I loved this story and would have written so much fan fiction about these talking cats when I was a young reader! The mysterious villain will make your whiskers curl!

Thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy of the novel.

2.5 Stars

The Cats of Silver Crescent is a contemporary fantasy that’s sort of hit and miss.

The book starts out strong. The setup and setting are somewhat magical, and there’s lots of curiosity on Elsby’s part. Even the cats are quirky, but charming to start with. But as the story progresses, the cats become creepier, the cat’s “favors” become increasingly more complicated, and the plot overall becomes darker. Though Elsby is 12, the book reads like the author is trying to appeal to adult sensibilities rather than children. Overall, it was just kind of meh. I suggest checking this one out from the library prior to purchase.

3.75 stars
You are probably wondering why I read and am reviewing a middle grade book about talking cats. Or maybe you're like "this makes total sense", which, fair. I requested this on NetGalley somehow not realizing at first that it was middle grade, because who doesn't love talking cats? Either way, it was a quick and fun read, and surprisingly atmospheric and cozy. 

Elsby is 13 and has just been dropped off at her Aunt Verity's house for a few weeks over the summer, who she's never met. Verity lives in a small town in Rhode Island that's full of beautiful nature and magical rumors. On her first day there, while exploring the yard, Elsby spots a cat walking on it's hind legs and wearing clothes. Obviously this requires investigating, and she ends up befriending the four talking cats next door, whose owner has recently passed away. The cats ask Elsby for favors to help them avoid being exposed to the human world, and gradually their requests get larger and larger, until Elsby wonders how safe and trustworthy they are. 

Elsby also meets a girl her age in town, so there are some entertaining middle school girl dynamics at play, as well as creative issues, as Elsby is a writer who finds herself unable to get past the first chapter in any of her novels. Relatable. In the end, I have decided I don't want my cat to be able to speak after all, but this was a cute read, nonetheless. If you are a child I'm not sure why you're on NetGalley, but if you have a child, maybe recommend this book to them, it was lovely. Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

The Cats of Silver Crescent was an unexpected joy for me. I mean I love cats and I love magic, but I just didn’t know how much I would end up loving talking cats in vintage clothing. Silver Crescent is well written and kept my attention throughout the book. I loved how each cat in Silver Crescent has such a different personality and is very much their own important character. I found myself comparing my own two cats and wondering what different personalities I would see if they could also talk. I loved the themes of friendship and forgiveness. Not only finding a need to forgive, but discovering a path that is often hard to want to and issue forgiveness. The human characters were just as complex as the talking cats and each provide important support to the story. If you love books about magic, mystery, animals, and even a bit of a spooky ghostly element, then you should read this book.

As someone revisiting the world of middle grade fiction after many years, diving into "The Cats of Silver Crescent" by Kaela Noel was a nostalgic journey filled with wonder and delight. This quirky middle grade fantasy adventure follows a young girl as she navigates the challenges of a new town, unexpected friendships, and mysterious occurrences.

Set in a small Rhode Island town, the story centers around a young girl sent to live with her great-aunt, where she encounters not only a new friend but also four extraordinary cats who hold secrets beyond the ordinary. As the protagonist embarks on this mystical adventure, readers are treated to a tale of courage, friendship, and self-discovery.

One of the highlights of "The Cats of Silver Crescent" is its portrayal of the protagonist's journey of growth and self-acceptance. Despite the challenges she faces, the young girl finds companionship and a sense of purpose in her newfound friends, both human and feline. I appreciated the nuanced depiction of her relationship with her aunt, which eschewed patronization in favor of support and understanding.

While some aspects of the story may veer into darker territory, particularly towards the end, Noel handles these themes with care, ensuring that younger readers can still find enjoyment in the narrative. The blend of everyday challenges and magical elements creates a captivating backdrop for the protagonist's coming-of-age journey.

