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Kitten
Not yet published
Expected 30 Jul 26A magnetic novel about a young woman who falls in love with her boyfriend's cat.
Katie hasn't spoken to her mother in a year when her boyfriend James introduces her to his cat Silver. A small, vulnerable, incorrigible ball of need, Silver's acceptance of Katie cracks open something inside of her: an unravelling begins.
Fresh out of college and far from home, Katie is desperate to skirt the demands of adult life - especially because, as she promised her mother, the plan was to never grow up in the first place. Luckily, she has James: self-assured, generous, and seemingly happy to make decisions for them both.
When they go on holiday to James's family's seaside home, Katie's attachment to Silver grows. 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 misbehave spectacularly, be childish, be gross, and still get fed, seems to have the life Katie increasingly longs for. But as their bond intensifies, Katie's other relationships reach tipping points. Soon, Katie must come to terms with what she really wants, and what she might have to risk to get it.
Delicately playful and unexpectedly heartfelt, Kitten is a sensitive reckoning with the allure of helplessness and the uncertainty of becoming yourself in a world that is as disorienting as it is full of hope and connection.
Katie hasn't spoken to her mother in a year when her boyfriend James introduces her to his cat Silver. A small, vulnerable, incorrigible ball of need, Silver's acceptance of Katie cracks open something inside of her: an unravelling begins.
Fresh out of college and far from home, Katie is desperate to skirt the demands of adult life - especially because, as she promised her mother, the plan was to never grow up in the first place. Luckily, she has James: self-assured, generous, and seemingly happy to make decisions for them both.
When they go on holiday to James's family's seaside home, Katie's attachment to Silver grows. 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 misbehave spectacularly, be childish, be gross, and still get fed, seems to have the life Katie increasingly longs for. But as their bond intensifies, Katie's other relationships reach tipping points. Soon, Katie must come to terms with what she really wants, and what she might have to risk to get it.
Delicately playful and unexpectedly heartfelt, Kitten is a sensitive reckoning with the allure of helplessness and the uncertainty of becoming yourself in a world that is as disorienting as it is full of hope and connection.
304 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication July 30, 2026
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Want to Read
January 24, 2026This cover means everything to me I'm so serious
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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.
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.
Want to Read
January 24, 2026This may be the most important read of my life
April 11, 2026
2.5 rounded to 3. RTC.
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
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
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Being 22 really is the worst.
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 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.
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!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Peak sad-girl literary fiction! I love the idea of this type of book but sometimes the books are just a touch too weird for me; however, this one really captured what I love about this niche.
Katie is a recent college grad with limited employment prospects once she gets her last work-study check and no foreseeable future plan for rent/utilities. The main thing she has going for her is her 6-month relationship with James, a generous 26-year-old copywriter from a well-off family who enjoys sharing the finer things in life with her. For her birthday, James brings Katie to his family’s seaside house along with his cat, Silver, and Katie quickly becomes obsessed with the cat. And then she becomes… more obsessed than the average person gets with a cat.
I enjoyed the weirdness of this book, and although I’m a dog person myself, I loved all the descriptions of Silver and her quirky little behaviors. I feel like Stacey Yu perfectly captured what it’s like to be a 22-year-old who has no idea what she’s doing with her life and wants to avoid dealing with it. Even as Katie became more unhinged and the events of the story became more ridiculous, it still somehow felt weirdly relatable(? What does this say about me?).
I liked that the author gradually revealed more about Katie’s estranged relationship with her mother, and how it affected her behavior as an adult, including her friendship with Lou and her relationship with James. I also really enjoyed the ending, although the closest thing I have to a criticism is .
Solid 5 stars! I’m not sure if I’d recommend this book to many friends because it was genuinely weird and I don’t expect it to be everyone’s cup of tea, but for me, this was an incredibly memorable and fascinating read that hooked me and had a lot of interesting things to say about identity, independence, family / generational trauma, and adulthood. A very impressive debut!
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review!
Katie is a recent college grad with limited employment prospects once she gets her last work-study check and no foreseeable future plan for rent/utilities. The main thing she has going for her is her 6-month relationship with James, a generous 26-year-old copywriter from a well-off family who enjoys sharing the finer things in life with her. For her birthday, James brings Katie to his family’s seaside house along with his cat, Silver, and Katie quickly becomes obsessed with the cat. And then she becomes… more obsessed than the average person gets with a cat.
I enjoyed the weirdness of this book, and although I’m a dog person myself, I loved all the descriptions of Silver and her quirky little behaviors. I feel like Stacey Yu perfectly captured what it’s like to be a 22-year-old who has no idea what she’s doing with her life and wants to avoid dealing with it. Even as Katie became more unhinged and the events of the story became more ridiculous, it still somehow felt weirdly relatable(? What does this say about me?).
I liked that the author gradually revealed more about Katie’s estranged relationship with her mother, and how it affected her behavior as an adult, including her friendship with Lou and her relationship with James. I also really enjoyed the ending, although the closest thing I have to a criticism is .
