Ghost Cat [Hardcover]

Beverly Butler (Author)

Book Description

Visiting for the first time on the family farm with relatives she doesn't quite feel comfortable around, fourteen-year-old Annabel gradually unravels a mystery involving a crying cat, an abandoned house, a forty-year-old feud, suspicions of murder, and her own grandparents.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 189 pages
• Publisher: Dodd Mead; 1St Edition edition (September 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0396084575
• ISBN-13: 978-0396084570
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,130,788 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A GLOWING CAT LURES HER INTO THE TRAGIC PAST, October 11, 1998

By 

Plume45 "kitka12345" (Westchester, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ghost Cat (Hardcover)

Like so many ghost stories, this one begins when the protagonist--a very tall 13-year-old girl named Annabel--is sent to spend the summer with relatives in the Wisconsin woods. Already resentful that her single mom just wants to get rid of her so she can party with her beau, Annabel discovers a bunch of unkind cousins who regularly summer with the old folks--their grandparents in fact. Her first morning there she is awakened by the plaintive sound of a cat crying from the woods. Having just lost her own cat in Chicago, she is moved by its obvious distress to help.

Her search for the mysterious and beautiful cat triggers the memory of her old relatives--stirring up bitter feelings of doubt, family shame and perhaps even guilt. All because 40 years ago two women disappeared without a trace, which set suspicious neighbors' tongues wagging: an old maid schoolteacher named Julia Craig, and her young niece, Annie. Are the ghosts of these women (plus the girl's cat) trying to contact Annabel-- and is it because she so resembles the lost girl? Her Uncle Axel scowls at all references to the painful past; could he be protecting an ancestor, covering up family guilt? And why are her cousins so mean to her? Todd especially has a definite nasty streak; I admit to hoping that he would get his!

Annabel's only friends there are the family dog, the ghost cat (which does not provide much comfort, but incentive to explore) and Old Pa who is everybody's great-grandfather. In his prime he was the boss of a logging crew, but now he is reduced to near senility as an unwilling shut-in, whose every move is dictated by his over-protective daughter. There is an old mystery to be solved, of course, and ghosts to lay to rest--literally. But once the truth is told, will the family name be cleared or convicted of further shame?

Some heavy task for the so-tall-that-she-slouches shoulders of Annabel, whom the ghosts think is Annie come to life. Can ghosts manipulate the weather? Do they want Revenge, Justice or Peace? It's all up to Annabel. This is her summer to grow up and Old Pa's to come into his own again. A good yarn with an interesting plot and some character development. Annabel must come to terms with her mom's boyfriend, while Old Pa--that unlikely hero-- will briefly enjoy the limelight. A good, imaginative read which will keep the interest of both girls and boys.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars change from the norm, April 11, 2004

By 

Adrienne Wolter (Pennsylvania, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ghost Cat (Hardcover)

I'll start out by admitting that Ghost Cat is one of my favourite books. It's got a nice mix of emotions, from suspense to sadness to joy, and while in some parts the things that happen are rather "out there", the way they are written makes them almost believable. Annabel, the protagonist, faces an internal battle of emotions, towards her mother and her new boyfriend, as well as the relatives she never knew existed that are keeping her for the summer.

As an animal lover, Annabel feels more welcome with the cowardly farm dog, Ricky, than she does with her relatives, although she does sympathize with Old Pa, the old man in his eighties or nineties that Aunt Lil bosses around and embarrasses like a child.

Throughout the book, Butler spurs our own emotions as well - we feel what Annabel is going through, as the feeling of being the odd one out is so familiar to most of us. An excellent read that I highly reccommend.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good book, October 16, 1997

By 

[e-mail] (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ghost Cat (Hardcover)

Ghost Cat was written by Beverly Butler. The publisher was Scholastic Books. It was a mystery and it had 189 pages. The main character was Annabel. She is thirteen years old but thinks that she is tall for her age. Her personality is adventurous. She gets herself into tight spots a lot. She likes to eat. The story takes place in the summer of an unknown modern year. Annabel is spending the summer in Canada with family. She's in the countryside in a house. The story begins with Annabel meeting her cousins. The problem is that they heard half of a story about Julia Craig, a school teacher from many years back who disappeared. Early in the morning, Annabel woke up, went outside to the forest and saw a ghost of a cat. Annabel and her cousins end up going to the Craig cottage. Her cousin Michael found some negatives and developed them. They found out that Annabel was related to Julia Craig. When her uncle found out what they were doing, they were busted. They went on a picnic and they ended up at the Craig cottage again. Her cousin Todd broke his ankle. Julia Craig was haunting Annabel and Annabel told Julia that her daughter was dead. They were found by her uncle in the attic and he got help. Her great grandpa, also known as Old Pa, died when the roof collapsed. They found Julia's bones and buried her. The next day she buried the bones of the cat and her mom came to visit. Mom's boyfriend got her a kitten. I liked the book because it was about a cat. It's a good book because it leaves you hanging on the edge and wanting to know what comes next. It was interesting and I would recommend this book to everybody because it's a good book. If I had to rate the book on a scale of one to ten, I would give it an eight because I have read better books.