When Kittens Go Viral

April 1, 2020
A feline star is born into a social media dynasty in Pattison's kids' chapter book. Cats, using amazing translation technology, have taken control of KittyTube and can now share and monetize their own video content. In an homage to the golden age of Hollywood studios, Kittywood is run by five major kennels, which engineer lucrative sponsorship deals with cat-food brands. Angel, a white Persian kitten, must quickly learn to adapt to the ups and downs of internet stardom. The road to a viral breakout, however, isn't an easy one. As the daughter of two KittyTube stars, she must master the tricky skills of posing, acting, and grooming, all while forging political alliances with rival felines--especially her nemesis, Jazz, a Siamese cat who's consistently ranked Top Kitten week after week. In a Black Mirror-meets-LOLCats plot twist, Angel has to become Top Kitten in order to secure funds to help her estranged father, who's stranded in France after his starring role in a film titled Puss and Boots fell through. Her mother, MamaGrace, is unable to work after a car accident left her partially blind and scarred--a possible nod to Cats' Grizabella. Over the course of the book, cameras loom ominously over the kittens' lives. Some video sequences can be downright sad, as when Angel looks into the camera and meows: "It was my most woebegone meow. It was a cry for my mama. It was a cry for someone to come and pick me up and pet me." Mostly, however, Pattison's characters delight, as when Angel compliments fellow kitten PittyPat, who adores water: "There's an art to looking charming when your fur is all wet." Ultimately, the underlying message is that one's self-worth should never get tangled up in the number of views one gets. Standard's bubbly, black-and-white pen-and-ink illustrations appear throughout, lending even more charm to an already whimsical story. Standard's enthusiasm for animals is clear; one only wishes there were more of her drawings here. A largely amusing, if occasionally dark, series starter for cat lovers.

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