will resonate deeply at specific times in your life, and I would definitely recommend Kitten to people in their early twenties, when you leave the education bubble and are spat out into the working world. Katie is a character living in the grey, stuck in the liminal space between childhood and adulthood. She’s very passive, and in lieu of making any adult decisions, she instead channels her energy into her obsession with her boyfriend’s cat.
What stood out most was the novel’s honesty; there is an undeniable relatability in that paralysing uncertainty of your twenties, when there’s so many decisions to make that you decide you don’t want to make any at all (although for many we don’t get a choice in the matter and have to just grow up, get out there and make it work, but Katie’s indecision is possible due to financial support from her older boyfriend).
Katie’s lack of agency and childish behaviour is very frustrating to read, however she does make for an interesting character study of someone acting as a bystander in their own life. I particularly enjoyed the exploration of the mother–daughter relationship and how growing older can create distance in our familial relationships. These sections work well to add emotional depth and context to Katie’s arrested development, and were some of the most moving in the novel.
Thank you to Sceptre / Stacey for the arc!!
What stood out most was the novel’s honesty; there is an undeniable relatability in that paralysing uncertainty of your twenties, when there’s so many decisions to make that you decide you don’t want to make any at all (although for many we don’t get a choice in the matter and have to just grow up, get out there and make it work, but Katie’s indecision is possible due to financial support from her older boyfriend).
Katie’s lack of agency and childish behaviour is very frustrating to read, however she does make for an interesting character study of someone acting as a bystander in their own life. I particularly enjoyed the exploration of the mother–daughter relationship and how growing older can create distance in our familial relationships. These sections work well to add emotional depth and context to Katie’s arrested development, and were some of the most moving in the novel.
Thank you to Sceptre / Stacey for the arc!!
March 7, 2026
Yes, there’s a very important character in this book named Silver, who is a cat. Silver can also swim in the ocean with the main character Katie, who has just graduated from college, has no money, and a tumultuous relationship with her mother, who is indeed a narcissist. Katie is spoiled by her wealthy boyfriend, and definitely is unsure of her attachment to him.
I can relate to growing up in a narcissistic Asian household. I currently deal with it daily. 🙋🏻♀️
“My mother wasn’t human, she was my mother.”
However there are many layers to Kitten, Stacey Yu’s debut novel. It’s a “coming of age”, new college graduate, that space between ending a childhood, and getting old. Who are we, who should we become?
“You forget how small everything is when you’re a kid,” he said. “The desks, their chairs. We used to think that was normal sized.”
If you’re looking for a quirky book revolving a cat, this isn’t for you, as it’s a fairly emotional read. We’ve all been Katie before, and I felt some of her experiences at the age of 22.
Yu’s writing is exquisite and can’t wait to see what she writes next.
I can relate to growing up in a narcissistic Asian household. I currently deal with it daily. 🙋🏻♀️
“My mother wasn’t human, she was my mother.”
However there are many layers to Kitten, Stacey Yu’s debut novel. It’s a “coming of age”, new college graduate, that space between ending a childhood, and getting old. Who are we, who should we become?
“You forget how small everything is when you’re a kid,” he said. “The desks, their chairs. We used to think that was normal sized.”
If you’re looking for a quirky book revolving a cat, this isn’t for you, as it’s a fairly emotional read. We’ve all been Katie before, and I felt some of her experiences at the age of 22.
Yu’s writing is exquisite and can’t wait to see what she writes next.
July 27, 2026
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
💌 Thank you to NetGalley, Random House, and Stacey Yu for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!
🐈⬛ This book was definitely weird... but weird in a good way.
We follow Katie, a recent college graduate who is estranged from her mother and keeps putting off the next chapter of adulthood. As she struggles with family trauma and figuring out where she belongs, she slowly becomes fixated on Silver, the cat she and her boyfriend are looking after for his parents.
I found it really interesting how Katie started seeing herself in Silver. She longed for the freedom of being a cat no responsibilities, no family drama, no pressure... just existing. It was such a unique way to explore how deeply her relationship with her mother was affecting every part of her life.
As Katie begins to spiral, things definitely get a little strange 😅, but beneath all the weirdness is a thoughtful story about relationships (familial, platonic, and romantic) and the messy transition into adulthood.
✨ Overall, I enjoyed this one. It was emotional, unsettling at times, and a unique look at family dynamics, identity, and what it means to find your place when life doesn't go the way you expected.
💌 Thank you to NetGalley, Random House, and Stacey Yu for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!
🐈⬛ This book was definitely weird... but weird in a good way.
We follow Katie, a recent college graduate who is estranged from her mother and keeps putting off the next chapter of adulthood. As she struggles with family trauma and figuring out where she belongs, she slowly becomes fixated on Silver, the cat she and her boyfriend are looking after for his parents.
I found it really interesting how Katie started seeing herself in Silver. She longed for the freedom of being a cat no responsibilities, no family drama, no pressure... just existing. It was such a unique way to explore how deeply her relationship with her mother was affecting every part of her life.
As Katie begins to spiral, things definitely get a little strange 😅, but beneath all the weirdness is a thoughtful story about relationships (familial, platonic, and romantic) and the messy transition into adulthood.
✨ Overall, I enjoyed this one. It was emotional, unsettling at times, and a unique look at family dynamics, identity, and what it means to find your place when life doesn't go the way you expected.
March 3, 2026
This book feels like if The Bell Jar’s Esther suddenly became fixated on a cat, and I mean that in the most positive way.
This is a weird girl book for weird girls. You gotta go into it knowing the main character is just a little bit on the quirky side. Katie has just graduated from college, is living in NYC, and has absolutely no dreams or aspirations. She is completely adrift, running out of money (she had a work-study job which is officially done), stuck in a tenuous living situation with a roommate who doesn’t seem to like her, and is currently estranged from her mother. Add in a somewhat too-good-to-be -true super rich boyfriend, and you’ve got the start of something interesting conflicts.
Stacey Yu uses Katie to explore the listlessness one feels when they are estranged, or otherwise disconnected, from a mother figure. There’s some great commentary on the challenges children of immigrants face, but also a lot of observations of the general ennui that hits in your mid twenties.
And then there’s the cat - Katie became a enamored with her boyfriend’s parents’ cat Silver. Silver is free from all the restraints of the human world, and serves as a sort of symbol of effortless contentment to Katie. It’s weird, and it’s done well.
I really enjoyed Kitten and I hope it finds the right weird girl audience.
This is a weird girl book for weird girls. You gotta go into it knowing the main character is just a little bit on the quirky side. Katie has just graduated from college, is living in NYC, and has absolutely no dreams or aspirations. She is completely adrift, running out of money (she had a work-study job which is officially done), stuck in a tenuous living situation with a roommate who doesn’t seem to like her, and is currently estranged from her mother. Add in a somewhat too-good-to-be -true super rich boyfriend, and you’ve got the start of something interesting conflicts.
Stacey Yu uses Katie to explore the listlessness one feels when they are estranged, or otherwise disconnected, from a mother figure. There’s some great commentary on the challenges children of immigrants face, but also a lot of observations of the general ennui that hits in your mid twenties.
And then there’s the cat - Katie became a enamored with her boyfriend’s parents’ cat Silver. Silver is free from all the restraints of the human world, and serves as a sort of symbol of effortless contentment to Katie. It’s weird, and it’s done well.
I really enjoyed Kitten and I hope it finds the right weird girl audience.
March 4, 2026
the second i read “meow,” i meowed” i should’ve known this was going to be doozy.
my main gripe is with the writing. now, i don’t want the story to dazzle with lush prose, most of the weird lit fic that i’ve read before don’t, but the writing in them still manages to be good, fantastic even. the problem with “kitten” is that a lot of is tends to be telling with not enough showing. which makes the story feel bland and stale and frankly unimaginative (“mr hartley looked like most men.”/ “he had eyes like holes that stood close”). there were some gems sprinkled in there (“my mother’s only way of reconnecting was reanimating the child i no longer was”) but it fails at making the book any better because a lot of it’s already written badly.
scenes were rinsed and repeated so often that i found myself skimming over them like the beach scenes swimming with silver (swear there were like five of those). the relationship dynamics between katie and her mother could also have been developed better - for the spectre of it to haunt the novel from the start only for it to falter when later revealed. so much of it’s potential felt wasted.
