Paul Tobin (text), Katie Abey (illus). How to Capture an Invisible Cat (Genius Factor #1). Bloomsbury, 1 May 2016, 270pp., $12.99 (pbk.), ISBN 9781408869970
Middle school student Nathan Bannister is a genius. He’s also friendless and has an off-beat sense of what constitutes fun. Delphine Cooper is not especially smart, but she has many friends and a propensity for misbehaving. Nathan and Delphine (with the dubious assistance of Nathan’s talking dog, Bosper) team up in a quest to capture the title’s invisible cat. There are cameo appearances by family members and Delphine’s friends, but these characters are not developed and none have any real plot significance.
Author Paul Tobin’s background in writing comic books and graphic novels is evident from the book’s opening lines. The first sentences, introducing a giant cat, are short and stabbing; each sentence starts a new paragraph and has just enough information to draw the reader on. Here is a sample:
Its name was Proton.
It was invisible, odourless, and silent.
It was trying to kill me.
It was Nate’s fault.
I should probably explain.
And so begin 270 pages of Nathan, Delphine and Bosper tracking down a rampaging cat (the product of one of Nathan’s self-imposed experiments to do ‘three dumb things every Friday the thirteenth’). I found the plot somewhat convoluted and unnecessarily drawn-out which diminished the book’s ‘action adventure’ impact, but I enjoyed the incidental insights into the nature of friendships and differing personality types.
How to Capture an Invisible Cat abounds with references to DNA codes, genetic markers, string theory, realignable atoms, and other scientific and mathematical complexities. The book would make a great springboard for discussions about science experiments and inventions, and for science-based creative writing activities. Being a US title, there is some American terminology (e.g. cell phones, seventh grade, height registered in feet and inches), but this is negligible and not distracting.
Tobin plans to release four further titles in the Genius Factor series. The next book, How to Outsmart a Billion Robot Bees, is due in April 2017.
For ages 8+
Reviewed by Tessa Wooldridge