The Last Journey

From an author best known for her highly successful Pony Club Secrets series, comes a standalone feline adventure that will have huge appeal to animal lovers and would be a fascinating companion read to the popular class read Varjak Paw, and with its short chapters and evocative illustrations, it will make an equally compelling book to share. Unusually this is an animal adventure with a dystopian edge, but one that is based on historical events, with the persecution of cats during the Black Death, and more modern history during the Covid pandemic, and an adventure with a strong environmental message that is again based upon real events. The roots of the story are explained in a fascinating afterword by the author and could lead to some interesting discussions with young readers. The story is entirely told from the cat’s perspective, with the cat in question told by his mama that he is descended from the Egyptian God Bastet and that his destiny is to change the world. Yet he is the last of the litter to find a home and is then christened Pusskin by his new owner Lottie, but the cats he meets rapidly learn not to be misled by the less than princely name. He soon has his humans exactly where he wants them and begins to rule the other cats in the cul-de-sac where they live. But an environmental crisis is looming, bird numbers are dwindling, and cats are being blamed. The cat perspective as a hunter is very clearly put, sometimes disturbingly so, but it is a strength that these are not anthropomorphised animals. When the government curfew restrictions fail to have the desired effect and other deadly actions are enforced, Pusskin leads the local cats in a bold escape. An elderly cat with The Sight tells them they must head for Cat Island where they could live safely. Their epic journey, aided by the heartbroken Lottie and other cat supporters is thrilling, but the reality of what they find on the island is where Pusskin must live up to his mama’s prediction. His story certainly makes for a thoroughly engrossing and satisfying read.