Jasper
Michelle Moore
language
(Cherokee McGhee, Jan. 27, 2012)
Suppose you had an extraordinary gift: You can see flashes of things to come, mostly ominous. Sometimes you see friends in trouble, but more often you see people who deserve a dose of bad luck. Would you try to change the outcome? Welcome to Jasper’s world, where coincidence and catastrophe are never far apart. But there’s only so much Jasper can do about it-because he’s a cat. Rescued from a shelter where he witnessed the grim fate of other unwanted animals, this young cat has already grown up fast. Then, left behind when his human family moves away, he learns quickly that it’s best to stay wary of life and its uncertainty. Emboldened by his unexpected freedom, Jasper successfully fends for himself on the streets. He outwits vicious neighborhood dogs and jealous fellow felines. But the truth is that he secretly yearns for a new home. When he’s lucky enough to find one, it’s everything he dreamed of and more: a warm bed, good food, and a family to love him. But something isn’t right. He can still sense when something dreadful is about to happen: a fire, an accident, a friend in trouble. Worse, he can’t do anything about it-because now he’s been made an indoor pet. He’s trapped inside his home among clueless humans. He tries to close his eyes to his own intuition, but that only makes it harder to ignore. In his mind, Jasper can see a car coming, and someone in the wrong place at the wrong time… In an attempt to do what’s right, should he risk escaping from the home he’s worked so hard to find, knowing he might lose everything? Jasper the cat is a pragmatic philosopher. Jasper the book is a stylish, fast-moving adventure, and a story that readers of all ages will remember and want to share.