Best Friends for Never

Katie the Catsitter #2

by Colleen A.F. Venable, Stephanie Yue (illustrator)

Katie loves skating with the Wheelas and the fact that she’s officially a superhero sidekick. But now that school’s starting, everything’s changing. The Mousetress is getting blamed for things Katie knows she didn’t do. Sidekick training is NOT as exciting as she’d hoped. Katie’s best friend Beth is back in town and Beth’s new boyfriend is always hanging around (ugh!). Not to mention that all of Katie’s friends are mad at her. Fixing this will be harder than any skateboarding trick. But with the help of 217 slightly out of the ordinary cats, Katie’s going to try! Can she clear the Mousestress’s name, uncover the real supervillain, and become the sidekick (and the friend) she’s always dreamed of being?

Genres: Graphic Novels, Middle Grade, Fantasy, Animals, Cats, Friendship, Fiction

224 pages, Library Binding

First published February 15, 2022

About the author

You might know me from such films as "Colleen's Fourth Birthday Party" and "Colleen Falls Down Over and Over Again While Ice Skating."

Fun facts!
-I have a huge connect-the-dots tattoo.
-I accidentally started an international holiday.
(See National Pancake Day or Lumberjack Day, every Sept 26)
-I once sang back-up on an album nominated for the Polka Grammy.
-I can't sing.
-When I was 18, I broke a national coed jump-rope record.

My debut YA graphic novel Kiss Number 8 was a National Book Award Longlist title, an Eisner nominee, and a Prism award finalist.

My graphic novel series Guinea Pig, Pet Shop Private Eye (illustrated by Stephanie Yue) was nominated for an Eisner for Best Publication for Kids and awarded “Best Book” recognition from Kirkus Reviews, NYPL, Bank Street, and the Junior Library Guild.

I grew up in the trees of Walden, New York….well, not very high up the trees, since I always got scared, but I did carve my name in a lot of low hanging boughs. I had an older sister, a dog, a cat, a million fish, and an imaginary pet hamster named, yup you guessed it, Hamisher. Why have an imaginary friend when you can have an imaginary friend that can fit in your pocket!

I went to Wagner College and double majored in English and Studio Art, winning the award of “biggest dork” (aka first in my class)

I love graphic novels more than I love having feet and I really do love having feet. They keep my shoes on.

Pssst My name is actually spelled Colleen AF Venable. No punctuation. My birth name was Colleen Ann Venable, but in 1994 I asked to change my middle name to Felicity, because that's the sort of thing you do when you are 14. So I started to go by Colleen AF...mostly because I was bad at typing periods. The internet either ruined my name or made it SO MUCH COOLER. You can decide.

Reviews

[give me books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Idealne na oderwanie się

[Darla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Katie the Catsitter is back and she is struggling. If only she could show everyone that the Mousetress is a superhero, not a villain. If only she could have her best friend Bethany back the way things were before summer camp. If only she could stop hearing about Stainless Steel every time she turns around. If only she could try out those suction cup shoes. . . Do they really work? I loved the lessons Katie learns about being a good friend while she is helping the Mousetress and learning more about being a sidekick. The scene where Katie happens upon a sidekick meeting is hilarious. And all those talented cats are back doing what they do. There are some great surprises too, like new identities of superheroes revealed and the long awaited takedown of a villain or two. Looking forward to seeing the Mousetress and her sidekick take on Buttersoft Bionics in Book 3.

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

[Marta Demianiuk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Drugi tom jest nieco mniej zaskakujący, dlatego dostaje ode mnie jedną gwiazdkę mniej, ale to wciąż przezabawny i mądry komiks, którego lektura przyniosła mi mnóstwo radości. Uwielbiam humor autorek, uwielbiam tę kreskę, a przede wszystkim - uwielbiam kocich bohaterów.

I już nie mogę doczekać się tomu trzeciego.

[Kaye · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is Book 2 in the adventures of Katie the Catsitter. Katie's world includes skateboarding with her friends and trying to be the sidekick to Mousetress, a superhero. Returning to school Katie's one friend is attending another school and her other friend now has a boyfriend. It is super confusing as to where she fits in. And Moustress is getting blamed for bad things so now everyone thinks that she has gone evil when Katie knows it isn't true. But how can she get her to stand up for herself. The storylines are fun and fit the intended age group. This graphic novel is beautifully illustrated. I think it does help to read the first book in the series, but it isn't a must. The main characters are all female but I like that in my school library, readers will easily cross gender lines when reading graphic novels. Recommend for 4th grade up through middle school. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's for a temporary eARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the first book more. In fact, I would highly recommend the first book. If you were to start reading from this book you would be confused, because from the cover, and from the start of the story, you would expect this book to be a typical middle-grade fiction about how friends change over the summer and make new friends, and it isn't the same any more.

