Such a cute middle grade novel with just the right amount of weird. Also, cats! I was fully invested in the friends solving the mystery.

I am so looking forward to reccommending this book to my younger students! Very cute, strange, a little mystery with a spin of aliens and zombies. This story could be enjoyed by kids prone to fantasy and sci fi and to cat lovers as well. I loved Leo!

I also liked how the story touches autism and how to be a good support system. Zach is very relatable and his relationship to Marlow made me smile. Marlow herself struggles with how to support her brother at such a young age and balancing her own needs.

Loved this!
This was such a fun and fast-paced read. I especially loved how Zach’s autism was shown as a superpower, not a problem. His unique way of thinking actually helps save the day, which is the kind of representation we need more of. A great story with heart, humor, and a lot of imagination.

From Rocket Propulsion Labs to Shakespeare in the woods. This book feels like a little kid telling a made-up story that gets wilder and more absurd; There’s a sister and brother, and a geomagnetic storm and lots of cats and fungal zombie spores and a meterorite and all the birds are missing and then there's aliens maybe and a big asteroid and, and, and. It's delightful, charming, weird, and for STEM kids and cat lovers and people who are up for one strange adventure.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a review copy of this in exchange for my thoughts.

The Curiosities is a cute middle grade story. I was pleased by the inclusion of an autistic main character and loved the bond he had with his big sister. However, some aspects of the book felt a little too twee, such as the talking cats and the kids' mom being referred to only as "Mumzy Bear." Of course, I'm not the target audience, and I think this would make a great addition to a children's classroom or library.

I received a digital copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.
I loved this so much. You have no idea. I cried at least 3 times while reading it. I'm not even usually drawn to middle grade but wow.
First of all, there were talking animals. They were mainly cats but not only did they talk to one another as well as other animals, but we also got a couple of their POVs. I loved that they all had distinct personalities and voices. In fact, all of the characters did. It was wonderful.
One of the main characters was autistic and not only did that fact just happen to come up organically, but I think it was explained in a way that is great for kids in the target demographic. "Some autistic people get as lost as anyone else. I'm the opposite. But that's the weird thing about autism. There's this endless checklist of traits and characteristics that some autistic people have and others don't. This is one I do." Perfect. I absolutely loved this. And in one scene, Zach was dealing with sensory overload and his sister remembered he didn't like to be touched when feeling like that. So not only is it, in my opinion, good representation, but his family respects his boundaries.
Now, I'm undiagnosed but I do suspect myself to have ASD, and I saw a lot of myself in Zach and that also made me emotional.
I also love that there was weird stuff going on in one specific part of the woods. It reminded me of The Bermuda Triangle and I love The Bermuda Triangle.
Some parts felt a little unrealistic but it was a horror with some sci-fi so I didn't even care. It was so fun. I had an absolutely delightful time reading this. Also the ending, you guessed it, made me cry.
I didn't realize this book came out in May but I'm definitely adding it to my wishlist! I truly do not have enough words for how much I loved this.

This was a fun story that goes between kids trying to find their missing teacher and cats trying to figure out where all the birds went. There was a lot going on in the book and some parts were a little confusing on what was going on as multiple story lines were happening at once. Switching between the kids and the cat narrative was interesting! However the narration would switch with just a space in between at times instead of a full chapter which made it a little harder to read. The last part of the book picked up the pace and the ending was interesting. Overall I found this to be a good mystery middle grade book.

I really enjoyed The Curiosities. It's a fantastic fast-paced adventure full of strange goings-on. As adventurous as it is, it's the characters that really make this book. The dual narrative between the siblings and Tullio (Leo) the cat and his other feline friends gives a split perspective that is really enjoyable. It cleverly gives the reader the opportunity to see things from different perspectives. Zach's autism is weaved into the story sensitively along with his relationship with his sister Marlowe. The cat characters of the story are simple sublime from Leo's wilyness to Mr Sneaze's grandiose language to Behemoth's, well, behemothness, their roles in the story are indispensable and the book wouldn't be the same without them. I liked how the story was set in an alternate or future reality, and addresses lots of issues such as environmentalism and global warming. As a teacher, I would very much enjoy reading it aloud to my class and will be recommending it to them.

The Curiosities
WH Eatons

Characters 4
Setting 3
Plot 4
Themes 3
Emotional 4
Enjoyment 4
Final 3.75 --> 4/5

After reading The Curiosities by WH Eatons, I rated it overall a 3.75, but am rounding to 4 stars. I’ll explain down below each of the categories; what I rated them and why.

