The Cat at the Wall

by Deborah Ellis Narrated by Sharon Freedman

Overview

On Israel's West Bank, a cat sneaks into a Palestinian house that has 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?



It turns out that this cat is not used to thinking about anyone but herself. She was once a regular American girl who only had to deal with normal middle-school problems.



But that was before she died and came back to life as a cat, in a place with a whole different set of rules for survival.



When the little boy is discovered, the soldiers don't know what to do with him. Where are the child's parents? Why has he been left alone? It is not long before his teacher and classmates come looking for him, and the house is suddenly surrounded by Palestinian villagers throwing rocks, and the sound of Israeli tanks approaching.



Not my business, thinks the cat. And then she sees a photograph, and suddenly she understands what happened to the boy's parents, and why they have not returned. And as the soldiers begin to panic, and disaster seems certain, she knows that it is up to her to diffuse the situation.



But what can a cat do?

Editorial Reviews

The New York Times Book Review - Monica Edinger

Without editorializing, Ellis's suspenseful and thought-provoking novel offers a touching, humane context for one of the world's most intractable situations.

Publishers Weekly

10/06/2014
"The best thing about being a cat is that nothing is my fault," says 13-year-old Clare, who died in Bethlehem, Pa., and has been reincarnated as a cat in another Bethlehem—the one in the West Bank. As a human girl, Clare taunted her sister, manipulated her parents, and butted heads with her homeroom teacher; these and other memories are triggered by Clare's current situation, as the narrative nimbly jumps between past and present. In Israel, Clare witnesses the horrors of life in a war zone on both sides of the "Big Wall." Her life mainly consists of foraging for food until two soldiers with the Israel Defense Forces—one American, one Israeli, and each with his own motives for being in the army and beliefs about the conflict—commandeer a Palestinian house to do surveillance on a neighboring building; Clare decides to help the traumatized boy hiding in the house. Ellis's (No Ordinary Day) premise is an unusual one, but with it she crafts a thought-provoking and sensitive story about the power of empathy and selflessness. Ages 9–12. (Sept.)

New York Times

Without editorializing, Ellis’s suspenseful and thought-provoking novel offers a touching, humane context for one of the world’s most intractable situations.

Booklist

There are no black and whites here, only ordinary people caught in the tangle of history, misunderstanding, and fear.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

The ultimate message that every one has a story and that everyone has a chance at redemption is a hopeful one … a useful fictional counterpart to Ellis’ nonfiction work.

Library Media Connection

Ellis takes quiet characterizations and situations, using gently eloquent descriptions and dialogue to immerse the reader in the raw tension.

From the Publisher

Finalist for the Red Maple Award
Bank Street Best Children's Books of the Year
Cooperative Children's Book Center Choice
OLA Best Bets (Junior Fiction, Honorable Mention)

"Without editorializing, Ellis’s suspenseful and thought-provoking novel offers a touching, humane context for one of the world’s most intractable situations." — New York Times

"Quietly moving, full of surprises and, with Clare's colloquial and spirited voice, highly readable." — Kirkus Reviews

"There are no black and whites here, only ordinary people caught in the tangle of history, misunderstanding, and fear." — Booklist

"Ellis's premise is an unusual one, but with it she crafts a thought-provoking and sensitive story about the power of empathy and selflessness." — Publishers Weekly

"The characters’ complexities are slowly revealed, adding layers to the story. Readers are plunged into the narrative, in the same way Clare must face her new feline life." — School Library Journal

"The ultimate message that every one has a story and that everyone has a chance at redemption is a hopeful one . . . a useful fictional counterpart to Ellis’ nonfiction work." — Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

School Library Journal

09/01/2014
Gr 5 Up—Clare was a girl from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. At 13, she dies and finds herself transformed into a cat, living in Bethlehem, Israel. As a girl, she always wanted to be the center of attention, so being an ignored stray seems cruel. She follows two Israeli soldiers into a seemingly empty house on the West Bank. As the situation escalates with the discovery of a young Palestinian boy, Clare reflects on her actions during her last year of life as a human. Set on Israel's West Bank, the harsh reality of the story is tempered by the first-person narration of a cat who understands all languages. Ellis is neutral; she doesn't take sides, nor does she attempt to explain the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Instead, the miscommunication and actions of the individual characters are examined. The characters' complexities are slowly revealed, adding layers to the story. Readers are plunged into the narrative, in the same way Clare must face her new feline life. The narrative alternates between the present on the West Bank and flashbacks to Clare's life as a human. The pacing is appropriately measured, and the setting is vividly described—concisely but evocatively conveying tension, unease, and instability. Although slightly homiletical, the moral of personal responsibility is wrapped in a touching, unforgettable story. It is an excellent choice for book clubs and classroom use, and will easily evoke discussion.—Amy Seto Musser, Denver Public Library

Kirkus Reviews

2014-07-29
One minute, Clare is a middle school student in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, but the next, she is in Bethlehem—"the real one"—and she's a cat. Thus begins Ellis' thought-provoking and extremely accessible exploration of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the eyes of a reflective stray cat (with a wry sense of humor) who finds refuge in a one-room house south of Bethlehem in the West Bank. Two Israeli soldiers, one ignorant and the other wiser and more compassionate, have commandeered it as a surveillance post, but the cat soon realizes there's a small Palestinian boy hiding beneath the floorboards and having trouble breathing…and where are his parents? Through suspenseful and compelling prose, the author presents the situation with evenhandedness and emphasizes the importance of context; she trusts that young readers can understand a great deal. Even so, the manner in which this story is told skews young, making the treatment of at least one horrific act of violence feel a little superficial. In some ways, the skillfully integrated mirror narrative, that of Clare the girl approximately a year earlier, is more nuanced. Usually an A student and a master at flying under her teachers' radars while performing small (and large) acts of meanness, when she encounters "Ms. Zero" and accrues 75 detentions (served by copying out the inspirational poem "Desiderata"), everything changes. Quietly moving, full of surprises and, with Clare's colloquial and spirited voice, highly readable. (Fiction. 10-13)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940192160473
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Publication date:	08/27/2024
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	8 - 11 Years