202 Pets' Peeves: Cats and Dogs Speak Out on Pesky Human Behavior Book

If you liked Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World, then you will like this book. If you loved Dewey, you might, or might not, like this book. Dewey was a tear jerker. But folks react differently to tear jerkers. My brother-in-law's wife said she didn't cry in the case of the first book, but did with this one, because in the first [book], "Dewey led a full and happy life, and death is the natural end of that," whereas in the second (book) [this book], "there is genuine tragedy." In most cases, the tragedy is human, not cat, and of course the cats help rescue the humans.

This book is not the story of Dewey, nor his aftermath, but nine stories about nine different people (or families) and how cats helped them, saved them, restored them, and loved them, as well as how and why they were loved back. It's definitely a tear jerker, too, more so in my opinion because there are at least 16 different cases where a good supply of Kleenex is necessary. The last chapter (the ninth) is upbeat; not a real tear-jerker, but I can't tell you why without spoiling it for you.

Please, read this book from front to last. That said, if you are the type that likes to skip around, all nine chapters are stand-alone, and have nothing to do with each other. So, this is a perfect vacation or go to the doctor's office book.

If you don't like cats, and you've read this far ... well, maybe there's hope for you. But read "Dewey" first ... then this book, OK? Just don't forget the Kleenex, not matter how much you think you won't need it.

So why not the top rating? The book was written by Vicki "with" Bret. I guess Vicky can't write well. I don't judge her for that (I can't write at all). But Bret should have done a better job of "editing." I know now, after reading this book, why she needed a co-writer. God bless her. Thank God for Bret, but the book could have been half as long, easier to read, and much better. Vicki complained about having to leave stories out of this book. Well, she should have included more, and wrote half as many words about each. That said, I loved it ... worth a whole box of Kleenex.