Helen Brown writes well enough, but I was expecting this story to focus more on the cat. It’s really about a difficult year in Helen’s life growing up in a quirky and somewhat dysfunctional family in New Zealand in the 1960s. I cringed at the lack of proper care for the family’s pets, as well as the restrictive gender roles and lack of environmental awareness that must have been typical of that time and place. I was also unsure how to interpret the author’s belief that she was visited by fairies and could telepathically communicate with Mickey. I don’t know whether that was metaphorical, a childish flight of fancy, or intended as fact.

The audiobook production was good, and I enjoyed Cat Gould’s narration. I found her voice and accent pleasant to listen to and generally easy to understand. Her pacing is appropriate and she is able to convey emotions effectively.

I found Helen’s story interesting enough, even though it wasn’t what I expected. This book is most likely to appeal to those who enjoy coming of age stories and personal memoirs as well as animal stories and are curious about life in New Zealand in the 1960s from a tween girl’s perspective.

I received a free advanced listener copy of the audiobook through NetGalley. I volunteered to provide an honest review.

"Mickey" is a memoir more of an unconventional family than of a cat. Mickey is just one of the characters that round out the author's young life. When the author's father gave her a stray kitten he'd found, he left her to her own devices to hide it from her mother, whom he knew would not allow the cat. And much of the book was about straddling that line of caring for the cat and avoiding her mother's censure.

Many times during the story, we're reminded of how much better her mother's life would have been had she pursued a career rather than having a home and family; and that sentiment is never really dispelled. The stray kitten, Mickey, is the only one the author could truly count on to love her, and even then, the kitten was standoffish for a long time before warming up to the author.

In the end, I felt sorry for the author more than appreciating what was described as a "witty and warm" memoir.

While the story was well-written, I'm not certain that it lives up to the subtitle of "The Cat Who Raised Me." It often seemed the author was left to raise herself. And while caring for Mickey gave her a purpose and direction, I'm not certain that the cat really taught her any life lessons, which I would have anticipated based on that subtitle.

Overall, I enjoyed the book, but it's not one I would read a second time.

Thank you to Helen Brown, HighBridge Audio and NetGalley for an advance review copy.

Mickey: The Cat Who Raised Me was authored Helen Brown and was narrated by Cat Gould.

This was an interesting story told from the author’s 12-year-old point of view. As the rescuer of 3 feral kittens, I could relate to the trouble Helen had with Mickey and the feeling of victory as Mickey began to trust her. Saying Helen had a quirky home environment is an understatement. There were a couple of very surprising events. I really liked the updates on the main figures in the story at the end. This was a heartwarming story and I recommend it.

Thank you to the author, HighBridge Audio, and NetGalley for the Advanced Listener Copy (ALC) copy of this book and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

This was an adorable book, I just loved it! I love the fact that Helen Brown writes from her 12-13 year old vantage point. It celebrates the times of the early to mid sixties in Australia. She beautifully illustrates her eccentric family through a child's imagination and feelings. What a great book!
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