Under the cat's eye [Paperback]

Gillian Rubinstein (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1997

Jai and his friends at boarding school join forces with shape-shifters in their attempt to defeat the fiendish headmaster who steals the souls and futures of the students.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this provocative fantasy set in an insidious boarding school, a few free-spirited children challenge the cruelty (and in this case, necromancy) of the administration. Jai comes to Nexhoath when his parents are deported back to India as illegal aliens. He is quickly befriended by two rebellious students who believe the headmaster is stealing the souls of the children. Jai isn't sure he believes them, and he has adopted his family's practice of not calling attention to himself: "He thought of what his parents had said about trying to fit in. But they hadn't known Mr. Drake was some kind of cannibal drackle. If he really was." Jai is also being watched by some mysterious kitchen servants who appear to have qualities more animal than human, and who treat Jai like someone special. Rubinstein (Foxspell) employs the devices of classic fantasy with intelligence and authority. A wardrobelike door provides entry to a series of alternative worlds that have a coherent and intriguing relationship to one another, and the nefarious headmaster's evil doings become revealed in a clever plot twist. Despite a satisfying conclusion, this one will have fantasy fans clamoring for a sequelAwhich seems likely, since many of the "worlds of Nexhoath" remain unexplored at the story's end. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-6-When his foreign-born parents are forced to leave Australia, Jai Kala is packed off to Nexhoath boarding school. His misery over being separated from his family only deepens as he becomes initiated into the ways of this rather strange institution. His two new friends, Hugo and Seal, believe that the headmaster is a drackle who is stealing the souls of the students and faculty. They do their best to rebel, but as things grow ever more sinister, Hugo becomes one of "them." Jai and Seal finally discover Mr. Drake's controlling secret. It is then that Kitty and Roughly, a rather odd pair of domestics, take the children to a parallel existence known as Nexhoath 8, where shape-shifting is the norm and people and animals live in harmony. The pair has mistakenly identified Jai as their long-lost leader, when in reality it is Seal they are looking for. However, before there can be a happily ever after, they must rescue Hugo and that involves a trip into Nexhoath 10. The complicated plot is filled with dimension hopping, morphing, and bad boarding-school food, but Rubinstein does a good job of keeping things moving along. Despite the pace, the characters are clearly developed and the dialogue sounds realistic, if a little foreign to American ears. The use of technology from one dimension as a fantastic element in another is a nice touch, and may leave readers wondering what future people will think of us.
Patricia A. Dollisch, DeKalb County Public Library, Decatur, GA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 202 pages
• Publisher: Hodder Headline Australia (1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0733605540
• ISBN-13: 978-0733605543
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Under the Cat's Eye, January 16, 2001

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Under The Cat's Eye: A Tale Of Morph And Mystery (Hardcover)

Under the Cat's Eye is a great book. Eleven year old Jai comes to live in a strange looking boarding school where he'll find many mysterious secrets. Hugo and Seal are Jai's two new friends, but Jai isn't too sure about them because they think the headmaster is a drakle! When several students change into school perfects, after visiting Mr.Drake, the school headmaster, the three friends get suspicious. This is a very exciting book with lots of fun surprises that you'll never guess!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Impressive!!, November 22, 2002

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Under The Cats Eye: A Tale Of Morph And Mystery (Aladdin Fantasy) (Mass Market Paperback)

Wow. Under the Cat's Eye is a book to read around other people, in bright daylight. The plot isn't very complicated, but is dazzlingly original and really, really scary. It is about a boy called Jai who goes to this boarding school, Nexhoath. He befriends two children, Seal and Hugo, who tell him their thoery about the creepy headmaster, Mr. Drake. (It's kind of hard to talk about this without giving away too much of the plot.) Meanwhile, mysterious changes are coming over the children at Nexhoath, and Jai finds out the truth about two workers at the school, Kitty and Roughly. Gillian Rubinstein gives all the characters believable quirks, like how Jai does math problems in his head to calm himself down when he is nervous or sad. It really helps you to relate to the characters. I am very impressed with Under the Cat's Eye! I would reccomend it to people aged nine to fourteen.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The one you cant put down, November 13, 2000

By 

"h711rluv" (California, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Under The Cat's Eye: A Tale Of Morph And Mystery (Hardcover)

Onec in a while there is a story that you just cant put down. This is one of them. You end up saying, "just one more minute," about a dozen times and you will love every bit of this story. While his parents sort out some legal difficulties Jai goes off to boarding school. In boarding school there areplenty of odd people, starting with the principle. There is no oddity between the students, only outsid e of the school are there differences. When Jai goes to a different world things start to straighten themselves out.