but hey at least it was a quick, fucking read lmao.
thanking netgalley & publishers for the ARC.
my main gripe is with the writing. now, i don’t want the story to dazzle with lush prose, most of the weird lit fic that i’ve read before don’t, but the writing in them still manages to be good, fantastic even. the problem with “kitten” is that a lot of is tends to be telling with not enough showing. which makes the story feel bland and stale and frankly unimaginative (“mr hartley looked like most men.”/ “he had eyes like holes that stood close”). there were some gems sprinkled in there (“my mother’s only way of reconnecting was reanimating the child i no longer was”) but it fails at making the book any better because a lot of it’s already written badly.
scenes were rinsed and repeated so often that i found myself skimming over them like the beach scenes swimming with silver (swear there were like five of those). the relationship dynamics between katie and her mother could also have been developed better - for the spectre of it to haunt the novel from the start only for it to falter when later revealed. so much of it’s potential felt wasted.
but hey at least it was a quick, fucking read lmao.
thanking netgalley & publishers for the ARC.
Want to Read
January 24, 2026This may be the most important read of my life
July 15, 2026
4⭐️ - This book was weird… but like, weird in a good way?
I went into Kitten expecting something more quirky and humorous, like chaotic weird-girl lit fic with a slightly unhinged main character. And while there’s definitely SOME of that energy, this ended up being much deeper, sadder and way more emotional than I expected.
Katie has just graduated college, is living in NYC, has basically no money, no real plans and absolutely no idea what she wants from life. She’s stuck in that awful in-between stage where childhood is over but actual adulthood feels impossible. Katie is losing her apartment, she has a strained relationship with her mother and she’s being financially spoiled by her very rich boyfriend while also questioning how much she even wants him. It felt painfully relatable because I think most of us have been some version of Katie at some point, just drifting and trying to figure out where we belong.
The book explores that emptiness that comes with feeling disconnected from your mother, especially when the relationship is complicated and messy. There’s also some really thoughtful commentary around being the child of immigrants, expectations and the strange loneliness of your early twenties when everyone seems to be moving forward except you.
And then… there’s Silver. The cat. A genuinely important character in this book. Katie becomes obsessed with her boyfriend’s parents’ cat. Silver feels like this symbol of freedom and contentment, untouched by all the stress and expectations of being human. Also yes, the cat swims in the ocean. Just go with it.
I really loved being inside Katie’s head, all her frustrations, confusion and the constant questioning of herself. She was a hot mess but she made me stop and think about my own early twenties. The writing was beautiful and thoughtful and even when the book got kinda strange, it felt purposeful.
Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Australia & New Zealand for the ARC.
I went into Kitten expecting something more quirky and humorous, like chaotic weird-girl lit fic with a slightly unhinged main character. And while there’s definitely SOME of that energy, this ended up being much deeper, sadder and way more emotional than I expected.
Katie has just graduated college, is living in NYC, has basically no money, no real plans and absolutely no idea what she wants from life. She’s stuck in that awful in-between stage where childhood is over but actual adulthood feels impossible. Katie is losing her apartment, she has a strained relationship with her mother and she’s being financially spoiled by her very rich boyfriend while also questioning how much she even wants him. It felt painfully relatable because I think most of us have been some version of Katie at some point, just drifting and trying to figure out where we belong.
The book explores that emptiness that comes with feeling disconnected from your mother, especially when the relationship is complicated and messy. There’s also some really thoughtful commentary around being the child of immigrants, expectations and the strange loneliness of your early twenties when everyone seems to be moving forward except you.
And then… there’s Silver. The cat. A genuinely important character in this book. Katie becomes obsessed with her boyfriend’s parents’ cat. Silver feels like this symbol of freedom and contentment, untouched by all the stress and expectations of being human. Also yes, the cat swims in the ocean. Just go with it.
I really loved being inside Katie’s head, all her frustrations, confusion and the constant questioning of herself. She was a hot mess but she made me stop and think about my own early twenties. The writing was beautiful and thoughtful and even when the book got kinda strange, it felt purposeful.
Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Australia & New Zealand for the ARC.
