Lovely tale all pet owners will appreciate, but most especially middle grade kids. The dog, Chester, and his boy and Gus the cat, and his girl are more than just confort animals. These two have very close relationships with their humans, who are differently abled. Pet owners will understand the bond we share with out furry kids and companions!

Frankie and Amelia is a wonderful book for middle school students and everyone else too! I love how the point of view of the story is from the cat and we see the characters through his eyes. The story is charming and well told. I will be using this story in my classroom. Well done, Cammie McGovern!

This book was pretty unique. I think the author did a great job of capturing a cat's voice and way of thinking. Frankie and Amelia have really great chemistry.

Frankie and Amelia is a precious book, one that readers of all ages will easily enjoy. Employing the use of narration via an animal, young readers especially can relate more to the broad world around them without feeling as though they are being talked down to. Empathy, diversity, and the meaning of home are all explored in this fabulous new middle grade offering.

Franklin is a cat who ends up separated from his family. He finds a temporary home with a family, where he meets a dog named Chester, a service dog to a boy with autism named Gus. But Gus's dad is allergic to Franklin, so he ends up with one of Gus's classmates, a girl named Amelia, who loves cats, and who really needs a good friend. 

Frankie and Amelia is a the companion book to Chester and Gus (2017), but you don't need to have read it to enjoy Frankie and Amelia. It's a gentle story about found families, inclusion, and autism, particularly how it's often missed in girls. The story is narrated by Franklin, who grows as a character as the story progresses and he learns more about and becomes more sensitive to his adopted humans, Gus and Amelia. Chester, a seasoned seizure response dog, is Franklin's guide into this new world and provides an incredible amount of information to readers on autism and the sensitivity that companion animals provide to their charges. Cammie McGovern, the parent of a child with autism, writes with an understanding and sensitivity to the topic, and creates characters that are kind, realistic, and lovable. By exploring the relationship between pets and people, she's able to give readers a new understanding of autism, how people with autism are often perceived by others, and how autism presents differently in boys and girls. 

A must-have for your shelves.

One of the things that really struck me about this book is the decision to tell the whole story from Frankie’s (the cat’s) point-of-view. I think I expected it to have some scenes from Amelia’s perspective, but it doesn’t. I haven’t read CHESTER AND GUS, but it’s told from the perspective of the dog that Frankie meets in FRANKIE AND AMELIA, so if I had, I would have expected the viewpoint.

I thought Frankie’s voice was fun and sweet and gave an interesting view into both Gus and Amelia’s families. I loved the way the story shows the healing power of relationships with animals– as a cat lady, I absolutely believe in that myself, and I loved seeing this positive cat rep– ha!

I don’t have the experience to speak to the authenticity of Amelia or Gus as autistic characters. I felt like they made sense to me as characters and I definitely invested in their relationships with Frankie as well as with each other. I loved both Amelia’s and Gus’s moms too.

I think fans of FLORA AND ULYSSES or THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN will love this sweet, insightful story.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you Netgalley and HarperCollins for access to this arc.

A cat on the cover and a cat in the book means I’m probably going to want to read it. But there’s something for dog lovers to enjoy here, too. This is a sweet story of found family and friendship that doesn’t tip too far towards saccharine.

Short chapters tell the first-person (first-cat?) story of how Franklin got scared and ran off thus losing his first family (no abandonment, folks!). Struggling at first, he finally found a friend in a raccoon who helped Franklin learn how to live in the streets but who (Warning!) died in a road accident. One day Franklin notices a boy staring at him through a window and finds a second home where he ultimately can’t stay due to allergies. But through the determined efforts of Gus’s mom, Franklin finds his forever (furrever) home with Amelia and her mom.

Franklin soon learns that Amelia is a bit like Gus but not exactly the same. Both have problems in school – Gus from autism and Amelia from anxiety. Or could Amelia’s condition be something else? As events play out, Franklin and his new family learn other possibilities, ways of coping, and dealing with new family dynamics.

