DON'T TRUST THE CAT

A fifth grader and her cat magically swap bodies.

After a particularly embarrassing day at middle school when she was laughed at and her friends didn’t stand up for her, Poppy McBean is sharing all her problems with the best listener she knows: her cat, Mitten Man. When she wishes she had his awesome, easy life, she suddenly magically transforms into Mitten Man’s feline self! Even more surprising, Mitten Man now inhabits Poppy’s body (and is from then on referred to as “Big Poppy”), and the two can communicate telepathically but only when looking at each other. Through alternating first-person narratives, readers follow girl and cat as they embark on strange new adventures and learn about each other, themselves, and what it means to be a good friend. There’s a slow start, but once the characters are a bit more settled in their new bodies, the pace picks up. Big Poppy is not great at thinking about others and makes many cringeworthy decisions. As “Old Poppy” (human girl Poppy in cat form) helplessly watches her friendships ruined, she winds up on a dangerous rescue mission involving a stray cat and a turtle that amps up the drama. There is plenty of humor throughout, but it’s the realistically imperfect friendships that give the book depth and heart. Poppy is assumed White; names imply some ethnic diversity among her friends.

Funny fare realistically exploring feelings.