July 26, 2026
the era of the anti-coming-of-age is upon us and god is it delicious!
February 25, 2026
I’ve spent the last 3 hours since I finished this book trying to find the words to best illustrate my feelings, and all I’ve managed to muster is ‘wow.’
I’ve seen 3 cats since I started reading this book, and every single one of them made me think of Katie & silver. There is power in that.
A truly commendable debut
I’ve seen 3 cats since I started reading this book, and every single one of them made me think of Katie & silver. There is power in that.
A truly commendable debut
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
July 1, 2026Being 22 really is the worst.
Read
July 31, 2026i need 2 think on this. ty to the publisher for the gifted arc 🫶🏻
Read
May 31, 2026i loved this so much!!
March 18, 2026
4.5
deeply enjoyed this book.
sooo many themes: complicated mother-daughter relationship (complicated), pet-person relationship (something special), older man relationship (complicated as well), relationship with yourself (most complicated!)
every relationship was a different flavor of complicated.
i really liked how we went through the thoughts in the main character’s head, particularly the frustrations & confusions of a young girl in her 20s with a complicated childhood
deeply enjoyed this book.
sooo many themes: complicated mother-daughter relationship (complicated), pet-person relationship (something special), older man relationship (complicated as well), relationship with yourself (most complicated!)
every relationship was a different flavor of complicated.
i really liked how we went through the thoughts in the main character’s head, particularly the frustrations & confusions of a young girl in her 20s with a complicated childhood
July 31, 2026
‘Kitten’ managed to stir up a lot of weird emotions in me. Honestly, this is kinda how I expected to feel when I read The Bell Jar. Like I just went through something emotionally strenuous. I can see myself calling this book my fig tree of arrested development when I feel a little obnoxious.
This book is full of uncomfortable realities like that, thoughts I’d rather not think of.
I kept a running list of them in my phone as I read:
Loneliness.
Lacking something everyone else seems to have.
The mortifying ordeal of being witnessed by someone more well-adjusted than you.
The mortifying ordeal of realizing that someone you think is perfectly adjusted is still merely human.
The guilt in growing up.
Becoming more and more your mother’s child as you grow.
Being a glutton for punishment can be selfish.
Obsession as distraction.
Realizing your life really is in your own hands.
Longing to be cared for. Or just be someone’s cat.
I liked the stoic writing, and how there would be a line that randomly jumped out at times for its emotion. I liked how complicated the characters were. And how, for all their flaws (especially Katie’s) I couldn’t hate them. Even the boyfriend felt like a full fledged human being, which I admit I don’t really go into these kinds of stories expecting. There was no one action I could point to and say ‘this is where it went off track, this is where it all went wrong’ which I know plays out more like real life in my experience. I liked the slow and quiet unraveling from someone who just doesn’t wanna talk about it. Or face it— until she has to.
I don’t know what else I want to say. I loved this one.
I do wish there hadn’t been so much talk of peeing on yourself, but the book IS called Kitten I guess.
This book is full of uncomfortable realities like that, thoughts I’d rather not think of.
I kept a running list of them in my phone as I read:
Loneliness.
Lacking something everyone else seems to have.
The mortifying ordeal of being witnessed by someone more well-adjusted than you.
The mortifying ordeal of realizing that someone you think is perfectly adjusted is still merely human.
The guilt in growing up.
Becoming more and more your mother’s child as you grow.
Being a glutton for punishment can be selfish.
Obsession as distraction.
Realizing your life really is in your own hands.
Longing to be cared for. Or just be someone’s cat.
I liked the stoic writing, and how there would be a line that randomly jumped out at times for its emotion. I liked how complicated the characters were. And how, for all their flaws (especially Katie’s) I couldn’t hate them. Even the boyfriend felt like a full fledged human being, which I admit I don’t really go into these kinds of stories expecting. There was no one action I could point to and say ‘this is where it went off track, this is where it all went wrong’ which I know plays out more like real life in my experience. I liked the slow and quiet unraveling from someone who just doesn’t wanna talk about it. Or face it— until she has to.
I don’t know what else I want to say. I loved this one.
I do wish there hadn’t been so much talk of peeing on yourself, but the book IS called Kitten I guess.
