The Cat at the Wall by Deborah Ellis

Pages: 144
Intended Audience: Mature Tweens
Genre: Real life / War
Notes for Parents: Contains violence and mature themes

The Back Cover

On Israel’s West Bank, a cat sneaks into a small Palestinian house that has just been commandeered by two Israeli soldiers. The house seems empty, until the cat realizes that a little boy is hiding beneath the floorboards.
Should she help him?
After all, she’s just a cat.
Or is she?

What the cover doesn’t tell you:

The author has been to Israel and Palestine more than once and observed the conflict there in person. In 2004 she released a book called Three Wishes, a collection of interviews with Palestinian and Israeli children.

 

What’s good?
The complexities of the Israel-Palestine conflict are simplified by a 13-year-old girl from America who dies and returns to the world as a cat living on the wall that divides the two countries at war. With a unique storytelling style, the plot unfolds inadvertently while Clare the cat seeks shelter, and food, and perhaps a little love. Clare is a fascinating protagonist, but difficult to like, both as a bratty girl and an apathetic cat. However, character development is key, and Clare’s growth is subtle but very well done. The pace is good, the chapters are short, and at 144 pages, it’s an especially quick read.
Best Part: Desiderata by Max Ehrmann

What isn’t good?

It’s hard to expect more from a middle-school book about the Israel-Palestine conflict. Perhaps the conflict was too simplified, and maybe the characters could have been more fleshed out, but I never felt bothered by any of it. The story was not political; it was a poignant observation that focused on the results of war rather than the reasons for it.
Worst part: There was nothing I didn’t like.

Recommendation þþþþo

The story was sweet without being sappy, and honest without being too graphic. It has conflict and emotion, but is easy to read. It doesn’t provide a whole lot of information about the actual Israel-Palestine conflict, but it does provide a window into life in a war zone. I liked it. Recommended.

Ellis, Deborah. The Cat at the Wall. Toronto: Groundwood Books, 2014.