So yes, readers must be willing to accept hearing a story told from a cat’s POV – something that has been done and reviewed a few times before at DA. There is no effort to have Franklin and Chester (Gus’s therapy dog) use limited vocabulary and they end up discussing some complicated subjects as they attempt to help Gus and Amelia navigate a world that isn’t always kind or understanding towards them. At times they (the pets) begin to sound as if they’ve glanced at the Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy or at the very least a psychology textbook. This is balanced with their first hand (first paw) observations and them hashing out what might help their children.

Along the way, Franklin learns more about himself, how he views the world, and that in some ways this is similar to how Amelia might see things. Franklin has to drastically alter his assumptions about dogs, too. As he begins to understand what’s going on, this serves to explain it to the reader. There’s an aspect I’m not sure about but I suppose if I’m willing to have a cat narrate a story, I should be willing to go along with other forms of communication. This does make things clearer in a way that could not be done with Franklin’s knowledge alone and tweens might readily accept it as perfectly normal but at times it simplifies things maybe a bit much.

The ending is a HFN which suits the story perfectly. All of Amelia and Gus’s school issues aren’t resolved either which is also realistic. But things are looking up for both of them and Franklin has found his home while also expanding his universe. B

Frankie and Amelia by Cammie McGogern

My daughter read this book and had so much to say. This is her review. “Franklin the cat is left behind by his family. He sits outside a window and sees a boy named Gus and his service dog. The service dog gets Gus’s parents to alert them to the cat.

Gus brings the cat to show and tell to decide who should get the car when he finds out that his dad is allergic. Amelia takes home the cat and the two love each other very much. I wont tell more so I don’t spoil the book.

I loved that the book was about a cat and that the cat found someone to love him.”

Told from the perspective of Frankie, a sassy coon cat, this book shares the challenges faced by Amelia, an autistic tween girl, as she navigates school, friendships, and home life. It speaks to the powerful relationship between pets and their owners and the role that animals can play in providing an outlet and support to neurodivergent kids. Highly likable and unique characters combined with insights into how to support kids who think differently make this a very compelling story. Animal lovers will adore hearing the 'Secret Life of Pets-esque' inner lives of Frankie and her dog friend, Chester.

Frankie and Amelia
by Cammie McGovern
Pub Date 26 Oct 2021 |
HarperCollins Children's Books, HarperCollins
Children's Fiction | Middle Grade



I am reviewing a copy of Frankie and Amelia through HarperCollins Children’s books and NetGalley:



Franklin becomes an independent cat after being separated from his family, until he meets a goofy dog named Chester. Chester is a service dog, for his boy whose name is Gus, and Chester knows that Franklin needs a person too, he knows just the person, Gus’s classmate Amelia!





Amelia loves cats, but has a harder time with people. Franklin understands her, though, and can see how much they have in common. When Amelia gets into trouble at school, Franklin wants to help the girl who’s done so much to help him. He’s not sure how, yet, but he’s determined to try.






In this sweet and moving novel, the reader will get to see how powerful the bond between the pets and their people are.




I give Frankie and Amelia five out of five stars!



Happy Reading!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this novel. This did not affect my review at all.

This was a heartfelt novel about an autistic girl, told from the perspective of her cat. After accidentally running away from home, Frankie is lost. He survives on his own, with the help of a raccoon, for a while before getting found by another family. He lives with a service dog, Chester, and an autistic boy, Gus. Frankie enjoys it there, but the father in the family is allergic to cats. He gets adopted by a different family with a young girl named Amelia. They bond quickly, and he helps her gain confidence and become a better person.

Frankie and Amelia was one of the sweetest books I’ve ever read! Any upper elementary or lower middle school student who is a fan of cats would enjoy this book tremendously! I picked this up not knowing it was a companion to another book, Chester and Gus, and am adding that to my to-read shelf now! A great book.

Grades 3+.

This is a super cute story about a cat who loses his family but wanders into a new one.

Gus is an autistic boy who is looking out the window and discovers Frankie. The cat. Frankie is soon living with Gus, his mom and dad, and his support dog Chester. It's soon apparent that Frankie will need to go to a new home because Gus's dad is allergic to cats. So the hunt for a new family begins. Chester has this great idea to get Frankie to go to school with Gus so he can meet Amelia and she can fall in love with him and take him home. But he has to figure out how to make that happen since Gus doesn't talk that much. But before you know it that's exactly what happens and of course, Amelia love's Frankie. But Amelia has some problems. Her dad and mom just divorced and she lives in a new apartment with her mom. She doesn't get along with the kids at school. She's different from the other kids. Frankie tries talking to her like Chester does with Gus, but can she hear him? How can Frankie make her understand and help her with her problems? Will she ever make a friend at school? You will have to read the book to find out what happens.