June 21, 2026
maybe a 3.5? it started off strong but i found the second half quite slow and not as interesting
July 25, 2026
4.5 stars
an awesome debut novel. this was easily my most anticipated book of 2026 and it met my (very high) expectations. i loved how weird this would get but also how real katie’s emotions felt. the relationship with her and her mom was so well written and really resonated with me. super excited for everyone to read this so i can discuss with all of my friends. probably my favorite new release of the year!!!!
thank you to random house for the advance copy!
an awesome debut novel. this was easily my most anticipated book of 2026 and it met my (very high) expectations. i loved how weird this would get but also how real katie’s emotions felt. the relationship with her and her mom was so well written and really resonated with me. super excited for everyone to read this so i can discuss with all of my friends. probably my favorite new release of the year!!!!
thank you to random house for the advance copy!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
eARC provided by Netgalley in exhange for an honest review.
Kitten is a very solid debut by Stacey Yu. I'm not familiar with her work on Tiktok, and only requested this arc after my friends talked about it. I was initially skeptical of it, not only because of the current state of Booktok, but because I have not had a good relationship with contemporary litfic as of late. So I'm very pleased to report that I found this very charming and enjoyable overrall.
Katie is a realistic and compelling character, and her POV is easy to relate to. Her growing obsession with her boyfriend's cat, Silver, is the driving force of the book, and by far my favorite part of it. The main character stood out to me in particular because she seems to steer away from the obvious clichés: she's a mentally disturbed woman in her young twenties, financially dependent on her white boyfriend, of course, but where other novels exaggerate and stretch beyond the realm of belief, Yu keeps us steady in a confined narrative structure and timeline, one that works well to develop the relationships between the characters.
Yu talks of a complex mother-daughter relationship with grace and compassion. I have to admit that, unfortunately, this part of the novel wasn't the most interesting to me, especially as we only get to know the mother late into the book. I found myself wanting to read more about other characters, like Isabelle and Lou. But I can still appreciate the dynamic that's established here, the mother as an all-encompassing figure, affecting Katie's life even as she tries to steer her own path: "It's hard to do anything when you know your mother's mad at you."
Yu's style is succint and clean. I did find the ending heavy handed, as the author basically dumps all the themes of the book at once, using Katie's growing independence as a microphone to make sure the readers get the point. Which, yes, we do. On top of that, I had one or two qualms. One, in chapter ten, Yu describes Katie putting her clothes on, only to later in the same scene describe her without a shirt on. Small continuity error. Two, James often uses phrases that read to me like british slang, which is confusing considering that the book is set in New York. I even looked it up, to check if Yu is English and just got confused with the dialogue.
As a cat lover, this book seemed both sweet and terrifying. The end can be a bit heavy, but it is to be expected. Yu handles all the topics in her debut carefully, creating a smart, well rounded story that can surely impact a reader.
Kitten is a very solid debut by Stacey Yu. I'm not familiar with her work on Tiktok, and only requested this arc after my friends talked about it. I was initially skeptical of it, not only because of the current state of Booktok, but because I have not had a good relationship with contemporary litfic as of late. So I'm very pleased to report that I found this very charming and enjoyable overrall.
Katie is a realistic and compelling character, and her POV is easy to relate to. Her growing obsession with her boyfriend's cat, Silver, is the driving force of the book, and by far my favorite part of it. The main character stood out to me in particular because she seems to steer away from the obvious clichés: she's a mentally disturbed woman in her young twenties, financially dependent on her white boyfriend, of course, but where other novels exaggerate and stretch beyond the realm of belief, Yu keeps us steady in a confined narrative structure and timeline, one that works well to develop the relationships between the characters.
Yu talks of a complex mother-daughter relationship with grace and compassion. I have to admit that, unfortunately, this part of the novel wasn't the most interesting to me, especially as we only get to know the mother late into the book. I found myself wanting to read more about other characters, like Isabelle and Lou. But I can still appreciate the dynamic that's established here, the mother as an all-encompassing figure, affecting Katie's life even as she tries to steer her own path: "It's hard to do anything when you know your mother's mad at you."
