This is the first of three books written by a mother and daughter team. Fantasy for junior teens, it is set in a futuristic landscape. However everything seems quite familiar and normal.
The story tells of a boy who is able to understand and speak to cats ( from moggies to lions). Well, if you can accept the fact that a man, simply by donning a red cape can fly through the air, you can believe in this gift.
The tale starts off slowly. Charlie arrives home to find that his parents are missing. He then sets off to trace them and the pace of the books picks up as he joins a travelling circus.
He journeys to France where he rescues the circus lions. They then all continue to Venice on a fast train. He is helped throughout by cats who collect and deliver messages. For more you have to read the book yourself!
Azetta Van Niekerk.
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