Ghost Cats

by Susan Richards Shreve, Stefano Vitale (cover art)

Eleven-year-old Peter and his three younger siblings rediscover their lost closeness when the ghosts of their dead pet cats begin to return mysteriously

Genres: Fantasy, Animals, Juvenile, Fiction

176 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2001

About the author

Also know as Susan Shreve. Received the following awards: Jenny Moore Award, George Washington University, 1978; Notable Book citation, American Library Association (ALA), 1979, for Family Secrets: Five Very Important Stories; Best Book for Young Adults citation, ALA, 1980, for The Masquerade; Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies, National Council for Social Studies and the Children's Book Council joint committee, 1980, for Family Secrets: Five Very Important Stories; Guggenheim award in fiction, 1980; National Endowment for the Arts fiction award, 1982; Edgar Allan Poe Award, Mystery Writers of America, 1988, for Lucy Forever and Miss Rosetree, Shrinks; Woodrow Wilson fellowships, West Virginia Wesleyan, 1994, and Bates College, 1997; Lila Wallace Readers Digest Foundation grant.

Reviews

[Jf · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Ghost Cats” is a very interesting book for me because I had so many connections with the main character (Peter) because he and me had faced many horrible deaths of our pets (cats) and how our family and us reacted to this situation. What I learned that you need to leave the bad things in the past and continue with the feature but you have to not forget it in a way that it doesn’t follows you affecting your life. In the story Peters cats die the day he comes to school and till now he is having weird situations that affect his way of acting and thinking in a good way, but I’m am not going to tell you more because I want it to be a secret for the readers. She clearly states that the conflict is person vs. self because Peter is trying to move one but his memories are not letting him continue with her life and I can say that this had happen to me in many ways, but at the end I move on with my life and with my memories. This is a very interesting and reflective book.

[Kac · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about change and family, as told honestly from the eyes of a child.　I think everyone can relate to this book.

These two years I have experienced major changes. I will be facing some more and I dreaded about them.
Reading this book at this exact moment was like a soft slap to the face, telling me that changes are scary, but everything is going to be okay.

[Icarus C · Rating 4 out of 5]

i remember reading this book in elementary school and absolutely sobbing. re reading it now as a college freshmen coming home from school in boston, i see my younger self in peter. the kind of silent depression that your family doesn't understand. good read.

[Kody · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed Ghost Cats, the characters were well developed and the story was good to read. The characters in the story are a family who've had cats, lots of cats. The story was good-to-great in the amount of work put into it. To keep it short, there is a family of which constantly moves throughout the country and on the way, makes many cat friends. The chapters aren't labeled by number but instead months, starting at May, then jumping to September going chronologically through the months until May again. Overall I think Ghost Cats is a good book and I would recommend this book to those who like character development and morals between characters Rivhards did a good job (in my opinion) on this one.

[Anna Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can relate a lot with the main character here because I too deal with changes in my life as I grow up but I find it difficult to leave the past behind. I think it was great that the cats here are symbolizing the "letting go" of Peter of his past, and that he was ready to move on.

[Jessietaylortanner · Rating 3 out of 5]

with bella- coming-of-age book, so I chose to skip the parts that referenced 'periods' or 'sex-education'. So not ready to cross those bridges. Otherwise interesting, with some good points, but a somewhat abrupt ending.

[Carfig · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought it would be about cats as that is the title, but they are marginally involved. It is really about a boy who is not happy about moving to Boston, which is hard on the cats, as a few of them meet untimely deaths. Thus the ghost aspect. Very minor part of the book though.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as good as I thought it would be.

[Corbin]

this book was ok but it was kind of boring.

[Sylvia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Life of unusual family with the many cats they acquired from around the world. When the cats die they become ghosts in the end.

[Mikey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Only the ending was good.

[Jennifer Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somewhat disappointing. I thought the ghost cats would play a larger role in the story. As it was, it appeared to be just one dismal situation after another. Kind of a bummer.

[X_LadyDarkrai_X · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alright.. In my opinion, this book was pretty good, and nicely written. Butttt.. It really didn't have much to do with "ghost cats"... Good book, though.

[Joshua Leybag · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I think about this book is that it's really educational and a good book. I recommend other people to read this book because it's really good.

[Christian Novack · Rating 5 out of 5]

i think this book goes great with peaple who love cats and who love moving with a dash of drama