Customer Reviews

Homeless (Wild at Heart, 2)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Brought to us by the same people who publish the American Girl Books Wild at Heart is a series about a group of pre-teens who volunteer at the Wild at Heart Veterinary Clinic and other books cover breaking up a puppy mill and the plight of manatees. Homeless addresses the issue of feral cats and in my opinion does it very well. While searching for the vets missing cat the kids happen upon a very large feral colony being fed by a couple of school age kids who use their allowance to buy cat food. The neighbors want Animal Control to take away all the ferals but the kids convince the vet to help and she introduces the community to "TVSR" which is an accronym I've never heard of but the author uses is for meaning "treat-vaccinate-spay-release"-most rescue groups use "TNR" for "Trap-Neuter-Return". With the exception of the use of the term "TVSR" the book very accurately explains how a feral cat colony gets there and addresses the issues of abandoned cats, raccoons being the main vector for rabies and the importance of responsible cat ownership. It is only 126 pages long and easy to read since it is written for pre-teens. This book would make a great addition to a shelter or rescue organizations library and sale table. It explains feral cat issues in the way of an interesting story.

I think this was one out of the series that was one of the most exciting books. It's about Maggie's friend, Sunita Patel. Sunita loves cats. She works as a vet volunteer at Dr. Mac's clinic. One day Sunita and her friends are walking home from school and they come across an open field with a ton of cats walking around. One of the cats are feral and hurt. They take him to Dr. Mac. The only trouble is, the two kids that were feeding the cats before Sunita got here is that their mother is raving mad about the kids being around feral cats. Sunita must persuade the kids mom that not all cats are bad. Will Sunita change her mind after she is bitten by one? Find out in Homeless.

Homeless was a wonderful book. It had a very good example of Feral Cats. It was also very good at showing that an animal born in the wild should stay in the wild... free. I liked this book because I want to be a Vet when I grow up and I am very intersted in Vet Clinics and that is where most of the scenes take place. The book was very unpredictable and I could never put the book down. I felt like I just HAD to finish it. I thought Cat Land was a very interesting setting. I loved all the cats in the story. I liked all the characters alot. This book was truely amazing and seemed better then Harry Potter to me.

This book was very good, I thought. It was about Sunita and her love of cats. She doesn't understand Feral Cats-until she gets bitten by one. This book is about love and trust, faith and bravery, and homeless cats.

Eleven-year-old star student, Sunita Patel, has longed to share her home with a cat for as long as she can remember. She wants nothing more than to wake up to a furry friend every morning, and bask in the sound of a feline purring. But, alas, her mother, Dr. Patel, refuses to make Sunita's dreams come true. An orthopedist, Dr. Patel is frightened of cats, and doesn't want to share a home with one. Luckily, Sunita receives her fill of feline love by volunteering at Dr. Mac's Place - a veterinary clinic that treats animals of all shapes and sizes. At Dr. Mac's Place, Sunita works alongside four other animal-obsessed friends - Brenna, Maggie, David, and Zoe. While each and every day at Dr. Mac's Place is full of laughter and tears, Sunita finds herself more attached to the case at hand, than any other previous cases she has seen in the past. When Dr. Mac's cat, Socrates, disappears after a cat fight, the vet volunteers begin a search to locate the beloved orange boy, only to stumble upon a place called Cat Land. Cat Land is located in a wooded area of a local neighborhood, where cats of all walks of life have taken up residence in an abandoned boxcar. Noted as a feral cat colony, Sunita is convinced that, with a little love and attention, these cats can live healthy, happy lives in homes with humans. But Cat Land is in danger. Local residents have become fed up with the overpopulation of wild cats, and are frightened of the oft-times aloof creatures. So, taking matters into their own hands, they contact Animal Control, and plan on having each and every one of the animals captured and destroyed. Sunita is devastated to learn this news, and is determined to find justice for these felines. Putting her head together with Dr. Mac, the two come up with a plan to use a widely-effective program called TVSR - Treat, Vaccinate, Spay, and Release. Sunita is thrilled to have the chance to help these homeless animals. But before the program is even well underway, tragedy strikes when Sunita attempts to tame one of the wild cats, and ends up in the hospital. With Sunita sick, she believes that the cats are destined for tragedy, unless she can convince her parents, as well as her neighbors, to have a little compassion, and save these cats before it's too late.

As an animal lover, I have found myself absolutely falling in love with Laure Halse Anderson's VET VOLUNTEERS series. And, after reading FIGHT FOR LIFE, I decided that Sunita was certainly my favorite character out of each of the five volunteers. So I was thrilled to learn that HOMELESS was predominately about her. Anderson has painted a more in-depth picture of Sunita within HOMELESS. While, in FIGHT FOR LIFE, we learned a bit about her character; in this installment, readers have the opportunity to get inside her head, so to speak. We have the chance to see what an intelligent, smart individual she is; and get a close up view of her compassion and determination. The fact that Anderson gives us the opportunity to learn more about Sunita's family life, and learn why she is so crazy about cats only adds to the story. As with FIGHT FOR LIFE, Anderson has targeted a very important issue surrounding animals today: pet overpopulation. However, she also provides readers with facts about feral cats, and gives us the chance to learn more about programs that are being used throughout the country to help feral cats survive and thrive in the wild, without producing more offspring. Anderson continues to shed light on serious issues regarding animals that many authors are too intimidated to touch. And, by providing this information within such an interesting, fun series of books, she gives readers the chance to want to make a difference in the world for animals today, and gives us the information we need to be pro-active in society. The article she provides at the end of the story - told in Dr. J.J. Mackenzie's voice - is interesting, and sheds some light on what cats mean when they purr, knead, and so much more. This article is a fun addition to the tale, and provides an interesting conclusion to the story. A sequel that leaves you purring.

Erika Sorocco

Freelance Reviewer

This is a great story to help explain feral cats to young readers. The story is well written and keeps the reader interested with the added benefit of teaching the next generation about the feral cat issue and how to work to fix the problem.

Clarissa Wolf

Qwincy, Feral Kitten Tamer

Cat, Cat, Feral Cat

There are already some very thorough reviews on this book, but I just had to share how much my 7 year old daughter and I loved this book. Our cat was a rescued feral kitten, so this is an issue close to our hearts. This book does a great job of talking in language my 7 year old could understand, yet I never felt like the issues were "dumbed" down for kids. I look forward to reading more of Anderson's books.

I thought that this book was steller! It reallt caught my inagination and all of my love. The author really has a way with words! I cant wait till I can get my hands on the next book!

WeLL i AM A HUGE fan of these books but this one didn't have the same appeal to me as most of the other ones did. This one really did show Sunita that Feral cats belong where they came from and that I don't know I really love cats but this book just didn't click. I wouldn't say this is a has-to read.If you like these books you may be a bit disappointed as was I. Hope I helped

this is the best book i ever read, even though it has the part about the icky racoon!