Solid 5 stars! I’m not sure if I’d recommend this book to many friends because it was genuinely weird and I don’t expect it to be everyone’s cup of tea, but for me, this was an incredibly memorable and fascinating read that hooked me and had a lot of interesting things to say about identity, independence, family / generational trauma, and adulthood. A very impressive debut!
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review!
March 23, 2026
I was frustrated with this book at times, but the ending wrapped it up well.
Kitten is a story of obsession where Katie, a recent college grad with no direction besides an obsessive relationship, goes on a trip with her boyfriend James to his childhood town of Holme. On this trip, she meets Silver, James' family's cat.
Katie is immediately obsessed with Silver at an insane level. She wishes to be the cat, to have the freedom of the cat, which is compared to a childlike freedom. The book focuses a lot on the attractiveness of youth, which Katie's mother also struggles with in their relationship.
This book did well in its repetitive themes, but I feel like it tried to cover a lot of topics in its brevity including mother-daughter relationships, pet relationships, friend/roommate relationships, and romantic relationships. It tried to create a total snapshot of Katie's life along with her obsession with Silver, which was a difficult task.
It was really difficult to read the constant scenes with Silver, where Katie is just so clearly obsessed and passive towards everything else, including her boyfriend. James is obsessed with Katie, and treats her like a pet, which she enjoys. The flashbacks to her mother reveal an obsession of Katie and her youthfulness. Obsession everywhere and all consuming for everyone!
I liked the ending, where it resolved Katie's relationship with her mother and Lou, which is the opposite of the beginning of the book where she only had James.
A good read, maybe not my favorite due to very frustrating characters and the writing style, but I think it presented interesting themes and relationships! A promising debut from Stacey Yu for sure.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the digital arc.
Kitten is a story of obsession where Katie, a recent college grad with no direction besides an obsessive relationship, goes on a trip with her boyfriend James to his childhood town of Holme. On this trip, she meets Silver, James' family's cat.
Katie is immediately obsessed with Silver at an insane level. She wishes to be the cat, to have the freedom of the cat, which is compared to a childlike freedom. The book focuses a lot on the attractiveness of youth, which Katie's mother also struggles with in their relationship.
This book did well in its repetitive themes, but I feel like it tried to cover a lot of topics in its brevity including mother-daughter relationships, pet relationships, friend/roommate relationships, and romantic relationships. It tried to create a total snapshot of Katie's life along with her obsession with Silver, which was a difficult task.
It was really difficult to read the constant scenes with Silver, where Katie is just so clearly obsessed and passive towards everything else, including her boyfriend. James is obsessed with Katie, and treats her like a pet, which she enjoys. The flashbacks to her mother reveal an obsession of Katie and her youthfulness. Obsession everywhere and all consuming for everyone!
I liked the ending, where it resolved Katie's relationship with her mother and Lou, which is the opposite of the beginning of the book where she only had James.
A good read, maybe not my favorite due to very frustrating characters and the writing style, but I think it presented interesting themes and relationships! A promising debut from Stacey Yu for sure.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the digital arc.
March 27, 2026
thank you to random house for this arc provided by netgalley.
this coming-of-age novel is a character-driven story and will most likely not be suited for everyone's taste, but i am a big fan.
katie is someone who hasn't grown up. she is stagnant in her life. she hasn't spoken to her mother in a year, she doesn't know if she even loves her boyfriend, she is on the verge of being kicked out by her roommate, and she loses her college job upon graduating. she's confronted with a multitude of problems she is not willing to face, and this causes her to lose agency in her life. that is until she meets her boyfriend's cat, silver, of whom she becomes obsessed with and slightly jealous of. she quickly realizes that silver lives a life she's wanted - one of freedom, and one where you can be both cute and mischievous yet still be effortlessly loved and taken care of regardless.
for me, this novel was a reminder that wanting to be taken care of is both a trap and a comfort - rather choosing something or someone is more important than needing them.
yu left me feeling completely stripped and vulnerable yet healed and consoled. i will think a lot about this book.
this coming-of-age novel is a character-driven story and will most likely not be suited for everyone's taste, but i am a big fan.
katie is someone who hasn't grown up. she is stagnant in her life. she hasn't spoken to her mother in a year, she doesn't know if she even loves her boyfriend, she is on the verge of being kicked out by her roommate, and she loses her college job upon graduating. she's confronted with a multitude of problems she is not willing to face, and this causes her to lose agency in her life. that is until she meets her boyfriend's cat, silver, of whom she becomes obsessed with and slightly jealous of. she quickly realizes that silver lives a life she's wanted - one of freedom, and one where you can be both cute and mischievous yet still be effortlessly loved and taken care of regardless.
for me, this novel was a reminder that wanting to be taken care of is both a trap and a comfort - rather choosing something or someone is more important than needing them.
yu left me feeling completely stripped and vulnerable yet healed and consoled. i will think a lot about this book.
