Katherine Applegate has a history of challenging my preconceived notions on what a good book should contain. First she did it with The One and Only Ivan. Now with Pocket Bear. I used to think that I only liked emotional books, and I had the idea that a book could only be emotional enough if the main characters were human. Well, alas!

Somehow Katherine Applegate made me care about what happened to an old stuffed bear. And believe me, that's not easy to do. Pocket Bear is about a mother and daughter (and cat!) who find, refurbish, and rehome stuffed animals and toys. It is all told from the perspective of the cat, Zephyrina, and includes plenty of trash-digging, mud-rolling, and dog-fighting. It's hilarious and is one of the cutest and coziest things I've read in a long time. From what I can tell, it also includes a lot of historical information about real stuffed bears, and it made me interested in doing more research on my own.

One of the things I appreciate most about Katherine Applegate's writing is her amazing descriptions. She makes me feel so much more than a lot of children's and middle-grade writers out there and transports the reader straight into the story. I also actually really enjoy the short chapters, which make it hard to stop reading. It's fast-paced and so much fun. Love, love, love this book. I don't think I have any real complaints about it.

I will recommend this book to anyone. I would say "anyone who likes books about stuffed bears," but I wouldn't exactly put myself in that category and hey, here we are!

Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC.