The Nine Lives of Travis Keating
Grade 4–7—Travis Keating and his widowed father have moved to Fiddler's Cove, a tiny coastal community in Newfoundland, where Mr. Keating is planning to serve for a year as the area physician. Travis is unhappy about it, and the almost instant attention of the school bully makes matters even worse. Ostracized by the kids at school and feeling distant from his father because of his reluctance to discus his wife's death, Travis discovers a colony of feral cats living in a dilapidated cove. His decision to care for them eventually has long-ranging repercussions as he, in need of a support system, reaches out to some of his classmates. Travis is likable and sympathetic, an ordinary middle-school boy who has weathered a difficult life experience. His relationships with the supporting characters—his father, the school bully, classmates Prinny and Hector, and the crotchety neighbor who befriends him—show Travis to be a boy of imagination, courage, and empathy. This is a solid piece of contemporary fiction with an interesting story. It should have broad appeal.—Kara Schaff Dean, Walpole Public Library, MACopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.