And yes, it is that, but throw in Owl Guy and the Mouestress, as well Stainless Steel, who are all super heroes and super villains, depending on who you believe, then you'll see it is a very different middle grade graphic novel, and not what you expected.

Katie is the side-kick to the Mousetress, but she is bored with the training, and wants to do more.

And in the meantime, everyone is obsessed with Stainless Steel, except Katie, which makes it hard to relate to everyone else.

This is a cute series, and I look forward to the next story.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Truthfully, I couldn't remember a darn thing about the first book - I even forgot about how amazing the cats were! (For shame, Ashley.) So I was slightly confused starting this book out, though it fell into place pretty quickly. (Well, parts. I still don't remember the friend drama in the first book.)

This was another fun and cute story. I liked the superhero part of the story, I liked Katie's friend troubles, I liked Madeline's story - and of course, I liked the cats. (Especially The Cuteness, welder extraordinaire.)

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This will come as a surprise to literally no one, but I loved this book. To the point that I have trouble saying more than "I loved it! Go read it!" Like the characters, the writing, the art, the story, its all great.

I frequently reccomend this series for fans of the Baby-Sitters Club graphic novels and Raina Telgemeier.

[Chloe (Always Booked) · Rating 3 out of 5]

These books are fine, but this 2nd book confirms that I don't need to read any more of the series. I started this to pre-read for my daughter and I wanted to see what direction it takes, and I think its a fine read for younger readers, I'm just not interested. In this book, our main character Katie is going to be the sidekick to the Moustress but the moustress isn't really doing anything. There is an evil person impersonating her and trying to make her into a villain. Theres also someone trying to make another superhero into a villain. Katie is also skateboarding with some friends and the cats teach her some tricks. In the end, we find out who is impersonating the superheroes and the female superheroes team up to take him down. Yay feminism! There is just toooooo much going on in this book and the world building is so weak. I don't know how superheroes and regular people interact and I don't know if this is supposed to be more contemporary or more fantastical. Its just a weird balance.

[Rosie Angel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a super cute sequel to the first book. I won’t spoil it but the ending was very sweet and wholesome and makes up for the awkward and petty middle school friend drama. Looking forward to volume 3!

[Patrycja · Rating 4 out of 5]

7/10
Fajne słodkie przyjazne ALE
nie lubię Brittany xd Kati ma rcje laska się zmieniła i odcięła bo ma chłopaka
Mari czy jak jej tam powinna być częściej ją jak najszybciej lubię
Plot twist że ten dziadek był pierwszym superbohateren xd

[Steph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Katie and the Catsitter: Best Friends for Never both cracks me up and entertains me to the max. I don’t know I will wait til the next release in this graphic novel series, but I am SO there for it!

[Esme · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't like it at all, i thought it was boring and slow paced and very predictable. I'm really disappointed, I loved the first book.

[Aaliyahhh · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Angela Messaglia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just as cute and funny as book 1! These books are perfect for fans of Raina Telgemeier & Shannon Hale. It's interspersed with superheroes and dealing with issues that most middle schoolers deal with - like when your best friend gets her first boyfriend... ugh.

[Rachel Holtzclaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

this series stays being an absolute blast!

[Audge Podge 🦄 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was very amused and surprised the ENTIRE story. SUPER CARL IS MR QUINN?! MRS T IS STAINLESS STEEL?! WHAT?!?

[nataluslibrus · Rating 5 out of 5]

swietna zabawa bardzo sympatyczne

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

My daughter (Katie) and I eagerly awaited the release of the second book in this series, and it did not disappoint! The plot was crisp, fun, and often times hilarious. The humor was on point - funny for me AND for her (she's six) proving that the author can appeal to a wide range of audiences. We can't wait for book number three!

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 3 out of 5]

Library copy.

This one seemed more fantastical than the first book, or maybe more filled with adventure? Certainly something a little different, and since the first book has circulated well, I went ahead and bought the second. Not my favorite, but the art is good, and the comic book style characters are amusing.

[Maxine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like this one even better than the first. I was chuckling the whole time!

[Mackenzie Berry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story really shows the value of friendship and doesn’t take very long to read. I love this book and I know you will to!