March 2, 2026
Kitten is an extraordinary debut from Stacey Yu. For me, this book transcends the “weird girl lit fic” trend- while full of weird, visceral, specific imagery, it also packs a deep, gut-wrenching punch in that part of my soul that was once 22 and terrified to be perceived as anything like Katie, our protagonist.
Katie is a childish young woman who has just graduated college and wants to be babied by those around her in specific ways that she expects, but can’t articulate to anyone or reciprocate- not her roommate/friend Lou, her boyfriend of six months James, or her narcissistic mother, with whom Katie has an obviously complicated relationship.
When Katie meets James’s childhood pet- a darling cat named Silver- she becomes obsessed with all the little mannerisms and quirks of this creature. I loved Yu’s descriptions of Silver throughout!! Katie and James are spending some time away from NYC with Silver in his hometown, where the differences in their upbringing, bank accounts, and conflict resolution styles become glaringly clear. Katie’s got $50 to her name, no real prospects, and an unstable living situation. She oscillates between a few different coping techniques, none of which involve actually asking for help or letting people in. In Silver she catches glances of what Katie decides is Silver’s support for her and a fascinating little rapport is built. She projects her own thoughts onto Silver, desperately looking to nurture something (even if it’s to Silver’s detriment).
Let me be super clear- Katie kind of sucks. But she’s immature and 22, and is starting to realize her actions have consequences. Did I hate multiple choices she made? Duh, yes, of course- but I think rating a book lower because you dislike a main character is negating the brilliant writing and pacing of a debut that will have you squirming in your seat and making this face “🫠” a lot. This is an absolutely worthwhile read and one that I’m excited to get a print copy of upon its release.
Thank you Net Galley and the publisher for an advanced copy!
Katie is a childish young woman who has just graduated college and wants to be babied by those around her in specific ways that she expects, but can’t articulate to anyone or reciprocate- not her roommate/friend Lou, her boyfriend of six months James, or her narcissistic mother, with whom Katie has an obviously complicated relationship.
When Katie meets James’s childhood pet- a darling cat named Silver- she becomes obsessed with all the little mannerisms and quirks of this creature. I loved Yu’s descriptions of Silver throughout!! Katie and James are spending some time away from NYC with Silver in his hometown, where the differences in their upbringing, bank accounts, and conflict resolution styles become glaringly clear. Katie’s got $50 to her name, no real prospects, and an unstable living situation. She oscillates between a few different coping techniques, none of which involve actually asking for help or letting people in. In Silver she catches glances of what Katie decides is Silver’s support for her and a fascinating little rapport is built. She projects her own thoughts onto Silver, desperately looking to nurture something (even if it’s to Silver’s detriment).
Let me be super clear- Katie kind of sucks. But she’s immature and 22, and is starting to realize her actions have consequences. Did I hate multiple choices she made? Duh, yes, of course- but I think rating a book lower because you dislike a main character is negating the brilliant writing and pacing of a debut that will have you squirming in your seat and making this face “🫠” a lot. This is an absolutely worthwhile read and one that I’m excited to get a print copy of upon its release.
Thank you Net Galley and the publisher for an advanced copy!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 6, 2026
Obsession was an overarching theme in this. I can't say I'm obsessed with this book but I did definitely enjoy it for what it was.
The raw, blunt writing style kept me intrigued from the first chapter & I liked how complex the main character of Katie was. I didn't find her particularly likeable but I could empathise with her & scarily related to a lot of how she felt, namely the apparent envy she seemed to feel occasionally toward Silver. To me, this felt like a strong commentary on loneliness & that overwhelming stuck/lost feeling some of us can feel in our early 20s— I thought this was done well by the writer with Katie & her relationship with Silver the cat as well as her awkward familial relationship with her mother.
There's something more I'd have liked from this, I just can't put my finger on exactly what. However, I'd still recommend this to readers of weird girl litfics, especially if you enjoy character focused novels & flawed MCs. I'd also be happy to pick up a future book from this author.
Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton & Netgalley for my free eARC!
The raw, blunt writing style kept me intrigued from the first chapter & I liked how complex the main character of Katie was. I didn't find her particularly likeable but I could empathise with her & scarily related to a lot of how she felt, namely the apparent envy she seemed to feel occasionally toward Silver. To me, this felt like a strong commentary on loneliness & that overwhelming stuck/lost feeling some of us can feel in our early 20s— I thought this was done well by the writer with Katie & her relationship with Silver the cat as well as her awkward familial relationship with her mother.
There's something more I'd have liked from this, I just can't put my finger on exactly what. However, I'd still recommend this to readers of weird girl litfics, especially if you enjoy character focused novels & flawed MCs. I'd also be happy to pick up a future book from this author.
Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton & Netgalley for my free eARC!
Review of advance copy received from Author
I will preface this review by saying I do not identify as a "cat person".
And yet, Kitten caught me completely off guard.
Because Kitten is so much more than a cat. It is a story about a woman trying to navigate the fringes of adulthood whilst feeling, at her core, still so very young. Sound familiar?
