het waargebeurde verhaal van een kleine kat die groot geluk bracht

This is an excellently written book about a cat and a family. Tragedy hits the family and as they try to deal with the massive change in their lives a small black kitten called Cleo arrives and helps. Cleo becomes the family's guardian angel, court jester and friend and this is a wonderful story of love for a cat and a family that pulled through. It is so much more than just another cat book, although it has all the charm and fun you would expect from such a book. You probably have to be a cat lover to even start reading this but if you aren't don't worry, this is a story about people too. ( )

4.5 stars

Cleo was a little black kitten, the runt of the litter, when Helen's two sons picked him out to bring him home. Helen and her husband, in fact, were more dog people, but they agreed to bring home Cleo when she was old enough and weaned from her mom. Just before Cleo came home, tragedy struck Helen's family, but they took in Cleo, anyway.

I really liked this, but given how much I love animals, especially cats, that wasn't a surprise. There was a good portion of this book that also focused more on Helen and her family, rather than Cleo, but Cleo was always there. I also like biographies and memoirs, and Helen had an interesting story herself. ( )

I'm actually REALLY glad to have finished this book.

I enjoyed the first few chapters; they were laced with the cuteness of Cleo and the bond she built with the family; which is familiar, since I have cats at home too. It made me go 'awwww~' on more than one occasion per chapter, but after the 5th-6th chapter onwards, anything other than that of Cleo was, quite honestly, boring.

I understand that the protagonist is literally overwhelmed with grief at the death of Sam. I definitely understand her situation, but after a while, it seems as if the protagonist contradicts her own opinions. She says that she doesn't like people who immerse themselves in self-pity, but that was EXACTLY what she did for a good period of time, months after Sam's death.
It may be because of my intolerance towards anyone who uses self-pity as a way to garner sympathy (then again, the protagonist said she's sick and tired of everyone's sympathy as well) or attention; which the protagonist says she hates as well.

Another thing that bored me was the way the author described scenes. I can tell that she's trying to be detailed, which is good, but somehow, it just doesn't get me, know what I mean? When it came to those parts, I just felt like skimming through the pages until it went back to 'story mode'.

I found it quite difficult to finish, because as much as I wanted to finish it as soon as I could, I also couldn't muster up enough interest to actually pick the book up to read. Most of the time, I forced myself to.

A little comparison, if I may, to one of the claims made by Good Housekeeping, stating that this book was the next Marley & Me. I can definitely spot instances where scenes are described in a similar fashion, but I beg to differ, if you'll forgive me. John (Grogan, author of Marley & Me) had a flair of describing scenes in detail, yet with humour, which unfortunately, I find that Helen kinda lacks.

I won't deny the 'lessons' that Cleo has taught, though. Being an animal lover myself, I definitely agree that animals DO have some sort of healing power. Not just in dogs like Marley, and not just in cats like Cleo. It could be your pet chameleon for all it's worth.

Then again, I MUST say that I mean no insult to Helen Brown. I understand that every author has their own writing style, and this was just my honest opinion. Will I pick up After Cleo? Probably not. But I've seen a good few readers who enjoyed this book. So I recommend taking my review with a pinch of salt, and not let it deter you from giving this book a shot.

Who knows, you may find that unlike me, you like it! ( )

The loss of a child cannot be replaced by the arrival of a pet, but the arrival of a new kitten can distract a person enough to get through the day. The author spins a tale of a little cat and its actions that brought laugher and love into a difficult situation. ( )