3.5 stars. Thanks for the review copy Netgalley - I think this book was originally published in 2012, but looks like it's getting republished this year with First Second. This is about a young girl travelling with a merchant camp telling monster stories, and hopefully one day catching/taming them when she finally gets her opportunity! The art is adorable (although reads a little younger than YA, closer to Middle Grade) and I was just starting to get in to the story, when it ended - will have to wait for volume 2 to come. Perfect for someone who likes monster stories, but not scary!

Cat's Cradle: The Golden Twine is a beautifully illustrated graphic novel that is the perfect fantasy adventure story. This book is a necessary addition to every public and school library.

What a treat! The Golden Twine is fun, spooky and heartwarming fantasy graphic novel, that follows Suri, our super spunky protagonist. Suri loves monsters, and wants to tame them, but ends up causing quite the mess after a mysterious new wagon joins the camp she travels with. As a street urchin, Suri has a ton of determination and wit, making her easy to root for. I also love the friends she makes on her journey, and love the monster she befriends.

Not only is Suri great, but the vibes, tone and art style in this all work really well for me. The character designs are lovely and detailed, and the setting gives such great fall energy, a little warm and a little mysterious. I think my only qualm with this is the plot that didn't always engage me, but even then, this is so solid and one I will be happy to recommend students.

This was super cute and different! I wish it was longer and didn't end on such a cliff hanger. I thought the illustrations were adorable and loved the story line as well.

A gorgeous story with beautiful illustrations. Sure to be a winner for fans of the Amulet series as well as Tim Probert’s Lightfall.

Thank you to the First Second Publisher and NetGalley for the advanced electronic review copy of this book. I enjoyed the rich illustrations, great characters and storyline. Looking forward to book 2

Thank you Netgalley for letting me read and review Cat's Cradle: The Golden Twine. It's such a fun and good graphic novel. The art style is stunning. I enjoy the characters, monsters, and storyline. Suri is a great character to follow, she's so intelligent and ambitious. I can't wait for the other graphic novels, it's going to be a trilogy. There's so many questions and things I want to know and see. Jo Rioux is the writer and illustrator of this graphic novel, which is amazing. This comes out June 21st, so pre-order now! 4 out of 5 stars.

I adored this book! Cat's Cradle: The Golden Twine follows Suri, an orphan who has made her way in life sneaking around a traveling merchant camp. The owner doesn't want her there, but the rest of the employees have always (sometimes begrudgingly) helped her out and taken care of her. She is well versed in the lore of her world's monsters, making money telling stories, and she dreams of becoming a monster hunter/tamer. The arrival of a mysterious new wagon with an unknown monster in it offers her that chance. Suri is a great heroine, bold and ambitious and confident but also a bit lonely and searching for the work that will give her life meaning, and she has a kind heart and clever ideas compared to some other monster hunters we meet. I loved learning about this world's lore and monsters and the art style was perfectly colorful and fantastical and eye-catching. There were some great high-intensity scenes that had me speed-flipping through the pages, and scenes where I wanted to soak in every detail from the page. To me this was really reminiscent in vibes of the How to Train Your Dragon Series, almost like a more lighthearted, middle grade version of The Witcher, and I think young readers will love it!! This definitely feels like a first installment in a longer series, since this volume provides the set-up for Suri's journey, with a prince who also wants to travel and hunt monsters and some other monsters following Suri to regain something she unintentionally took. I'll definitely be recommending this and reading the sequel because I can't wait to see how Suri's adventure goes!

Love it! The author its becoming one of my favs. A beautiful art and a nice story. This is just nice, I would always recommended it!

Cat's Cradle: The Golden Twine tells the tale of an aspiring monster tamer named Siri who gets left behind and becomes entangled with various creatures and beings. When a ball of twine falls into her possession after an encounter, she thinks nothing of it, but soon becomes the focus of creatures who are said to be fearsome and dangerous.

I loved this graphic novel! For me, this was a 4-star read. The artwork is beautiful. The story telling and pacing of the events were seamless as they unfolded and kept you diving into the world. Geared towards younger readers (think middle school), Cat's Cradle: The Golden Twine is a perfect introduction to the world of monsters!

Cute story about a young girl who lives with a travelling fair and dreams of being a monster tamer. The fair's owner wants her gone, though the other members shield and feed her. The discovery of a ball of golden string changes her life, setting her on a path to her dreams. The art is lovely, if simple, and the story is cute. This is only part one of the story, however, so it is nearly all set up with no payoff yet. Once complete, it will likely be a fun read for kids, but it is hard to say much with only the beginning available.