This is a book that will drag you back to what it feels like to be young and helpless. It is a story of girlhood, of womanhood, and of that strange in-between space where so many of us quietly live. It is tender, and it is honest, and it lingers.
I cannot make you read Kitten. But I can wholeheartedly promise you that over its 300 or so pages, you will be reminded of what it feels like to be a girl. A feeling most of us spend years trying to bury or outrun, and which persists anyway, quietly, in the corners of our minds.
Read Kitten. Full Fat. You won't regret it.
And yet, Kitten caught me completely off guard.
Because Kitten is so much more than a cat. It is a story about a woman trying to navigate the fringes of adulthood whilst feeling, at her core, still so very young. Sound familiar?
This is a book that will drag you back to what it feels like to be young and helpless. It is a story of girlhood, of womanhood, and of that strange in-between space where so many of us quietly live. It is tender, and it is honest, and it lingers.
I cannot make you read Kitten. But I can wholeheartedly promise you that over its 300 or so pages, you will be reminded of what it feels like to be a girl. A feeling most of us spend years trying to bury or outrun, and which persists anyway, quietly, in the corners of our minds.
Read Kitten. Full Fat. You won't regret it.
March 17, 2026
Thanks Random House Books ans NetGalley for an advanced digital copy of KITTEN in exchange for an honest review!!
Kitten really captures that feeling when you’re on the cusp of growing up, while still being stuck in the past. Like a nonstop sense of nostalgia. While I could relate a lot to the feelings Katie had throughout the book, I had trouble connecting to her and the small cast of characters that filtered in and out of the novel. But, Katie had great character development. A true coming-of-age book that I think will resonate with a lot of readers. 3.5 stars!
Kitten really captures that feeling when you’re on the cusp of growing up, while still being stuck in the past. Like a nonstop sense of nostalgia. While I could relate a lot to the feelings Katie had throughout the book, I had trouble connecting to her and the small cast of characters that filtered in and out of the novel. But, Katie had great character development. A true coming-of-age book that I think will resonate with a lot of readers. 3.5 stars!
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.
March 26, 2026
goddamn it.... 3.5 rated down. much to consider but now I need to sleep. review to come, thank you to the publishers for the copy!
March 26, 2026
weird cat girl story. I felt a lump in my throat reading this book and I loved all of it.
April 6, 2026
Oh the rollercoaster of being 22!! I could not put this down, I found so many aspects of the MC relatable.
I also adored the Mamma Mia mention as it’s one of my favourite films.
I also adored the Mamma Mia mention as it’s one of my favourite films.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
An advance copy of this was generously provided by NetGalley.
3.75/5 stars
I first became aware of Kitten by Stacey Yu in a video she posted about the differences between her US and UK covers. When I saw the book as an option to request on NetGalley, I decided to just go in blind. The general vibe appears to be going for the Sally Rooney/Ottessa Moshfegh "Sad Girl" literature crowd, which, I'm certainly partial to.
Kitten follows Katie, a young Asian American woman, as she navigates her first relationship, her complex relationship with her mother, and her deep undying love for his cat. The prose style is very dreamy and the whole novel feels out of focus. Not in a bad way, but in the way where it felt almost dream like. There were several lines in the book that I would stop and read and go "oh that's nice". The kind of lines you would see typed out on a typewriter in a pretentious font and reposted on tumblr. But it almost feels like it knows that these lines could be reblogged next to a picture of Lana Del Rey. It's just shy of the style, but it's not quite there.
The best part of the novel to me was Isabelle and Katie's relationship. I loved how they actually ended up finding common ground versus being adversarial. I just wish that her relationship with her mother was explored as much as her relationship with James, who was by far the most boring character to me. Silver was adorable and I loved the descriptions of her cute and peculiar behavior.
Overall, a strong debut. Not quite at 4 stars for me, the plot is just a little disjointed and the characters not quite explored enough for it to hit that 4-5 star range for me personally. But I would love to read Yu's next attempt at a more focused novel.
3.75/5 stars
I first became aware of Kitten by Stacey Yu in a video she posted about the differences between her US and UK covers. When I saw the book as an option to request on NetGalley, I decided to just go in blind. The general vibe appears to be going for the Sally Rooney/Ottessa Moshfegh "Sad Girl" literature crowd, which, I'm certainly partial to.
Kitten follows Katie, a young Asian American woman, as she navigates her first relationship, her complex relationship with her mother, and her deep undying love for his cat. The prose style is very dreamy and the whole novel feels out of focus. Not in a bad way, but in the way where it felt almost dream like. There were several lines in the book that I would stop and read and go "oh that's nice". The kind of lines you would see typed out on a typewriter in a pretentious font and reposted on tumblr. But it almost feels like it knows that these lines could be reblogged next to a picture of Lana Del Rey. It's just shy of the style, but it's not quite there.
The best part of the novel to me was Isabelle and Katie's relationship. I loved how they actually ended up finding common ground versus being adversarial. I just wish that her relationship with her mother was explored as much as her relationship with James, who was by far the most boring character to me. Silver was adorable and I loved the descriptions of her cute and peculiar behavior.
