Published: April 1, 2012
Publisher: Tu Books
Source: Review ARC from Netgalley.com
Find the author: Goodreads || Website || Twitter: @ KimberlyRPauley
Buy: Amazon || B&N || The Book Depository

~ The Blurb ~
From Goodreads

Natalie Ng’s little sister is a super-genius with a chameleon-like ability to disappear. Her older sister has three Class A Talents, including being a human lie detector. Her mom has laser vision and has one of the highest IQs ever. Her dad’s Talent is so complex even the Bureau of Extra-Sensory Regulation and Management (BERM) hardly knows what to classify him as.

And Nat? She can talk to cats.

The whole talking-to-cats thing is something she tries very hard to hide, except with her best friends Oscar (a celebrity-addicted gossip hound) and Melly (a wannabe actress). When Oscar shows her a viral Internet video featuring a famous blogger being attacked by her own cat, Nat realizes what’s really going on…and it’s not funny.

(okay, yeah, a frou-frou blogger being taken down by a really angry cat named Tiddlywinks, who also happens to be dyed pink? Pretty hilarious.)

Nat and her friends are catapulted right into the middle of a celebrity kidnapping mystery that takes them through Ferris Bueller’s Chicago and on and off movie sets. Can she keep her reputation intact? Can she keep Oscar and Melly focused long enough to save the day? And, most importantly, can she keep from embarrassing herself in front of Ian?

Find out what happens when the kitty litter hits the fan

~ My Thoughts ~

Reading Cat Girl’s Day Off was like taking a super fun mini vacation in a book. It was the hilarious and silly adventure of Natalie (aka Cat Girl) and her band of misfit friends as they enlist the help of the neighborhood cats to solve a mystery and save the celebrity blogger that they look up to. Add a healthy dose of Ferris Bueller references, a girl who can talk to cats and a psychotic celebrity kidnapper and you are in for a laugh-out loud read!

I don’t know where Kimberly Pauley comes up with this stuff. Nat has always know that she had a “Talent” for talking to cats (not as cool as her sister’s human lie detector talent, or her mom’s laser vision as far as she is concerned) and has gone to great lengths to keep her Talent from every except for her two best friends Oscar and Melly. That is until she sees a video of a celebrity blogger being attacked by her own cat, and is able to hear what the cat is screaming as he attacks her. Now that Nat knows that her friend’s hero is being threatened what is a girl to do? Well… solve the mystery of course!

Nat, Oscar and Melly are great characters and were super fun to read about. Although I think my favorite character award has to go to Rufus – aka Tiddlywinks – the cat. What is not to love about a moody and sarcastic ‘celebrity’ cat? The characters were well developed and had such life in them that they literally jumped off the pages!

The storyline is so farfetched and silly that it is completely awesome. This is a book that felt much shorter than its 300+ pages. The fun fast pace and great dialogue had me flying through the pages. One thing that struck me as a great character quirk was Nat’s refusal, or inability, to curse. This book was full of non-curses like Frick on a stick, Poodle farts and Poodle farts on a stick. The quirky dialogue was one of my favorite parts of this movie and fit Nat’s character to a tee. The girl on the cover of this book matches 100% to the girl that Kimberly’s writing conjured in my mind.

Not only was this a fun and hilarious read but there was a lot going on under the surface as well. There were a lot of messages of tolerance to be found within the pages as Pauley featured a racially diverse cast and also portrayed the LGBTQ community in a positive, and most importantly, non-stereotypical way. Even though it wasn’t necessarily a family drama, there were a lot of family issues that came up. The feeling of being the invisible middle child sandwiched between two seemingly more important prodigy children was a pretty predominant theme throughout the novel, as were questions of loyalty, friendship and self-discovery and self-confidence.

From the lovable and eccentric characters to the evil villain to the hijinks that ensue as Nat and her friends try to solve this mystery on their own, this is a book that no bookshelf should be without. Whether you love YA or contemporary this is a book that appeals to all ages and genres and is the absolute perfect summer read. But don’t take my word for it – read it yourself (and get yourself a few entries into the hugely awesome giveaway that we are hosting below!).

And Now For The GIVEAWAY!!!

Contest is open WORLD WIDE
Ends: June 30th

 Here's what you can win:

 There are plenty of extra entries, so knock yourself out.
For +25 bonus entries into the giveaway, complete the SCAVENGER HUNT (details below) 

- A copy of Cat Girl's Day Off
- Signed Bookplates
- Swag
- And a T-SHIRT of your choice from Kimberly's store (you can pick anything from here: http://stbm.spreadshirt.com

Cat Girl's Day Off Scavenger Hunt!

Hidden in our reviews of are three magic words that create a magic sentence that unlocks the bonus +25 entries for everyone who can put it together. The magic words are in bright pink -> like this one and here's where you'll find them:

First word: Hidden in Evie's review of Cat Girl's Day Off (click here)Second word: Hidden in Asheley's review of Cat Girl's Day Off (click here – will be posted on …)
Third word: Hidden in Bonnie's review of Cat Girl's Day Off (click here – will be posted on June 14th)

 Find out what the mystery sentence is to gain +25 bonus entries into our WICKED AWESOME giveaway! 

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