Yu's style is succint and clean. I did find the ending heavy handed, as the author basically dumps all the themes of the book at once, using Katie's growing independence as a microphone to make sure the readers get the point. Which, yes, we do. On top of that, I had one or two qualms. One, in chapter ten, Yu describes Katie putting her clothes on, only to later in the same scene describe her without a shirt on. Small continuity error. Two, James often uses phrases that read to me like british slang, which is confusing considering that the book is set in New York. I even looked it up, to check if Yu is English and just got confused with the dialogue.
As a cat lover, this book seemed both sweet and terrifying. The end can be a bit heavy, but it is to be expected. Yu handles all the topics in her debut carefully, creating a smart, well rounded story that can surely impact a reader.
March 18, 2026
katie is losing her apartment, her mother, the job she’s had since freshmen year and she’s not coping with life as a twenty-something year old. when she meets her boyfriends cat, silver, she’s comforted that the cat doesn’t care about her finances or that she hasn’t spoken to her mother in a year. katie longs for silver’s life, to misbehave, be cheeky and still get fed. when their attachment grows, her life unravels, her relationships are strained and she’s forced to question what she really wants from life.
a depiction of a completely normal relationship between a girl and her girl cat!
honestly this wasn’t what i thought it would be at all, but in the best way. i went into ‘kitten’ expecting a kind of humorous, quirky ‘weird girl lit-fic’ tone, but it’s more of a gentle and quite profound portrait of a young woman trying to make sense of her life and where she belongs in it.
i could’ve ran out of tabs marking the beautiful passages on mother/daughter relationships, early adulthood, trying to connect with yourself and where/who you’re from. there was a couple of times i found myself really choked up, or just staring off somewhere trying to process what i’d read and the odd sense of recognition it stirred.
i feel in a weird way this actually helped me understand some of my own unresolved feelings towards people in my life. it really did a number on me. stacey yu do you offer talking therapy?
this is much less a fun, silly cat book and more an emotional and reflective character study. it really is fantastic and might be my favourite read of 2026 so far. also if i could swim in the ocean with a cat that would change everything bro.
thank you so much to the lovely stacey yu and hodder books for the early copy of ‘kitten’ 🥛 you can pick her up on july 30 2026!
a depiction of a completely normal relationship between a girl and her girl cat!
honestly this wasn’t what i thought it would be at all, but in the best way. i went into ‘kitten’ expecting a kind of humorous, quirky ‘weird girl lit-fic’ tone, but it’s more of a gentle and quite profound portrait of a young woman trying to make sense of her life and where she belongs in it.
i could’ve ran out of tabs marking the beautiful passages on mother/daughter relationships, early adulthood, trying to connect with yourself and where/who you’re from. there was a couple of times i found myself really choked up, or just staring off somewhere trying to process what i’d read and the odd sense of recognition it stirred.
i feel in a weird way this actually helped me understand some of my own unresolved feelings towards people in my life. it really did a number on me. stacey yu do you offer talking therapy?
this is much less a fun, silly cat book and more an emotional and reflective character study. it really is fantastic and might be my favourite read of 2026 so far. also if i could swim in the ocean with a cat that would change everything bro.
thank you so much to the lovely stacey yu and hodder books for the early copy of ‘kitten’ 🥛 you can pick her up on july 30 2026!
June 4, 2026
Life is hard enough without spending 300 pages trapped inside Katie’s exhausting self-absorption. At the beginning of Kitten, curiosity and empathy keep you turning the pages. You assume there must be a reason Katie is so insufferable, that some revelation regarding her upbringing or moment of self-awareness will eventually make her behavior meaningful. Instead, her fixation on her boyfriend’s cat, Silver, and her relentless inertia become increasingly tedious. Katie drifts from one poor decision to the next, wallowing in her own dysfunction while expecting the reader to find profound significance in every miserable choice. Ironically cliche, the only thing she realizes is that by not choosing , she is still making choices.
Her existence becomes a test of endurance for the reader. The novel occasionally gestures toward deeper themes, but they’re buried beneath Katie’s endless dissociative demeanor and refusal to grow. By the final pages, any curiosity about why she is the way she is has long since evaporated. You simply stop caring. The strongest emotion the book inspires isn’t sympathy or insight. It is relief that your time with Katie is finally over, along with the sincere hope that James manages to escape as well.