Overall, a strong debut. Not quite at 4 stars for me, the plot is just a little disjointed and the characters not quite explored enough for it to hit that 4-5 star range for me personally. But I would love to read Yu's next attempt at a more focused novel.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you to Netgalley for free advanced access.
What I liked:
What I didn't like:
At the start it reminded me of books I've enjoyed by Ottessa Moshfegh and Halle Butler, dark, witty, and just a bit deranged. As I read on, however, the grim humor never arrived. Katie wasn't entertainingly disturbed, she was routinely damaged. Sure I felt bad for her. Her mother's need for Katie to never grow up, hence her nickname "Kitten," succeeded too well. Katie has arrived at her post-college life wholly unsure of who she is or how to proceed.
Alas, for them and this reader, three of the main twenty-somethings in the book suffer from crushing parental determinism. They have reached the age of adulthood seemingly without any skills for living an adult life. The books ends with all of them making progress in the direction of wellness and independence, thankfully. But watching their developmental struggles that ideally would have occurred a decade earlier was just frustrating. I haven't read anything by Sally Rooney, but I wonder if this is what some people my age complain about in them.
I hope Yu continues to develop her keen and critical eye for social dynamics. I look forward to her complementing her writing talent and observational powers with more satire and irony.
What I liked:
--Yu's gift for description ("Her freshly liked fur was as shiny as the back of a spoon." "Her tongue was cold and grooved, like the rim of a coin.");
--The portrayal of unhealthy (but relatable) attachment to a cat!
What I didn't like:
--Descriptions of the cat, Silver, that made me wonder if the author spent any time around actual cats ("Silver was already in the ocean, wading gracefully." "[T]he coffee was so milk and sweet that I spat my mouthful back into the mug. Silver sniffed the rim, then gave me an expectant look. [...] so I slide the mug over for her to taste. She lapped at it feverishly. When she was done, I peered inside the mug and was shocked to see that she had finished it all.");
--Early adult malaise.
At the start it reminded me of books I've enjoyed by Ottessa Moshfegh and Halle Butler, dark, witty, and just a bit deranged. As I read on, however, the grim humor never arrived. Katie wasn't entertainingly disturbed, she was routinely damaged. Sure I felt bad for her. Her mother's need for Katie to never grow up, hence her nickname "Kitten," succeeded too well. Katie has arrived at her post-college life wholly unsure of who she is or how to proceed.
Alas, for them and this reader, three of the main twenty-somethings in the book suffer from crushing parental determinism. They have reached the age of adulthood seemingly without any skills for living an adult life. The books ends with all of them making progress in the direction of wellness and independence, thankfully. But watching their developmental struggles that ideally would have occurred a decade earlier was just frustrating. I haven't read anything by Sally Rooney, but I wonder if this is what some people my age complain about in them.
I hope Yu continues to develop her keen and critical eye for social dynamics. I look forward to her complementing her writing talent and observational powers with more satire and irony.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I have to admit that I was drawn in by the title and the cover. However, the plot also seemed enticing enough for me to want to read it. I didn't really know what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised!
In the beginning, I found it hard to understand the main character, Katie. I couldn't relate to her way of thinking and was sometimes confused about the things that she would do. Although I didn't always agree with her thoughts, I found that I was able to relate to some of the things that she was going through to some extent. Because I was able to see her thoughts, I was able to slowly get an idea of who Katie really is and what she was going through.
What I liked about this story was the way that the author portrayed all the different types of relationships that one can have. Not everything is so simple and the author did a really phenomenal job of portraying that. I think readers will be able to find something to relate to, especially when it comes to relationships. I also really enjoyed the way that the cat, Silver was woven into the story (definitely my favorite parts!). It may seem like Silver was just a cat, but Katie's involvement with Silver really helped to show some of the main struggles that Katie was experiencing, even when Katie herself was unaware of them.
I think that the ending was well done, in a realistic but also hopeful way. I also liked how the reason why this book is titled "Kitten" was revealed. It really helped to tie the entire story together. The story may seem simple, but the message behind it is so much more than that.
Although the book was not fast paced, I found myself wanting to continue reading to find out what was going to happen next. I was rooting for the main character, Katie the entire time, waiting to see some sort of character growth. Overall, this was a fun and unique story and I would recommend this to anyone that likes more character driven and slice of life stories.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC.
In the beginning, I found it hard to understand the main character, Katie. I couldn't relate to her way of thinking and was sometimes confused about the things that she would do. Although I didn't always agree with her thoughts, I found that I was able to relate to some of the things that she was going through to some extent. Because I was able to see her thoughts, I was able to slowly get an idea of who Katie really is and what she was going through.
What I liked about this story was the way that the author portrayed all the different types of relationships that one can have. Not everything is so simple and the author did a really phenomenal job of portraying that. I think readers will be able to find something to relate to, especially when it comes to relationships. I also really enjoyed the way that the cat, Silver was woven into the story (definitely my favorite parts!). It may seem like Silver was just a cat, but Katie's involvement with Silver really helped to show some of the main struggles that Katie was experiencing, even when Katie herself was unaware of them.
