This book is a sequel of sorts, so I’ll have to fill you in on the original story. Dewey Readmore Books was a cat who became an Iowa library’s mascot after he was rescued from the book return chute that he’d been stuffed in one freezing winter night when he was a few weeks old. The library director, Vicki Myron, adopted him, and he lived out the rest of his 19 years at the Spencer Public Library, making it a warmer and friendlier place for its patrons. He was an adorable goof with a lot of love, like most cats.

The original book about Dewey (Dewey, The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World) was published in 2008 and was a big hit, inspiring thousands of people to write to the author about their own cats. Dewey’s Nine Lives is a collection of 9 stories, all very different, about some special cats and the people whose lives they’ve touched. It’s a great book for a cat lover, because while all cats are different, they are all so very much the same, and I love knowing that so many people love their cats as much as I love mine.

The hard part was reading about the goodbyes: most of these stories end with the death of the beloved pet, and it’s heartbreaking to read. I dread the day we have to make the toughest decision about our furry boys, and it was difficult to get through some of these stories without a few tears.

If you’re going to read this, please consider picking up the 2008 Dewey book first, because otherwise you won’t be getting the whole picture. You’ll enjoy it, but you’ll enjoy it more if you know who Dewey was and how he touched so many people.