Things weren’t so peachy in Cathy’s life before Victor broke up with her. Her father died unexpectedly, she’s failing school, and her best friend is mad
at her. But when Cathy decides to investigate Victor’s reasons for ending their relationship, things suddenly go from bad to very, very, very bad as her findings produce more questions than answers. For instance, wh
at does the death of Victor’s co-worker, the strange mark that appeared on Cathy’s arm, and the surreal behavior of several Chinese elders have to do with it? Through Cathy’s unique and irresistible voice—and lots of proof in the form of letters, photographs, date book entries, telephone numbers readers can call, websites they can access, as well as secrets
only a careful reader will be able to decipher—readers will enter a strange and fascinating world where things often aren’t how they appear. -from amazon.com
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This review is kinda hard to write without letting some details slip, so I'm going to mainly talk about the first book. First of all I had never read a book with with a Chinese girl/guy as the main character and you know what? It was fun! In the beginning I had a hard time imagining the main characters with slanted eyes and Asian features, but with a good look at the really neat drawings, it turned out be a exciting challenge.The little doodles and clues throughout the book really made the characters come to life, especially Cathy.
And the storyline? Unbelievable....er well, it will to the people who didn't goof it up and read the back of the 2nd book!
Here I was reading the back of Cathy's Key which read:
Six months since I found out my boyfriend is ________.....
Ooopsy?
That's when I realized there had to have been another book. A few years ago I remembered seeing Cathy's Book at Sam's Club but was draw away from the dark cover and (at the library) the cover had three claw marks on it.
Question: Do all the books have claw marks or was that just the doing of someone's dog?
Anyways, if I get caught reading a book with a somewhat dark cover, I get the fifty-questionnaire. Ever since I read the Twilight books my mom's afraid I'll start reading vamp novels or something. (Speaking of moms, Happy Mother's Day!) In this case, I had only seen the book and never even read what it was about! Ooooo, chancy, huh? Guys don't do this. I've done this only a handful of times and to tell you the truth, the results weren't pretty.
The only bad thing about the first book was that it went by too fast. Either I wasn't paying attention or they skipped some things; and those clues are just for fun because they don't in anyway help solve the mystery.
The second book was much better or rather you knew what the heck was going on! The characters came back just as strong (or stronger) as they were in the first book. Cathy's Key introduces four new characters and one HUGE surprise and was defiantly a nail biter! I read at least the last hundred pages in one sitting. (I sound like I'm eating dinner now.)
I'm not much of a fantasy person or a fan of "lets compare every fantasy-romance related book to Twilight!" stuff, but I must say I liked seeing the spotlight on the Chinese for a change and the [cough] unusual circumstances of Victor. When I first started reading the first book I thought it was going to be some kind of murder/disappearance mystery but it was almost as if they were dealing with the Chinese Mafia or something. Reminded me of a Mission Impossible movie . Okay so maybe it wasn't that action-packed but it came close.
And oh, yes. If you are there Cathy, I found your book!
If you've already read Cathy's Book and didn't really enjoy it, try the second-you won't be disappointed. If you've already read both books, Cathy's Ring (is that a hint?) just came out Monday!
(1st book; 2nd book)
Pages: 144; 210 Year Published: 2007; Feb. 2009 Fiction: YA Fantasy
Age Group*: Teen girls, ages 14+ Recommend: Yes
Books Contain: some language, mild sexual references, and violence
* The "age group" is not based on reading level but by content and rating. See rating scale.
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