I got this softcover from a local Savers thrift shop on senior discount day, for another release copy.

This is a charming manga series about a lost kitten who finds a new home - and then has quite a few adventures getting used to her new life. Nearly all of the strips are self-contained mini-stories, and while later volumes do begin to have longer-running, more complex story lines, most of these strips are quite enjoyable on their own; you don't need to have read previous books to enjoy them.

Among the many Classic Cat-behavior bits: the scene where a sleeping Chi is so very, very cute that the family hovers around her exclaiming at her cuteness, only to wake her with their attention and make her stalk away. How often has one of mine given me the "Enough, already" eye-roll. But then when the family gets caught up reading the news from a friend and ignores Chi, well, Chi goes to considerable lengths to get back in the center of things - by lying down on the postcard!

This volume introduces some drama in the form of a huge black cat who roams the neighborhood stealing food, and who even saunters into Chi's apartment, where both Chi and the family's young son can't quite figure out how to get it to leave. (When Mom gets home we have a charming scene in which both Chi and Yohey describe how they were defending each other from the vicious beast.)

Other scenes include Chi "helping" Dad while he's working (by batting around crumpled papers, pens, and pencils), "comforting" him when he's sick (by pointing out, with loud cheerful mews, the birds flying by outside),

Among the more poignant bits are the longer and longer intervals in between Chi's memories of her mother and siblings; they're clearly fading as she settles in happily with her new family (after all, Chi doesn't know that pets aren't allowed in their apartment complex), but they do crop up now and then. Like the one where she drops off on Dad's chest, with her little face buried in his sweater, as vague memories of her mother float past and she thinks "I wonder what this feeling is?"...

Lots and lots of "Awww!!" in these books, quite a few laugh-out-louds, and the occasional sniffle. I love this series!

[See its TV Tropes page here.]

I left this book in the Little Free Library; hope someone enjoys it!

[See other recent releases in NH here.]

Released for:

** 2024 e-less challenge **