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Cindy (leavemetomybooks) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fans of the first Katie the Catsitter book will be super excited to read the second installment of Katie's adventures with the Moustress and her 217 talented cats. This was cute and entertaining - kids are going to be into it for sure.

* thanks to Random House Books for Young Readers for the NetGalley review copy. This comes out February 15, 2022.

[Hung · Rating 5 out of 5]

I tried to get my partner into this series. I told him about how cute and funny the cats were. He was not interested until he looked over my shoulder while I was reading in the carpark last night.

"Is that cat picking a lock? Fine, I'll read it."

I was woken up by bouts of sniggering and uncontrolled laughter next to me on Saturday morning while I was trying to sleep in.

My job here is done.

[AF · Rating 5 out of 5]

Better than the first!!

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this second installment in the Katie the Catsitter series! Katie and The Moustress are back at it: saving animals, exposing bad guys, and wrangling an extraordinary army of cats. Katie's friendship struggles continue to plague her as she's now upset her friends from school and her new friend group, The Wheels. Katie will soon find out that not everyone is who they appear to be. Join Katie on another thrilling adventure as she attempts to clear the Mousestress’s name once and for all, uncover the real supervillain, and become the sidekick (and the friend) she’s always dreamed of being?

[Meagan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun plot twist but overall not in love with the story.

Daughter won't be reading it- there's a panel where the mom is telling Katie that someday she'll have a boyfriend or girlfriend or nonbinary friend etc. My daughter's not old enough to discuss sexual/gender topics, as much as modern culture tries to sneak it into most graphic novels and cartoons.

[Jana Henderson (Reviews from the Stacks) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a fun and wholesome series!

[Becky B · Rating 5 out of 5]

School's starting back up, but things are not back to normal for Katie. Well, she knew she wouldn't be quite normal after becoming her superhero neighbor's sidekick. But that also isn't panning out quite like she expected, and the Mousetress has done zero heists protests since Katie became a sidekick. Things at school are also awkward, and her friendship with Beth hasn't snapped back to what it was before she went to camp and got a boyfriend. She can't hang out with Marie like she did during the summer. And it feels SO weird to hear the whole world cheering on "superheroes" Katie knows to be villains and booing "villains" who are the real heroes. With friend trouble and a false Mousetress besmirching her neighbor's good name, will Katie's world ever get back to rights?

I gotta love my school community. The 9th grade English teacher came in to snatch up the latest Phoebe and Her Unicorn today to read (he might deign to let his kids read it too, maybe), and noticed I didn't have this one on the shelves yet. I told him that it is in the next order, but not here yet. And then he made my day asking if I wanted to borrow his personal copy. Of course I said yes. I devoured this as quickly as possible after school. And my day has been made because of the excellent taste and kindness of co-workers. This was just as delightful as the first. There are some stellar bits of both illustrated and textual humor. (The cats' reactions to the Mousetress' baking! And the top 10 Heroes & Villains lists at the end! 🤣) Katie's friend issues are relatable, while her sidekick experiences will make imaginations take flight. How they will fix the superhero/supervillain issues will keep readers guessing, and there's plenty of situational humor along the way, some excellent moms to pass out hugs and wise advice, and some good lessons to learn too. So much to love!

Notes on content: No language issues. No sexual content. The truly good guys do not like guns or fighting, and use their brains instead. One person is knocked down by a person flying through the air thanks to an accident with parachute pants. Katie lies to some friends, and learns why it is important to be honest and communicate clearly.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just like the first in the series, this was incredibly clever, wacky and funny. I laughed so many times! I couldn't put it down because I HAD to know what was going to happen even thoughh it was way too late at night.

This book isn't quite as successful as the first though. There is too much going on and too many plot threads. The first book gave real weight to the experiences of a preteen girl and her friendships. There were no easy solutions to her conflict with her friend. In this one, it combines her friendship challenges with the fantastical, and the fantastical makes everything better. This ends on a much more upbeat, everything will work out note, but it felt unearned. We didn't see Katie have to reckon with her actions and work through the conflict with her friends. We only see the aftermath of everyone hanging out together. I had hoped to see Katie realize she may not be able to combine friend groups - not everyone has the same interests. And when her friend gets a boyfriend, it's unusual he would just get adopted into the friend group so that the best friends can keep hanging out all the time.

I still get a ton of joy from this series, but I had hoped that the thread of our main character having to deal with the same issues as other girls her age and not have everything turn out perfectly would continue through the series. It turned a fun, wacky premise into something more special. Unfortunately, I didn't quite get everything I wanted from this second book, but I still really loved my reading experience. Also, I want more cat scenes in the next book!