"The Cats of Silver Crescent" is a charming tale that will resonate with young readers and adults alike. With its relatable characters, engaging plot, and touches of magic, Kaela Noel has crafted a delightful middle grade adventure.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

In a Nutshell: Grabbed it for the title, the cover, and the premise. This was supposed to be a contemporary MG fantasy with talking cats. However, the fantasy takes a much darker turn than expected, the cats held no appeal after a point, and the story also was mostly boring. Overall, very disappointed. Wouldn’t recommend this to cat-loving kids.

Plot Preview:
Twelve-year-old Elsby is spending a couple of months with her great-aunt Verity in Rhode Island as her mother has to travel for work. While wandering in the back garden, she stumbles on an unexpected sight: a cat, standing on its hind legs, and dressed in a sailor suit. Elsby cannot believe her eyes, but the cat runs away before she can figure out if it was real or a part of her imagination.
At night however, the cat, along with three other cat friends, comes to Elsby’s bedroom, and begins to talk! They want Elsby’s help, and Elsby, being an animal lover, cannot refuse them. However, it soon becomes clear that the help goes much beyond what the cats initially revealed.
The story comes to us mostly in Elsby’s and the cats’ third-person perspectives.

Bookish Yays:
😻 Talking cats – the only novelty of the book.
😻 Great cover.

Bookish Mixed Bags:
🐱 Elsby – Helpful. Animal lover. Bibliophile. Doesn’t know how to say no. Keeps secrets from mom and great-aunt. Not sure how effective she is as a protagonist. I found her lacklustre.
🐱 Verity and Rose (the cats' owner) – Very interesting characters but don’t get much page space. The big reveal about Verity at the end came out of nowhere. Wish it had been explored right from the start as that was the most interesting part of the book.

Bookish Nays:
😿 The cats: Bet you didn’t expect to see the cats in the Nays column! Neither did I! I usually love fictional animals. But that’s how bad their portrayal is. Each cat has a different personality, but the dominant one, Clarissa, blatantly indulges in gaslighting, manipulating, and bullying. She is rude and self-centred, and not afraid to guilt-trip her companions. As she gets most of the key scenes, the experience is irksome.
😿 The plot development: It begins with one idea, and goes into totally unexpected territory. There’s no connection between the start and the end.
😿 A major chunk of the book is about Elsby’s feelings of inadequacy, which is really disappointing when you expect a book about cats.
😿 The pacing is slow at the start, boring in between, and overly rushed at the end. One arc isn’t even completed. I am not sure if it is leaving the doors open for a sequel, but my doors are shut against it.
😿 Somehow, the tone of the book feels very pretentious, what with characters spouting old poems and advocating only classical literature. If it intended to create a passion in little readers for old-school art, it doesn’t happen.
😿 There are many plot points that I am not sure were needed. Cats getting high on catnip, sad revelations about what animal shelters do to animals who aren't adopted after 90 days, occult ideas such as interacting with spirits and spirits returning from the dead - how is all this built into a MG work? The occult content isn’t scary, I admit, but there should be some clue in the premise that the plot goes into such pseudo-horror territory. Some children might genuinely be spooked by such dark magic, especially when cats are involved.
😿 You can't create a villainous threat when you don't even intend to use his presence for more than a couple of paras in the climax. What a waste of an arc!

I thought I was being exceedingly harsh on an MG book, especially considering how I almost always enjoy this genre. So I passed on the book to my middle-grader, hoping to have a more balanced perspective from the target audience. She completed the book only out of a sense of obligation to me. Numerous times, she told me how boring the whole book was, and how horrible the ending was. She was also annoyed by something one character said to another during the finale, which she considered very selfish.

All in all, this is a confused book. Not ‘confusing’; ‘confused’. Like it isn't sure what it wants to do, and ends up doing a bit of everything and justice to nothing.

I don’t think I can recommend this book, especially to cat-loving children because they will be horrified at the cat-rep in this tale. But it *might* work better with little dark-fantasy lovers. Just in case there’s a sequel planned for the incomplete arc, I hope it sorts things out neatly, but I won’t be reading it.

