Cathy's Book: If Found Call [phone] [Paperback]

Sean Stewart (Author), Jordan Weisman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 26, 2008

The publishing phenomenon Cathy’s Book redefined the way teens approach novels and set a new standard for interactivity, using the most popular kids’ technology to enhance the experience of reading a really good story. As a new chapter is about to unfold with the publication of the sequel, Cathy’s Key later this spring, the original novel is available in trade paperback. All of the supplementary items from the “evidence pack” are reproduced on pages in the back of the book, making this edition more accessible and portable. All of the original websites, phone numbers, and secret codes are still operational. Part romance, part thriller, part mystery, Cathy’s Book stands on its own beyond the interactive angle and the intense marketing campaign that made it a bestseller. Readers identify with Cathy, they read her story, listen to her phone messages, check out the websites she mentions, and they leave her messages on her MySpace.com page and on a special voicemail. Fans have even created their own videos on YouTube, demonstrating their comfort and familiarity with this level of interactivity and technology. Reviewers and awards committees have also recognized the unique phenomenon that reset the bar for engaging teen novels. Don’t miss this opportunity to get caught up in Cathy’s world all over again! Included in the paperback edition only is a special, teaser chapter from the sequel (which pubs two months later), to whet the appetite of the thousands of readers who have gotten caught up in the web of Cathy’s story! A YALSA Quick Pick

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Sean Stewart is both an award-winning novelist and a pioneer in interactive and multimedia fiction. In 2001 he won the World Fantasy Award for his novel Galveston and acted as lead writer and co-designer of “The Beast,” which Internet Life called “the Citizen Kane of online entertainment.” He lives in Davis, CA. Jordan Weisman is the creator of the successful MechWarrior line of PC games, one of the best-selling PC games of all time, Creative Director for the entire Microsoft entertainment division, and co-director (along with Sean Stewart) of the I Love Bees game, which won a Webby Award and an International Game Designers Award for Innovation. He lives in Bellevue, Washington.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Running Press Kids (February 26, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0762433469
• ISBN-13: 978-0762433469
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,060,676 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing!, March 16, 2008

By 

Marge - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cathy's Book: If Found Call [phone] (Paperback)

This book was.... Wow. I've read a lot of books since I read this one, but this is still my favorite. The ending is definitely impossible to predict.

Also, calling the phone numbers and such was pretty interesting. It made the story feel more believable.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not Well Played, February 15, 2011

By 

N., The BookBandit (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cathy's Book: If Found Call [phone] (Paperback)

When hotheaded artist Cathy wakes to find a mysterious mark on the inside of her arm she doesn't worry all that much. She just, as anyone would, assumes its (at worse) a spider bite. But when she starts feeling as if time literally stands still around her and life is moving at a slow motion pace, she knows this isn't a spider bite. As much as she tries to deny it, Cathy faces reality that her now ex-boyfriend, Victor, may have something to do with it. Did he drug her so he could take advantage of her? Did he inject her with a strange, wildly infectious disease? What is Victor up to, and why did he involve her?

In a desperate attempt to, not only find the answer to all of her burning questions, but to also weasel herself back into his arms and life, Cathy morphs from art girl to undercover girl as she, without realizing it, becomes stereotypical crazed ex-girl. With her new hats in place Cathy launches a full-fledged investigation in spite of best friend Emma's warning. Stopping short at nothing Cathy not only finds herself trailing Victor even though he told her she'd end up dead like Carla, she's broken into his house and stole valuable papers and pictures even though she figured out someone more dangerous that she is after Victor as well, and she's even been in talks with a shifty stranger who claims he's Victor's long-lost uncle.

Cathy soon finds herself in hot water: she's been kidnapped and taken to an undisclosed house where all of Victor's secrets are finally exposed and she's battle to save a life - but whose?

Cathy's Book If Found Call [phone] by Sean Stewart is a quick read that will keep readers entertained. Fast - and edge gripping, readers will be patiently waiting for some catastrophically big event to happen. But when it doesn't pan out, what they're left with is a glimpse into who Cathy is, her life, and her past relationship with Victor.*

Reading like one giant puzzle. Cathy's Book is written in a journalistic style with doodles, scribbles, and artistic renderings that allow reader to easily relate to the characters and to the situations they are placed in. But only when those doodles don't interfere with the text.

More often than not the doodling covered bits and pieces of valuable text making it difficult to understand and easier to skip over. ** The only set back to this is the artwork more often than not, Cathy's doodling covered valuable pieces of the text, making it difficult to read and easy to skip over. Even though the doodles may distract some readers, Stewart's writing is what really fuels this book. It's simple, precise, and best of all infused with a generous amount of emotion - perfect for a journal styled book.

Ultimately, Cathy's Book If Found Call [phone] isn't a book for everyone, but there are likable qualities that will definitely draw in readers.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I found Cathy's Book..., September 13, 2009

By 

ya romance junkie "mostly ya fiction... mostl... (Athens, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cathy's Book: If Found Call [phone] (Paperback)

...and I won't be returning it!

This novel is about the adventure and intrigue of a seventeen-year-old artist and high school student named Cathy, who tries to solve the mysterious puzzle with help her best friend Emma. The mystery surrounds Cathy's older ex-boyfriend Victor, whom Cathy initially allows to believe she is in college rather than high school. The book starts off with Victor already having very abruptly broken up with Cathy, and Cathy has no idea why. But Cathy can't just walk away, partly because she really had thought that she and Victor were hitting it off when he dumped her, and because of some other very strange circumstances surrounding their break-up. Cathy's search for answers leads her on an amazing adventure where she does everything from breaking and entering to posing as an intern to get into a top security Pharmaceutical research facility (Victor's old employer).

Let me just stop here and say that this book was a breath of fresh air because the type of heroine. Instead of angsty moral delimmas always over-crowding her thoughts (which is WAY overdone in YA literature these days), you have a heroine who is a woman of action rather than fretting. And she has a "hell hath no fury like a woman scorned" edge to her character, which is another reason why she can't just let things lie.

But I don't want to mislead you with all the romance stuff. It IS the driving force in this book, but the MYSTERY and ADVENTURE elements of this one shine much brighter (another reason why this book is a great change for me since I've been reading Twilight and all the other YA fiction done in the wake of Twilight).

One reviewer said it was a fantasy. Don't get me wrong, there is a fantastical element, but you don't know about it until the end of the book. For the most part, it's just a really good adventure story, free of supernatural elements, so I don't really call this a fantasy. Most of the story is grounded in the real world, and the "supernatural" element is caused by a gene that very few people have. Also, the same reviewer said that she didn't know that the paperback version was edited. The thing is, the hardback version had all the evidence so you could take it out and look at it. The pb version only has photocopies of the evidence, but I thought it was good enough. The evidence is printed in color and is mostly in an appendix in the middle of the book, so it's not like you don't get to see the same stuff.

I highly recommend this book, and will definitely pick up the sequels soon!