Her existence becomes a test of endurance for the reader. The novel occasionally gestures toward deeper themes, but they’re buried beneath Katie’s endless dissociative demeanor and refusal to grow. By the final pages, any curiosity about why she is the way she is has long since evaporated. You simply stop caring. The strongest emotion the book inspires isn’t sympathy or insight. It is relief that your time with Katie is finally over, along with the sincere hope that James manages to escape as well.
June 28, 2026
”Silver didn't have any potential. Maybe that was why we got along so well.”
Kitten uses a more unusual concept (woman falling in love with her boyfriend’s cat) to explore some very relatable feelings; mother trouble, tense friendships, handling relationships etc etc.
Katie doesn’t really feel like she belongs anywhere, and is self-destructive for the predictability of people being disappointed in her. It’s only when she takes things too far that she finally starts to figure out what she wants & how to get it.
Really enjoyed this, it has some lovely moments and a hopeful conclusion without making everything too easy or neat.
Kitten uses a more unusual concept (woman falling in love with her boyfriend’s cat) to explore some very relatable feelings; mother trouble, tense friendships, handling relationships etc etc.
Katie doesn’t really feel like she belongs anywhere, and is self-destructive for the predictability of people being disappointed in her. It’s only when she takes things too far that she finally starts to figure out what she wants & how to get it.
Really enjoyed this, it has some lovely moments and a hopeful conclusion without making everything too easy or neat.
June 20, 2026
i too have mother issues
March 15, 2026
*eARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
1/5 stars.
Unfortunately this book did not leave a lasting impression on me as much as it did for others. I appreciate the idea this novel tried to convey, but it simply missed the mark.
This book follows a 22-year old Katie as she finally has a thought for the first time in her life.
My main issue with this book is the lack of showing rather than telling. I would have loved if we had actually explored a situation rather than it skipping from scene to scene. Even within one paragraph I feel like we took so many words to say nothing at all.
I, unfortunately, simply did not like Katie at all. From the beginning, I could not sit in her mind for long periods of time. I read other reviews where people said they deeply related to Katie, and I just couldn’t see how that could be possible.
I believe there may be some redeemable features, but unfortunately for me I felt Katie behaved like a child and was incredibly selfish throughout. One example speaks out to me at the end of the first part where Katie locks herself in her boyfriend's family's vacation home with his cat, Silver, because she does not want him to go back to the city with his cat to return it to his parents. This completely baffled me and kind of turned me off of the book from that point forward.
Thank you Netgalley and publishers for the ARC.
1/5 stars.
Unfortunately this book did not leave a lasting impression on me as much as it did for others. I appreciate the idea this novel tried to convey, but it simply missed the mark.
This book follows a 22-year old Katie as she finally has a thought for the first time in her life.
My main issue with this book is the lack of showing rather than telling. I would have loved if we had actually explored a situation rather than it skipping from scene to scene. Even within one paragraph I feel like we took so many words to say nothing at all.
I, unfortunately, simply did not like Katie at all. From the beginning, I could not sit in her mind for long periods of time. I read other reviews where people said they deeply related to Katie, and I just couldn’t see how that could be possible.
I believe there may be some redeemable features, but unfortunately for me I felt Katie behaved like a child and was incredibly selfish throughout. One example speaks out to me at the end of the first part where Katie locks herself in her boyfriend's family's vacation home with his cat, Silver, because she does not want him to go back to the city with his cat to return it to his parents. This completely baffled me and kind of turned me off of the book from that point forward.
Thank you Netgalley and publishers for the ARC.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 9, 2026
A gorgeous cover. A weird girl. A cat. You already had me. This should have been an easy five stars… and instead it became one of my biggest disappointments of the year.
I almost forgot I’d even read it. Unfortunately, my lingering disdain for its main character wouldn’t let me.
I actually love an unlikable narrator, but the main character here felt less psychologically complex than implausibly naïve. Her extreme helplessness and off-putting refusal to function as an adult leave everyone around her constantly cleaning up her messes, yet the novel never seems interested in questioning why they continue to indulge her. I kept waiting for it to explore her desire to become someone’s pet—especially within the dynamic of a wealthy white boyfriend and a submissive Chinese American woman—but it never pushes beyond the surface.
