Epstein, Adam Jay.
THE FAMILIARS
New York : Harper, 2010
IL 3-6
ISBN 9780061961083

"One jump ahead of the breadline. One swing ahead of the sword. I steal only what I can’t afford (that’s everything!)"

Here's an idea: What if Aladdin was a cat? And not just any cat! Aldwyn is a trickster. He’s a rogue. He’s a clever, fast-talking, roof-leaping, danger-eluding adventurer.

Until he runs .foul of Grimslade, the bounty hunter. Grimslade is BAD news. The only way to stay ahead of the lawman is to fake behing OWNED. Yep, (shudder) someone’s cat. Aldwyn makes his escape into a pet shop… and that’s where everything goes sideways. 

This is a wizard’s pet shop, like the one in Harry Potter, where Harry got Hedwig the owl. All the creatures in it are profoundly magical. Well, except for Aldwyn. And yes, he gets chosen as teenage Jack’s familiar. Imagine the Harry Potter adventures told from the point of view of the familiars: Skylar the blue jay, Gilbert the Tree Frog, and Aldwyn the Alley Cat. Except, of course, that Aldwyn’s a total fake.

When the evil dark lord shows up, things are going to get exciting fast. Aldwyn’s going to wish he’d stuck with Grimslade. (K Edwards, kirstedw@kcls.org,  librarian)

• Cats -- Fiction.
• Magic -- Fiction.
• Wizards -- Fiction.
• Adventure and adventurers -- Fiction.