I think that the ending was well done, in a realistic but also hopeful way. I also liked how the reason why this book is titled "Kitten" was revealed. It really helped to tie the entire story together. The story may seem simple, but the message behind it is so much more than that.
Although the book was not fast paced, I found myself wanting to continue reading to find out what was going to happen next. I was rooting for the main character, Katie the entire time, waiting to see some sort of character growth. Overall, this was a fun and unique story and I would recommend this to anyone that likes more character driven and slice of life stories.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
In Kitten, recent grad Katie drifts through her life in NYC–leaning on her wealthy boyfriend James, mooching off her roommate Lou, and avoiding both adulthood and her strained relationship with her mother. During a trip to James’ parents’ seaside home, she forms an intense bond with the family cat, Silver. As that attachment deepens, Katie’s other relationships begin to suffer, forcing her to confront what she really wants from her life.
Katie’s post-college life feels believable from the beginning: she’s stuck between comfort and independence, letting her life happen to her instead of steering it. Her relationships with James, Lou and her mother add pressure without feeling melodramatic. The standout element of the novel is Katie’s connection with Silver. It’s weird, funny, and unsettling. Watching Katie latch onto the cat as an emotional buoy says a lot about loneliness, avoidance, and the urge to escape responsibility for your choices and their impact on others. The story balances those ideas with a 1:1 mix of dark humor and warmth.
Katie isn’t a particularly likeable protagonist–she’s selfish and rude, but also honest. Her uncertainty, avoidance, and brief moments of clarity make her easy to recognize, even when her choices are frustrating. More than once I wanted to scream in her face “You have to show up for the people you claim that you love! You’re not protecting your peace, you’re avoiding accountability!”
The writing keeps things grounded, focusing on small emotional shifts rather than big plot twists. The middle slowed a bit for me, but the character growth paid off and left me feeling satisfied. Kitten is a thoughtful debut about drifting, attachment, and figuring out who you are when the possibilities are endless (and overwhelming.) I’d recommend to anyone that enjoys a character-driven, coming-of-age story with an offbeat edge.
Thank you to Netgalley, Random House and Stacey Yu for the arc. Kitten comes out this August!
Katie’s post-college life feels believable from the beginning: she’s stuck between comfort and independence, letting her life happen to her instead of steering it. Her relationships with James, Lou and her mother add pressure without feeling melodramatic. The standout element of the novel is Katie’s connection with Silver. It’s weird, funny, and unsettling. Watching Katie latch onto the cat as an emotional buoy says a lot about loneliness, avoidance, and the urge to escape responsibility for your choices and their impact on others. The story balances those ideas with a 1:1 mix of dark humor and warmth.
Katie isn’t a particularly likeable protagonist–she’s selfish and rude, but also honest. Her uncertainty, avoidance, and brief moments of clarity make her easy to recognize, even when her choices are frustrating. More than once I wanted to scream in her face “You have to show up for the people you claim that you love! You’re not protecting your peace, you’re avoiding accountability!”
The writing keeps things grounded, focusing on small emotional shifts rather than big plot twists. The middle slowed a bit for me, but the character growth paid off and left me feeling satisfied. Kitten is a thoughtful debut about drifting, attachment, and figuring out who you are when the possibilities are endless (and overwhelming.) I’d recommend to anyone that enjoys a character-driven, coming-of-age story with an offbeat edge.
Thank you to Netgalley, Random House and Stacey Yu for the arc. Kitten comes out this August!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Kitten - Stacey Yu
3 ⭐️
First of all, I’m going to start by saying that I don’t trust people who don’t like cats without a valid reason. Cats are an integral lesson in consent and people who hate cats just hate that they can’t control and manipulate them and do with that information what you will (👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀)
Katie, as a character, is everyone’s internal monologue and sleep paralysis demon. She has no filter on her words or actions and not in a funny “ha ha she’s saying what we’re all thinking” way, but in such a juvenile approach that it whips you back to how you’d react to situations as a child (Albeit, sometimes all I want to do is scream at someone when I don’t get my way.) I did find her quite insufferable and childish which genuinely made me seethe at points. Her blatant disregard for James and inadvertently, Silver, was infuriating. This pity party and “woe is me” nonsense are my least favourite human traits to read about.
I adored Lou’s character as she was the no nonsense friend that didn’t tolerate Katie’s “sop” (phenomenal dialogue for Lou which Stacey did brilliantly). I wish we had more on Lou and Katie’s dynamic as I feel like there’s a lot to unpack in their friendship.
This book was such a complicated story between Katie’s own relationship with her mother and being suffocated by a parent. We see this as Katie’s love for Silver deepens and we can see a mirror of her mother’s relationship and likewise, Katie’s with Silver.
Silver was the main character of the story. I’m such a cat person so anytime her little paws or snoot were mentioned, I was all heart eyes.