The novel also repeatedly introduces more interesting ideas than it actually explores. Isabel is one of the most compelling characters but never becomes much more than a missed opportunity. Katie’s racial identity and class anxiety are hinted at but rarely examined in meaningful depth, while the central conflict with her mother gestures toward fascinating questions about childhood, dependence, and inherited longing without ever fully developing them. Her mother is presented as an enigmatic, emotionally significant figure whose own obsession with youth mirrors Katie’s longing to remain a child, yet the novel never fully capitalizes on the parallels it establishes between the two.
At its emotional core, the novel seems to be reaching for something genuinely compelling: a dark obsession with childhood and the co-dependence of an emotionally distant mother and a desperately alienated daughter. It’s not hard to see that Katie’s exasperating refusal to inhabit adulthood, her odd attachment to Silver, and her mother’s desperate attempts to reclaim youth all point toward the same emotional center, but these threads are frustratingly underdeveloped in favor of the romance between Katie and her endlessly accommodating boyfriend.
As an animal lover, I was also genuinely agitated by Silver’s storyline. For a novel whose title, cover, and premise center a cat, it felt as though the author hadn’t done much homework on cats at all, filling the story with careless, implausible, and at times outright cruel interactions that repeatedly pulled me out of the novel. If you love cats, this isn’t the book for you.
Ultimately, I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was a much richer novel hiding beneath this one. But instead of trusting its most compelling ideas (childhood, co-dependence, identity, class, belonging), it relies on the main character’s eccentricity and unexamined trauma responses, as though weirdness alone can substitute for psychological depth. It can’t.
I almost forgot I’d even read it. Unfortunately, my lingering disdain for its main character wouldn’t let me.
I actually love an unlikable narrator, but the main character here felt less psychologically complex than implausibly naïve. Her extreme helplessness and off-putting refusal to function as an adult leave everyone around her constantly cleaning up her messes, yet the novel never seems interested in questioning why they continue to indulge her. I kept waiting for it to explore her desire to become someone’s pet—especially within the dynamic of a wealthy white boyfriend and a submissive Chinese American woman—but it never pushes beyond the surface.
The novel also repeatedly introduces more interesting ideas than it actually explores. Isabel is one of the most compelling characters but never becomes much more than a missed opportunity. Katie’s racial identity and class anxiety are hinted at but rarely examined in meaningful depth, while the central conflict with her mother gestures toward fascinating questions about childhood, dependence, and inherited longing without ever fully developing them. Her mother is presented as an enigmatic, emotionally significant figure whose own obsession with youth mirrors Katie’s longing to remain a child, yet the novel never fully capitalizes on the parallels it establishes between the two.
At its emotional core, the novel seems to be reaching for something genuinely compelling: a dark obsession with childhood and the co-dependence of an emotionally distant mother and a desperately alienated daughter. It’s not hard to see that Katie’s exasperating refusal to inhabit adulthood, her odd attachment to Silver, and her mother’s desperate attempts to reclaim youth all point toward the same emotional center, but these threads are frustratingly underdeveloped in favor of the romance between Katie and her endlessly accommodating boyfriend.
As an animal lover, I was also genuinely agitated by Silver’s storyline. For a novel whose title, cover, and premise center a cat, it felt as though the author hadn’t done much homework on cats at all, filling the story with careless, implausible, and at times outright cruel interactions that repeatedly pulled me out of the novel. If you love cats, this isn’t the book for you.
Ultimately, I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was a much richer novel hiding beneath this one. But instead of trusting its most compelling ideas (childhood, co-dependence, identity, class, belonging), it relies on the main character’s eccentricity and unexamined trauma responses, as though weirdness alone can substitute for psychological depth. It can’t.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 25, 2026
Oh no notes!! Stacey, you have such a gift.
Thank you so much to the publisher for an advanced readers copy.
Thank you so much to the publisher for an advanced readers copy.
April 24, 2026
so so good !!!
June 6, 2026
no because there really is nothing like a mothers love
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