1.5 stars. (1 star from my daughter, 2 stars from me. Averaged and rounded up.)

My thanks to HarperCollins Children's Books and NetGalley for the DRC of “The Cats of Silver Crescent”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book. Sorry this didn’t work out better.

Thank you to HarperCollins, Kaela Noel, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC!

This is a very fun, very whimsical story of mystery and magic. And cats!! Elsby is a very flushed out character full of feeling and quirk and feels right at home in the New England setting (especially for a New Yorker!). While the first few chapters are a bit exposition heavy, the story is fantastic and, as a New Englander myself, invoked so much nostalgia. In many ways, it reminded me of Hocus Pocus and the feeling I get when spooky season comes around!

This was an adorable read, perfect for a middle grade reader. It’s a cozy light fantasy about talking cats that walk on their hind legs and wear clothes and need to perform a magical spell on the solstice to maintain this. The illustrations at the beginning of the chapters are a delight!

Kaela Noel's The Cats of Silver Crescent is exactly the sort of book I would have loved in late grade school or Junior High. It has a bookish girl for a heroine, her budding friendship with a goth girl, talking cats who wear clothing and read books, a great-aunt who appears not to find anything too unlikely to be believed (in a good way), and a creepy town with a creepy founder hoping to return from the dead. The build-up here is slow, the end a bit rushed, but it offers exactly the kind of fantasy I've always found delightful.

I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher; the opinions are my own.

This middle grade fantasy has it all - a child dropped off with a mysterious great-aunt for the summer, magical talking cats, ghosts, the messiness of new friendship, and magical rituals gone awry. This book bridges the gap between middle grade animal-fiction lovers and fantasy aficionados. I enjoyed it quite a bit— it is the exact kind of book I would have DEVOURED in fifth grade. I would give this book to an ambitious third grader and up.

Elsby’s mom is an Art curator and has a job in LA… Elsby is staying with her aunt in Rhode Island who is a archeologist professor on summer break, Elsby discovers that the house her aunt lives in, the neighbors are not what she expected.

Cottagecore + Beatrix potter…I loved the descriptions, Elsby’s first sightings of her aunts house to the tangled unkept gardens in the back… this book gave off major cozy vibes! This is yet another book I could see my younger self devouring and making my personality.

Thank you HarperCollins Books 📖
Releases 4/30

Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Lyon.brit.Andthebookshelf/

FANTASTIC!! I will absolutely be purchasing this book for my library. The story was unique and so much fun. I think a wide range of kids, teens, and even adults will love this read. Magical talking cats had me hooked right away, but I sped through this story as I couldn't stop thinking about it when I tried to put it down!

The Cats of Silver Crescent" by Kaela Noel is a charming middle-grade fantasy filled with whimsy and a touch of darkness. Twelve-year-old Elsby's summer takes an unexpected turn when she encounters a family of talking cats in Beatrix Potter-style clothing living next door. Drawn into their magical predicament, Elsby must navigate a world where feline companions quote T.S. Eliot and engage in both enchanting and perilous activities. Noel masterfully blends a sense of place, incorporating a cottage filled with antiques and old books, creating an atmosphere that lures readers in before taking a dark turn. The story explores themes of friendship, family, and the price of magic. With well-developed characters and a unique storyline, "The Cats of Silver Crescent" is a delightful read that captivates with its adorable yet cunning feline protagonists and the unexpected twists that keep readers on the edge of their seats.