First Second Book’s Cat's Cradle: The Golden Twine follows a young brave aspiring monster hunter searching for giants and other mythical creatures (don't worry it's not too scary). Readers will fall in love with the protagonist while watching her dashing about the carnival village, evading calls to do “real work,” aka grunt work. She instead prefers to spin a fantastical yarn for a coin and willing ear. Her kind, independent spirit reminded me a bit of Pipi Longstockings. I loved the artwork, the color palette(!), and the storyline, and I cannot wait for the next edition of Jo Roux's stunning creation.

With an incredible use of colour and expressive artwork, the story of this graphic novel springs to life and makes for a very promising start to a series!

A fun romp with monsters, thrills, and adventures abound. Art and story work well together, often interweaving separate story-lines with ease and providing fun visual gags for attentive readers. Characters are well-rounded and expressive, both in art and dialogue, giving life to this fantastical world. Our main character may fit the trope of orphan lead in an adventure story, but she is clearly not without a supportive family in the traveling troupe. Watching her escape the head of the group repeatedly was not only funny, but also a great way to establish the dynamics of the different group members.

Absolutely a good book to add to your Middle Grade/YA collection.

This steampunk fantasy graphic novel about an orphan girl named Suri who wants to be a monster hunter. She finds herself on an adventure with a monster sized dog and an imp. I really enjoyed the story and the art work. I am looking forward to sharing this with my kids and can't wait to read the last two books in the trilogy.

Suri loves monsters and hopes of taming them some day, but no one will take her seriously. Published by First Second this is another fantasy adventure story geared towards a younger audience, but like most First Second titles adults will love this just as much as kids.

The art is cute. The story is fast paced, so much so, I got to the end of volume 1 and wished there was more. I cannot wait to get my hands on volume 2. This will be a huge hit with my students. In the beginning, a group of kids are gathered around telling monster stories. This reminds me so much of the stories I would tell my siblings and cousins.

5 stars.

I gasped when I was browsing NetGalley and saw that Cat’s Cradle: The Golden Twine is getting a rerelease through First Second and future installments to the series had been picked up. I read Cat’s Cradle when it first came out ten years ago. At the time, graphic novels for kids hadn’t quite exploded into the huge multifaceted genre it is now and Cat’s Cradle still is something special with its interesting and unique world, beautiful character designs, and an intriguing story. I checked every few months for years to see when the next installment was planned or to see what Jo Rioux was up
to. I’m so happy to see that First Second has picked up this series- they always publish the best stuff!

Cat’s Cradle: The Golden Twine introduces a unique world full of creepy creatures, weird magic, and caring characters who are just trying to do what is right. I loved the way things aren’t always what they seem, usually not as scary, but much more complicated.

One of my favorite aspects of the book is the beautiful character design and attention to detail in the scenery and settings. These details create a feeling of depth to the world that has so much more going on than what we read in the page of the book.

The story is fascinating and pulls the reader in. The book centers on a coming of age/finding her place in the world type story for Suri, her path is filled with caring people and antagonists with dark secrets.

I’m so excited that the sequels to Cat’s Cradle: The Golden Twine will be published thanks to First Second.

*reviewed from uncorrected egalley*

children's graphic novel - adventure with magic and magical creatures. Colorful, appealing artwork and a fast-reading storyline will have readers asking for the next volume.

Suri has wanted to be a monster tamer ever since she was a little girl. Orphaned and surviving off of scraps she musters up within the merchant camp she travels with, Suri is determined to make her own way and grow up to become a monster tamer. She gets her chance when a mysterious wagon containing a huge dark monster within joins the camp but breaks out and Suri meets a few shapeshifting monsters that are after the Golden Twine.

This is a fun fantasy with a brave and independent main character that is determined to hunt and tame monsters. It has a cutesy vibe that makes it perfect for young readers that want monsters and adventure but aren't quite up to reading horror.

My only issue with this book is that it's the first in a trilogy that was never completed but somehow ended up republished a decade later with a new cover but still no middle or ending... and it does not do well as a stand-alone. There's no resolution and the story just abruptly stops. I'm hoping that the sequels will be forthcoming with the new publication date but was unable to find any updates on the trilogy.

The art style was something more towards middle-grade books than artistic graphic novels, but I liked the cute and interesting story enough to wish to read its sequels.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.