Kat & Mouse

Kat & Mouse, Teacher Torture and Kat & Mouse, Tripped
Alex de Campi and Federica Manfredi (Tokyopop)

When Kat's dad gets a job as a science teacher at a posh private school, things seem perfect—that is, until Kat's rich, popular classmates shove her to the bottom of the social heap just for being smart. And bad turns to worse when an anonymous student blackmails Kat's dad to give the class better grades! Can Kat and her new friend, the rebellious computer nerd Mouse, find the real culprits before Kat's dad loses his job? (Tokyopop)

The girls had to really push me to read these books. Frankly, reading about seventh-grade girls just didn’t appeal to me – I lived it, and I didn’t enjoy it the first time. I’m a sucker for a good mystery, though, and I have to admit that once I read the first two volumes, Alex de Campi had me hooked. There isn’t as much overblown pre-teen drama as I expected, and very little focus on the boy-girl dynamic, which is a relief. Each issue in the series features a mini-mystery (which is solved by the end), but the larger mystery of the Artful Dodger carries through all the books. I freely admit to being a manga moron (I don’t even how to pronounce it), so I can’t speak to how these books fit the genre, but the characters are all big-eyed and beautiful, so it looks like manga to me. I was a bit relieved that Kat & Mouse is in the English format and I didn’t have to read backwards, as I’ve just never gotten the hang of it.

Overall, this series is very entertaining so far and will certainly appeal to its intended audience of preteen girls. Adults looking for some light reading will also enjoy it. Kat & Mouse is definitely a must for every youth library.

Sarah says: Kat & Mouse is a good beginner’s mystery story that anyone would like. The two books I read are really good. The characters are all different – Kat and Mouse are friends Mouse is a punk chick and Kat is more girly-girl. I like the art because it’s kind of cartoony and kind of realistic at the same time. I like Mouse’s Guide to Dover Academy Seventh Grade because it explains everybody at the school. I like when younger people are the solvers of the mystery because it makes me feel like I could do it.

Shelby says: I like the art because the characters look sometimes manga but like real people at the same time. They make a good team because Kat is really smart and Mouse is friendly and tough. I like mystery stories and I liked this one a lot because I can’t figure it out before they give you the answer. The “popular” kids are just lame because of the way they talk and the way that they bully around Kat and Mouse just like what the popular kids do at my school. Boys wouldn’t be seen reading a story about girls, but if you gave it to them and they read it at home when no one was watching, they would like it.