Characters: 4/5
I really liked the diversity in characters and how fleshed out and real the author made them. They each had their own quirks that made them relatable to many different people. I loved that they had human characters and you could also look through the eyes of the cat characters as well. The cats were also very fleshed out and given their own characteristics like you would for human characters. I thought it was really fun how they tried to give explanations for certain quirky cat behaviors to make each cat unique. The reason I gave it a 4 instead of a 5 was because I actually found the cats perspective to be the more entertaining and I found myself kind of rushing through the kids’ perspectives.

Setting: 3/5
I gave the setting a 3 because it wasn’t really all that unique. It was a regular suburban neighborhood, and the story wasn’t really about the place as opposed to the mystery.

Plot 4/5
I gave the plot a 4 because it was an interesting mystery. You weren’t entirely sure what the ending was going to be and for someone like me who likes to overanalyze and try to figure out the ending before getting to the end, I wasn’t entirely sure what was going to happen. There was one part in the plot that I found to make not much sense. I can’t entirely say what it was, because that would spoil the ending.

Themes 3/5
I mean, there was a little bit of “don’t give up,” “you’re not weird, you just have differences that some people don’t understand,” and “go outside your comfort zone.” I didn’t really see anything kind of different. I enjoyed the messages; they just weren’t unique.

Emotional 4/5
I found myself really caring about the characters, both human and feline. With their quirks, I found it easy to see parts of the people I love in them.

Enjoyment 4/5
My overall enjoyment of the book I gave a 4 because, despite the shortfalls I found, I realized that this book is for younger readers and it makes sense through their eyes. The only thing that really dropped it for me was the hiccup I found with the mystery antagonist that I can’t say because it would ruin the mystery.

Overall, I ended up giving this book a 3.75/5 star, but am rounding up to a 4/5 star.

The book was good!
My son and I read this together, and he really enjoyed it — it had him laughing out loud more than once! While I did notice a few plot holes along the way, it didn’t take away from the fun. Overall, it was an enjoyable read, and I think kids will absolutely love it!

This was such a sweet middle grade book with so much representation and important themes throughout!
Tons of action and imagination, and I obviously loved it because half of the book is from the point of view of a stray cat 🥹

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Marlow and Zach are siblings that have completely different personality types. Zach is on the spectrum. He is bright and quirky. I actually really like his character. The two are always looking out for the next mystery which comes in the form of a possible alien invasion. As all the birds, insects and their favorite teacher disappear, they begin their quest to find the answers.
An added bit of fun is the boring neighborhood care, Leo, who doesn’t find fun in anything. But, as he realizes that real danger may be on the forefront, he aligns with his cat buddies assist Marlow and Zach to find the truth.
The story comes from two perspectives, the kids and the cats. Switching between them is flawless. The book was engaging and I enjoyed the characters and the plot line.
An added bonus, along with the book, I listened to the audible. Kudos to the narrator for doing a fabulous job with all the characters, even the animals. I will be recommending this book to my students and teachers

4.5⭐️
Thank you NetGalley for the digital read.

Stranger Things with Scooby Gang mixed with other Warrior Cat vibes is what this whole book feels like. I felt that the writing was done really well and definitely felt very educational in many fields of topics. Between the nature/ Space and even with Autism talk I felt I was learning different things. The characters were fun to follow especially the cats. Seeing how different the humans pov and the cats povs were. Example, how the cats thought there was an alien. But the humans saw that it was human. The story did drag a little in the middle. But overall I this was a cute read.

Yes, being curious can be scary but it couyalso be amazing and adventurous.

Funny and full of heart The Curiosities is a perfect read for animal and mystery lovers alike! With a cast of unforgettable and relatable characters W.H. Eatons delivers an unforgettable middle-grade masterpiece!

This is perfect! My daughter has recently started her reading journey, so I have added a few books to my ipad mini for her to read on kindle when on the go. The cover is so cute and I love the colors / illustrations! It was giving Alice vibes, which we LOVE, so we instantly needed to read.

I spent a lot of this book working to figure out what genre this book is. I have students who cannot read anything containing magic, so I always want to be prepared to tell them when a book is not a good fit. Despite some chapter names and the beginning chapter, there is no magic in this book. It is firmly science fiction.

Leo, the neighborhood cat, is proud of the fact that he is not curious. As hard as the cat talker (Zach) down the block tries to engage Leo, he does not give in to the temptation of curiosity. But when Leo's brother is distraught because all the birds disappear after an earthquake and landslide, Leo works to figure out what is going on. He joins two children, Zach the cat talker, and middle school sister Marlow in figuring out what is going on in their town.

