5^th Grade and Up

The cat that Olive rescues from a flood has a secret: he’s not really a cat at all, but an alien who crashed to Earth on a beam of light. The cat, whom Olive names Leonard, was prepared to visit the planet as a human—but something went wrong. Now Leonard may never know what it’s like to hold an umbrella, go bowling, or host a dinner party.

While Olive worries about whether she will have to move after her mom and her new boyfriend get back from their summer vacation, Leonard tries to figure out how to get from South Carolina to Yellowstone National Park because if he’s not there at the end of the month, he’ll miss his ride home. But as Olive teaches Leonard about the beautiful and confusing world of humans, he starts to realize how much he cares about this particular one.

A highly intelligent alien lifeform stuck on Earth in the body of a cat. What an amazing plot that is! I love this book so much! It made me laugh, it made me think, it made me feel. Those are all the requirements for a good story. What makes this story so great is that it’s believable. This is precisely how a highly intelligent alien lifeform would view Earth, with fascination and wanting to learn more.

I love Leonard’s fascination with the mundane aspects of human life. Every one of his observations about humans and Earth is highly entertaining. Here are a few of my favorites:

“Humans write books, and share thoughts over coffee, and make things for absolutely zero reason.”

“A Hawaiian shirt, I’ve come to understand – the king of shirts. If I could wear any item of clothing, it would be from Hawaii.”

“Do you know how lucky you are to have eyebrows? Do you?”

“Why was stubbing a toe so painful for humans? It’s a superficial appendage. There are nine others!”

“A toaster! Only humans could invent something so quaint. People cared deeply, about everything, even if it was just the crispness of their bread.”

I think a cat would be the perfect disguise for an alien lifeform. Cats are common creatures and are always popping up out of nowhere. Plus cats are pretty odd, so any weird behavior wouldn’t be questioned. Here are a few examples of cats acting strange from The Dodo’s YouTube Channel:

Cat Rolls Down The Stairs 5x A Day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZpZmpPh3NY

This Cat’s Obsessed With One Movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpwe7KB5trw

This Hawaiian Cat Loves Surfing With His Parents: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vBUxmWeoc0

Cat Jumps Over Kitchen Floor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGzIzZ6t-UA

Food-Obsessed Cat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zIzsLDzgqc&t=88s

This Cat’s Favorite Activity is Showering with Mom: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMPgtO-d3bQ

See what I mean. Any one of these cats could be an alien in disguise, observing our strange human ways.

I don’t want to spoil anything by talking about Leonard’s alien life or his planet, so you’ll have to read the book to find out. Just know that it is very different from life on Earth.

Besides Leonard, this book is full of well-rounded characters. My favorite is a man named Q. Everything out of Q’s mouth is either witty or insightful. He is the perfect example of an all-around decent, content human being. The kind of human Leonard wanted to be when he came to Earth.

Overall, this is a remarkable story, and I highly recommend it to fans of animal and alien books.