Elsby MacBride has to spend the summer with her Great Aunt Verity, an archaeology professor, in Snipatuit, Rhode Island when her mother, an art curator, needs to go to Los Angeles. It's a big change from New York City, and Elsby is apprehensive about staying in a cottage and fending for herself. It doesn't help when she catches sight of a cat in Beatrix Potter style clothing, and is later approached by four cats... who talk! The owner of Verity's, Rose, passed away suddenly, and the cats are living in her house. They are running out of food, and Rose, who was a librarian at the local Atheneum, told them to seek out a child if they ever needed help. Horatio, Clarissa, Marzipan, and Tapioca were all rescued by Rose, but they are vague about how they can talk, saying only that magic was involved. Elsby agrees to help, and manages to get to the local market to buy inordinate amounts of meat without Verity finding out. She does meet Penelope Perez at the Atheneum, and the two strike up a friendship. Elsby tells Penelope about the cats, and brings her to meet them. Marzipan is a poet who quotes T.S. Eliot, Tappy is grief stricken by Rose's death, Horatio seems content to just hang about, and Clarissa is evil. Really evil. She not only demands that Elsby help the cats, and never says thank you, but is engaged in studying dark magic. Elsby is leery of Clarissa's plans, so Clarissa manages to talk Penelope into helping the cats with a renewal spell. This spell might have hastened Rose's death, but Penelope is so enthralled by the thought of doing actual magic that she is willing to help. This causes the girls to have a fight, but when Elsby uncovers information about just how bad this magic is, she tries to save her friend. Luckily, help comes from an unexpected place. Will it be enough to keep Clarissa from hurting the girls?
Strengths: This had a great sense of place, and the cottage filled with antiques and old books, along with the cats in pinafores makes you think "Oh, how cute! Let's have tea with the cats!" BEFORE THEY KILL YOU. Whew. Elsby has some anxiety about her mother being away from her, but seems to do okay with this weird occurrence. I was glad that she had Penelope to help her, although that didn't work out too well. That dynamic tracks very well with middle school friendships, though. Verity was a great character, and used quite well. Despite the overall cute feel to this, it takes a dark, dark turn, with evil magic. Like this author's Coo, this is definitely an original middle grade novel!
Weaknesses: I would have liked to know more about Rose and the magic instead of Elsby's anxiety. There could be a whole novel about Rose and the cats in the 1970s. I'd read that.
What I really think: I thought this would be a bit like Waugh's The Mennyms (1993), which is one of my favorite magical realism titles, but it got dark in a way I didn't expect, rather like Saunders' 2013 The Whizz Pop Chocolate Shop.

This was a sweet read and one I enjoyed immensely. I could see my daughter enjoying it and it reminds me of books that would have appealed to me when I was younger. A feel good book and a fun one to read!

The Cats of Silver Crescent are indeed quite special. Their mysterious circumstances and need for human help lead the reader on a very unique journey. With dry humor and suspense, it's easy to root for Elsby as she learns more and more about the cats. I was expecting a bit more coziness from the story, but it is still one that I would recommend, especially for lovers of spooky stories.

“The Cats of Silver Crescent” is an enchanting middle grade fantasy novel. A perfect book for cat lovers, and lovers of magic. It had a perfect mix of whimsy and mystery, that kept me turning to the next page. The family of talking cats are amusing in their differences and similarities with normal cats. Each cat had a different personality and ones I could recognize in cats I’ve met in my own life. I believe the young protagonist and narrator Elsby would be very relatable for young girls with creative interests or are animal lovers. Elsby also makes friends with a girl named Penelope and is, in my opinion, good representation for young girls on the autism spectrum. I enjoyed the themes of friendship and honesty that are part of the book, and the personal development that Elsby’s character undergoes because of her adventures with the talking cats. This was a fun read, I’d be interested to see what else the author may write.

If you love cats, you NEED to read this. A young girl discovering a group of talking cats living next door who need her help. There's magic, wholesome friendships, ghosts! A well rounded cute story that had me invested 'till the end.
Full review to come on YouTube

THE CATS OF SILVER CRESCENT by Kaela Noel is a cute, fun mystery tale about friendship and secrets. And talking cats, too!

What a fun and magical starter fantasy read for readers of all ages - but primarily younger readers! I really enjoyed the descriptive writing and imagination behind the cats in silver crescent and am hoping there are many more adventures with Aunt Verity, Elsby, and Penelope! A great story with lessons around friendship and conflict resolution.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.