Review: The story is sweet, the characters are endearing, and the mystery is, well, mysterious...
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 02 27, 2012
Having previously reviewed the first in the series, I was pleased to move on to the second at the request of the author, Vickie Johnstone, who generously provided my review copy.Strange things are afoot in the Cat City: giant mice, weird magic bursts, buildings in lock-down mode, and a surprising discovery about both the nature of magic - and of Kiwi herself. If you're not up on the whole Kiwi-the-Cat thing, check out Alynn's review for a good synopsis of the Kiwi-universe. In a very tiny nutshell, Kiwi is the pet of two children (Amy and James) - when she's in this world. In HER world, Cat City, she is a bit of a detective and the two children (known as Ames and Jimster there) are rather like her pets - they help her solve mysteries. In this, book two of the Kiwi series, the mystery is to figure out what happened to all of the Cat City magic.The story is sweet, the characters are endearing, and the mystery is, well, mysterious. It starts with the aforementioned giant mouse (a definite oddity in Cat City), which triggers a locked-down Cat Central (the coolest description of a policemen's defensive posture ever, seeing as it involves the actual building going into hiding). Add in a genuinely crazy villain (someone you've met briefly, if you've visited Cat City before), Kiwi's mom, and a trip to mouseland, and you are in for one unusual trip!This is a lovely series. As with all well-written and thoughtful books for younger readers (and, come to think of it, "older" readers too), there are life-lessons threaded throughout the narrative about the importance of loyalty, courage, perseverance, and being a good catizen, er, I mean, citizen.  Johnstone's prose is easy-going and she throws just enough fun and frivolity in to hold your attention - be you child, tween, teen, or adult, I think.