I’ve seen people say this is “peak sad girl lit fic” and I personally found this as just chaotic, “get your shit together, this isn’t funny or cute, you cause chaos and a storm to everyone you meet and everywhere you go” type of lit fic.
I don’t know what I expected but I think i needed more.
Thanks to NetGallefor an advanced copy of this book!
3 ⭐️
First of all, I’m going to start by saying that I don’t trust people who don’t like cats without a valid reason. Cats are an integral lesson in consent and people who hate cats just hate that they can’t control and manipulate them and do with that information what you will (👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀)
Katie, as a character, is everyone’s internal monologue and sleep paralysis demon. She has no filter on her words or actions and not in a funny “ha ha she’s saying what we’re all thinking” way, but in such a juvenile approach that it whips you back to how you’d react to situations as a child (Albeit, sometimes all I want to do is scream at someone when I don’t get my way.) I did find her quite insufferable and childish which genuinely made me seethe at points. Her blatant disregard for James and inadvertently, Silver, was infuriating. This pity party and “woe is me” nonsense are my least favourite human traits to read about.
I adored Lou’s character as she was the no nonsense friend that didn’t tolerate Katie’s “sop” (phenomenal dialogue for Lou which Stacey did brilliantly). I wish we had more on Lou and Katie’s dynamic as I feel like there’s a lot to unpack in their friendship.
This book was such a complicated story between Katie’s own relationship with her mother and being suffocated by a parent. We see this as Katie’s love for Silver deepens and we can see a mirror of her mother’s relationship and likewise, Katie’s with Silver.
Silver was the main character of the story. I’m such a cat person so anytime her little paws or snoot were mentioned, I was all heart eyes.
I’ve seen people say this is “peak sad girl lit fic” and I personally found this as just chaotic, “get your shit together, this isn’t funny or cute, you cause chaos and a storm to everyone you meet and everywhere you go” type of lit fic.
I don’t know what I expected but I think i needed more.
Thanks to NetGallefor an advanced copy of this book!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Kitten is such a fascinating book. It’s fairly slim, clocking in at just over 300 pages, and is one of those books where it feels like nothing is happening while somehow everything keeps happening. There’s so much day to day action that’s extraordinarily mundane, interrupted by strangeness, by larger events that finally propel the story forward. I found it easy to get sucked in once I started reading, the pacing was excellent and the story did draw me in even when it felt like not much was happening.
Stacey Yu’s prose is excellent, and really suits this kind of story. It flows easily and is almost lyrical but never feels too flowery or overly embellished. There’s a frankness to it that I really enjoyed, and felt especially fitting for our main character and her approach to so much of what happens in the final third of this book.
The story here is fairly straightforward—Katie is adrift and directionless, navigating early adulthood with a lack of ease that’s extremely relatable. She finds herself obsessed with her boyfriend’s cat, delighted in her freedom and the simplicity of her life, and allows that obsession to consume her completely. This is where I expected things to take a weirder turn, I think, but instead it landed somewhere firmly aimed at reality instead. I wish it had toed the line a little more, played with how truly strange her obsession was a little more, but maybe that’s just me being a huge fan of other sad weird girl books.
If you loved My Year of Rest and Relaxation, My Husband, and Creep, but are looking for something a little gentler, this might be for you! If you like your weird girls truly deeply weird, this is probably going to be a miss. I’m in the middle on this one. I liked the prose a lot, and I enjoyed my time with the book, but I wish it had taken a bolder swing.
Thanks to Random House and NetGalley for the eArc!
Stacey Yu’s prose is excellent, and really suits this kind of story. It flows easily and is almost lyrical but never feels too flowery or overly embellished. There’s a frankness to it that I really enjoyed, and felt especially fitting for our main character and her approach to so much of what happens in the final third of this book.
The story here is fairly straightforward—Katie is adrift and directionless, navigating early adulthood with a lack of ease that’s extremely relatable. She finds herself obsessed with her boyfriend’s cat, delighted in her freedom and the simplicity of her life, and allows that obsession to consume her completely. This is where I expected things to take a weirder turn, I think, but instead it landed somewhere firmly aimed at reality instead. I wish it had toed the line a little more, played with how truly strange her obsession was a little more, but maybe that’s just me being a huge fan of other sad weird girl books.
If you loved My Year of Rest and Relaxation, My Husband, and Creep, but are looking for something a little gentler, this might be for you! If you like your weird girls truly deeply weird, this is probably going to be a miss. I’m in the middle on this one. I liked the prose a lot, and I enjoyed my time with the book, but I wish it had taken a bolder swing.
Thanks to Random House and NetGalley for the eArc!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This debut novel is not quite what I expected and takes a bit to get interesting, but generally I enjoyed this exploration of early adulthood and the growing pains of finding oneself.
The story follows Katie just after she graduates college and has no idea what to do with her life. She feels lost and exercises little agency over her actions and decisions. One night after a party she meets James, who walks her home and proves to make her life easier by making decisions and caretaking her. While with James, she builds a special relationship with his cat Silver, whom she relates to more than James or anyone else in her life. Katie also has a difficult relationship with her mentally unstable mother, which she blames herself for. The story snowballs as James and Katie go on a break to his childhood beach home in Holme where Katie is forced to confront her tendency toward avoidance.
