The Five Lives of Our Cat Zook

Joanne Rocklin’s heartwarming middle-grade book “The Five Lives of Our Cat Zook” Oona and her brother Fred, who admire their cat named Zook (short for Zucchini), are the main characters of the tale. Oona tells Fred about Zook’s past incarnations as they prepare to free him from the veterinarian’s office when Zook becomes ill.

These stories resonate with Oona’s own family life, which is undergoing a change that she isn’t quite ready for. Her mother has begun dating a man named Dylan, whom Oona refers to as “the villain,” after her father passed away two years ago. In this devoted family tale, the tension is fueled by the truth about Dylan and Zook’s health.