I enjoyed the story and the characters but felt like it could have had more to the ending. It felt like I was reading along and then it was finished. It felt like there was more to tell. But I still enjoyed it and would recommend it.

Franklin is a cat who becomes homeless, and begins looking for a new family. He meets up with Chester, who is a wonderful canine companion to Gus, who is autistic. It seems that Franklin is going to fit right in with Chester’s family, until Gus’s dad turns out to be allergic to cats. As a search begins to find a good home for Franklin, Chester comes up with an idea to pair him with Amelia, who is one of Gus’s classmates and is experiencing her own challenges. This is a great companion book to Chester and Gus!

A lovely companion novel to Chester and Gus, this novel centers on a cat who is befriended by Chester and Gus but must find a new home when Gus' dad is allergic to cats. He finds a home with Amelia who is struggling with making friends at school along with a recent move and her parents divorce. Amelia is fascinated by cats and is thrilled to have her new pet. This author always does a wonderful job with her empathy of her characters who are autistic and this book is no exception.

After reading Chester and Gus I knew I had to read Cammie McGovern’s companion novel, Frankie and Amelia, which turned out to be just as heartfelt. This account, told from the viewpoint of the cat named Franklin, is about inclusivity, autism, friendship, and family.

Franklin lives with a wonderful and loving family. The family is moving and when he final car is leaving Franklin is no where to be found. The family waits as long as they can but they finally have to get on with the move and Franklin is left behind. They tell their daughter they’ll come back in two weeks and he’ll most likely be sitting on the porch waiting for them. Well that didn’t happen.

With no other choice Franklin becomes becomes an independent cat, until he meets a goofy dog named Chester. Chester is a service dog to his person, a boy named Gus, and Chester knows just the girl to be Franklin’s person. Here us how we meet Gus’s classmate, Amelia. Gus is autistic and Chester accompanies Gus to school as a highly trained service dog.

Amelia is different too, maybe somewhere on the spectrum as well. She loves cats, but has a hard time with people. Franklin understands her, though, and sees how much they have in common. When Amelia gets into some trouble at school, Franklin wants to help the girl who’s done so much to help him. He’s not sure how, yet, but he’s determined to try.

If you have a pet, you will find this vivid and very cat-like account told through the voice of the cat to be a sweet and moving novel that demonstrates how powerful the bond between pets and people can be.

Thank you NetGalley, Harper Audio and Harper Kids for the gifted versions of this book I read in tandem! The audiobook I listened to was a synthetic voice audio created just for reviewers, so I cannot comment on the final audiobook.

Told from the perspective of Frankie the cat, you learn how Frankie got lost from his old family and his adventures to find a new one. He finally finds a home with Amelia (a neuro-divergent girl) and begins to learn how to love and support her in the best ways. I thought this book was heartwarming, tender and funny. I think it will do beautiful things to help children understand those around them who are different from themselves.

Chester is a service dog for Gus who has seizures and is also different from others as he doesn’t talk much. One day a cat is seen outside and soon becomes part of Gus’ family. Although Chester and the cat, Frankie, become friends, Gus ignores Frankie. We find out Gus’ dad is allergic to cats so they must find a new home for him. Chester goes to school with Gus and sees a quiet girl who might like Frankie and seems to make a connection with Frankie. While waiting to see if Amelia will adopt Frankie, Chester gives Frankie advice about communicating with children: try to anticipate what’s coming and look for solutions. Amelia’s mom finds out she is autistic and realizes how much Frankie is helping her. A wonderfully heartfelt book.

Amelia and Frankie by Cammie McGovern

Such a such and heartwarming novel, beautifully depicting a neurodivergent girls experience and the bond between her and her cat Frankie. I really enjoyed the story and how thoughtfully the author explored themes of friendship and inclusivity, as well as being aware of the feelings and mental health of those around us and how we can make a positive impact in their lives.