I struggled to relate to Katie. Even in points of my life where I didn’t have a job or encountered a hard time, I’m prone towards action rather than inaction, and think her story would resonate more with more introspective individuals or people slow to action. Still, I think the author deftly portrays many very real feelings that young people face when they graduate college and the real world looms. I found the complicated portrait of James very enticing as well - as the reader, you can never quite place him in Katie’s story. Is he good-natured or deceptive? Does he care about Katie or does he take pleasure in controlling her? These questions make for a very compelling story.
Ultimately, I did rate this as three stars because I think it’s a fine debut novel but it didn’t change my life, and I struggled with the pacing and depth of characters. Thanks in advance to the publisher for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review. This book publishes August 4, 2026.
The story follows Katie just after she graduates college and has no idea what to do with her life. She feels lost and exercises little agency over her actions and decisions. One night after a party she meets James, who walks her home and proves to make her life easier by making decisions and caretaking her. While with James, she builds a special relationship with his cat Silver, whom she relates to more than James or anyone else in her life. Katie also has a difficult relationship with her mentally unstable mother, which she blames herself for. The story snowballs as James and Katie go on a break to his childhood beach home in Holme where Katie is forced to confront her tendency toward avoidance.
I struggled to relate to Katie. Even in points of my life where I didn’t have a job or encountered a hard time, I’m prone towards action rather than inaction, and think her story would resonate more with more introspective individuals or people slow to action. Still, I think the author deftly portrays many very real feelings that young people face when they graduate college and the real world looms. I found the complicated portrait of James very enticing as well - as the reader, you can never quite place him in Katie’s story. Is he good-natured or deceptive? Does he care about Katie or does he take pleasure in controlling her? These questions make for a very compelling story.
Ultimately, I did rate this as three stars because I think it’s a fine debut novel but it didn’t change my life, and I struggled with the pacing and depth of characters. Thanks in advance to the publisher for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review. This book publishes August 4, 2026.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to NetGalley, Random House, and Yu for this read! I ate this up, finished in about two sittings.
Kitten follows Katie, a recent NYC college grad unsure not only about her next steps in life, but also about who she is, what she wants, what she deserves. Her university work study has just ended, she owes money, she's got no drive and no job prospects. This sort of listless ennui casts a huge shadow over the novel. Katie's boyfriend, James, invites her to his family beach home and brings along his childhood cat, Silver. Katie becomes completely enamored with Silver, and this interest takes over their trip and overall relationship. Readers also get to know a couple other relationships in Katie's life: Lou, her roommate, and her mother back in Arkansas.
I was really frustrated with Katie. James was so sweet, so patient, and she just kept making, to me, irrational choices and pissing me off. Hats off to Yu, honestly, because this frustration turned into compassion and understanding by the end of the novel. I also got to slowly realize James's faults, the ways in which Katie pushes him to honesty. The exploration of the complicated mother-daughter relationship and the lasting impacts this had on Katie's perception of relationships and money was so heartbreaking and human. Lou and Katie really captured my heart in the end, though. Their friendship and the life we begin to see come together by the end of the novel left me with a beautiful bud of hope.
Now, Katie and Silver. There was love and there was loss and there was a greater meaning I can't put into words. It made me uncomfortable and heartbroken. It also put me in Katie's brain, her loss of childhood and identity, her hunger for more, her inability to be a real person, her want to just be.
Amazing debut, I will definitely look for Yu's future work.
Kitten follows Katie, a recent NYC college grad unsure not only about her next steps in life, but also about who she is, what she wants, what she deserves. Her university work study has just ended, she owes money, she's got no drive and no job prospects. This sort of listless ennui casts a huge shadow over the novel. Katie's boyfriend, James, invites her to his family beach home and brings along his childhood cat, Silver. Katie becomes completely enamored with Silver, and this interest takes over their trip and overall relationship. Readers also get to know a couple other relationships in Katie's life: Lou, her roommate, and her mother back in Arkansas.
I was really frustrated with Katie. James was so sweet, so patient, and she just kept making, to me, irrational choices and pissing me off. Hats off to Yu, honestly, because this frustration turned into compassion and understanding by the end of the novel. I also got to slowly realize James's faults, the ways in which Katie pushes him to honesty. The exploration of the complicated mother-daughter relationship and the lasting impacts this had on Katie's perception of relationships and money was so heartbreaking and human. Lou and Katie really captured my heart in the end, though. Their friendship and the life we begin to see come together by the end of the novel left me with a beautiful bud of hope.
Now, Katie and Silver. There was love and there was loss and there was a greater meaning I can't put into words. It made me uncomfortable and heartbroken. It also put me in Katie's brain, her loss of childhood and identity, her hunger for more, her inability to be a real person, her want to just be.
Amazing debut, I will definitely look for Yu's future work.
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