This was a very enjoyable middle-grade mystery. The cats and kids were all wonderful characters. It kept me guessing throughout. I am ordering a copy for my elementary library, and I think it will work well in any collection aimed at middle-grade readers.

Thank you to Net Galley and Southbound Films for the DRC. All opinions are my own.

W.H. Eatons is an imaginative author who writes with zeal and earnestness. the Curiosities is a whimsical and creative adventure into the world of Marlow and Zach Metzler. Eatons shows his writing proficiency by turning an ordinary neighborhood feline, Leo, into yet another character, adding even more nuance and dimension to an already imaginative narration.

While I prefer books to be free of contractions and incomplete sentences, The Curiosities is worthy of notice. The author immerses readers into an exciting and elaborate world filled with adventure, mystery, and intrigue.

"Curiosity killed the cat..."

... but knowledge brought it back.

Thank you to Net Galley and Southbound Films for the opportunity to read and review this advanced copy of "The Curiosities" by W. H. Eatons (a.k.a. Mark Wheaton).

The bugs are behaving strangely, the birds have disappeared—and so has our teacher!

Zach is an autistic fourth-grader and together with his older sister, Marlow—and a curiously uncurious cat—they must solve a mystery to save their teacher and their new town, all while trying to navigate fitting in as the new kids at school.

This is definitely one for those kids who love science, space, bugs, and exploring nature! It combines nature conservation, space facts, and exogeology with a Nancy Drew/ Hardy Boys style mystery—oh, and did I mention the cats? So many cats.

I love finding books with positive autistic representation. Eatons does a wonderful job of showcasing Zach's strengths and presenting them as a part of his autism rather than as existing in spite of it. He also doesn't shy away from showing readers the challenges Zach faces, such as with peers and school. I loved the relationship between Zach and Marlow, and that we got to see it from both sides; Eatons even added a layer of complexity to this relationship that is incredibly realistic. As an autistic person myself and an older sibling to an autistic brother, I often found myself heavily relating to the experiences of both characters. Eatons based much of his portrayal of autism on experiences within his own family, and that reality definitely shows through!

I do wish, however, that there had been a bit more nuance to some of the explanations of autistic experiences. For example, "overstimulation" was often used very broadly to describe Zach's experiences and reactions, even when other words would have been more appropriate. Conversely, "stimming" (self-stimulatory behaviours) was used very narrowly, in that it was always assumed to be an indicator of anxiousness or overstimulation, even though autistic people stim for a variety of reasons and it does not always indicate something negative.

Of course, this is a middle grade book, and as such I do still think it serves as a good first exposure to autism (as I'm sure it will be the first for many young readers). I also think it would be great for older siblings of autistic kids or for those autistic kids who rarely get to see themselves represented as the hero!

CW/ TW: bullying

Middle grade children adventure books are some I am often drawn to for a light read with low-ish stakes and cute characters. Within this story, we have older sister Marlow and younger brother Zach, each with their own unique personalities and perspectives. Marlow has an online video channel about bees and herbs and the like while Zach is curious about everything and often “experiments” with what cats are curious about with the neighborhood cats, as well as having a great mind for leadership under-pressure. The author does a phenomenal job of addressing Zach’s autism by making it more like his superpower rather than a hindrance. The author also shows how some characters such as other school kids do not understand autism and thus see it as a weakness or see Zach as just “being different”.

Marlow and Zach are sucked into a whirlwind adventure when they are visiting a teacher’s house (pirate ship) with a group of other kids to watch a termite structure collapse. However, an earthquake hits the area around the same time and the teacher runs off to check on the bee hives located in the mountainous terrain. Marlow and Zach also notice the local wildlife is not acting normally, however, the cats of the neighborhood also seem to be on the case, especially Leo who is looking for where the birds have gone since his brother Cowfuzzi seems to be distraught by their absence.

Such a cute story and I was fully invested in the friends who banded together to solve the mystery. Very much a Goonies style mystery with kids on bikes off to save the day.

A charming middle grade adventure story featuring two siblings investigating mysterious happenings in their new hometown. These events, beginning with the sudden disappearance of all the birds in the area, are also being investigated by the formerly “uncurious” cat Leo and his friends.

One of the best qualities to recommend in this book is the thoughtful representation of neurodiversity, inspired by the coauthors’ own family.

An enjoyable read.