Wild Cat

Starlight Animal Rescue #3

by Dandi Daley Mackall

I haven't done anything with my life. . . . I need to do something . . . like Mom and Dad and Hank do all the time. And I need to do it now.
Meet 12-year-old Kat―short for Katharine. She thinks she has two weeks to do something worthy of being adopted by her wonderful foster family. But cancer, medicine, and the older kids at Starlight Animal Rescue make it difficult for Kat to really help out around the farm. On top of that, she's just started junior high and has to work on a project with the most popular―and demanding―girl in her class. When Kat accepts the role of “cat shrink” for her classmates' pets, could her success . . . or failure . . . be more than she can handle?
Starlight Animal Where problem horses are trained and loved, where abandoned dogs become heroes, where stray cats become loyal companions. And where people with nowhere to fit in find a place to belong.

Genres: Christian, Contemporary, Animals, Christian Fiction, Horses, Middle Grade, Fiction

224 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 23, 2009

About the author

A professional writer for over 20 years, Dandi Daley Mackall has written dozens of articles for popular magazines and published around 500 books for children and adults alike, with sales of over 4 million.

A frequent guest on radio and television talk shows, she lives in rural Ohio with her husband, three children, horses, dogs, & cats. Awards include the Edgar Award for Best YA Mystery, the Helen Keating Ott Award for Contributions to Children's Literature; Distinguished Alumni Award from Mizzou; ALA Best Book; Christian Children's Book of the Year, Amelia Bloom, Mom's Choice Awards. Her YA novel, My Boyfriends' Dogs, is now a Hallmark movie.

Reviews

[Parker Keys_to_hades · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my favourite out of the whole series! I learned so much about cats, and bonded really well with mine after reading this (I was about eleven).
Still taking a star off for the wishy-washy theology (which isn’t as bad in this book) and the slightly unrealistic family.
Parents may want to know that the main character of this book vomits a lot (because she has cancer) and there are some barfing jokes in here.

[Leeanne G · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Yep," I tell her, getting it myself at last. "That's all. Just because. Princess should have a home because she's Princess. That's all. She doesn't have to do anything. And guess what. Neither do I!"

I love this book. Five stars through and through! I love all the animals (the cats especially). I really like Kat and the Coolidge's. And this quote of hers. I wish all people would realize that their pets don't have to be perfect and neither does anyone else. Thanks Kat! 🐈

[Taryn Spearey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kat thinks that, in order to be proud to have the Coolidge. On top of that, she has cancer and has to work on a school project with one of the mean girls in her class.

I'm not at all a fan of Fiona. Just because Princess the cat was both deaf anf blind doesn't have to mean anything. Fiona was just plain mean.

I don't think Kat had to do anything to become part of her new family. They said multiply times in the book that they'll love her no matter what.

All these Starlight Animal Rescue books were so wonderful to read. All 5 star reads!

[Lorelai Howe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was amazing Kat seems really strong and amazing I wish I was her best friend and Alex I swear has a crush on her

[Luke · Rating 4 out of 5]

who is your favorite character and why?
Princess The Cat! Because She's Such A Boss. SHe's Really Smart!! She is Also Blind And Deaf.
What surprised you most?
Princess The Cat Being Blind and Deaf
Would you change the ending? Why/Why not?
No, Because I was Expecting It To Be like That SO I Really JUst Liked It The Way It Was.

Thank You But I Have A Song For You!

We're no strangers to love
You know the rules and so do I
A full commitment's what I'm thinking of
You wouldn't get this from any other guy
I just wanna tell you how I'm feeling
Gotta make you understand
Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry
Never gonna say goodbye
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you
We've known each other for so long
Your heart's been aching but you're too shy to say it
Inside we both know what's been going on
We know the game and we're gonna play it
And if you ask me how I'm feeling
Don't tell me you're too blind to see
Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry
Never gonna say goodbye
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you
Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry
Never gonna say goodbye
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you
Never gonna give, never gonna give
(Give you up)
We've known each other for so long
Your heart's been aching but you're too shy to say it
Inside we both know what's been going on
We know the game and we're gonna play it
I just wanna tell you how I'm feeling
Gotta make you understand
Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry
Never gonna say goodbye
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you
Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry
Never gonna say goodbye
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you
Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry
Never gonna say goodbye

[Twyla · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite part was when Kat managed to find out what was wrong with Princess, and managed to teach her a very good trick, even though Fiona still wouldn't have wanted to keep the cat afterwards. My least favorite part was when Kat had to miss all of that school because she was sick.

[Andrew Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved this book I am really glad I am able to finish this series.

[Natalya Watkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book. I actually really love the 1 though 4. They were all good

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one I could relate to more because I spend more time with cats than dogs or horses. But why is the cat on the cover giving me the squinty eyes? What did I ever do to it?

[Daviess County Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book in five words or less: A great Christian book series.
Wow! This is a heavy, yet heartwarming book. I jumped into the Starlight Animal Rescue Series, Volumes 1-4: on book 3 Wild Cat. Hamilton, Missouri, native and author Dandi Daley Mackall has done it again with this wonderful series. Your heart goes out to Katharine, a 12-year-old girl fighting cancer. The book dives into the struggles she faces with cancer and feeling like she’s not worthy enough to be adopted by a great family who will adore her. Via a school project, Katharine works to help her classmates solve behavioral problems with their cats. In helping one of the cats, Katharine realizes sometimes you don’t have to do anything to be special or deserving because good families just love you for who you are. It’s a wonderful message--definitely recommend!

[Jennifer L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I started reading this book, I didn't realize it was book three of a four book series. It is great as a stand-alone book, or if you're like me, now I want to read the whole series!

Kat is in junior high, which is always a tough time in life, but to make it more difficult, she has cancer and it's not uncommon that she will vomit. A lot. So this is geared for girls 9-12 but because of that, I could just hear myself at that age saying "That's sooooooo gross!" Of course, for a child with cancer, this would be a welcome book because I've not read that many books that have the main characted as a teen with cancer, at least not when it discusses the effects of treatment such as the vomiting and she does remove her wig at one point as well as deciding "which hair" to wear for the day.. Another major issue addressed is foster children and adoption.

In this book, Kat is going to be adopted and she feels like everyone in her family has done something great and she doesn't deserve to be a Coolidge. When a project at school comes up, she hopes it will proves she does deserve to be a Coolidge. She and Fiona decide to start a service to improve the behavior of their classmates' cats. Fiona has a cat that she calls dumb, and Kat takes it home to see how she can help it. In the end, will Fiona reject Kat as she has her feline cat?


I very much enjoyed this book, and I think most tween girls would as well.

[R.J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very emotional. With the main character having cancer, having to battle peer preasure, and the loss of a dear animal, I found myself close to tears on more than one occasion. However, Kat, is a very committed Christian and always relies on Him through every trial, she is also very funny and constantly turns bad situations into fun learning ones. She taught me some very valuable lessons, and I think this book was my favorite out of the series.

[J.M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this sweet book about Kat, a spunky young girl who is suffering with cancer yet doesn't allow her illness to define her. I love her quirky foster family, and the lessons she learns about love, friendship, and family are priceless.
And, of course, I enjoyed the animals at Starlight Animal Rescue, especially Princess the cover-model cat.

[Lenaya Kvale · Rating 5 out of 5]

i just think it's an AMAZING book!!!!!!!!!!

[115 Hannah]

VERY SAD but VERY SWEET.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute kid's story! I will be reading the rest of the series. I am bummed that I started on the 3rd in the series, and I'm heading back.

[Sarah]

ohhhhhh yeah wild cat was a wild ride 😂