Member Reviews
Another great addition to the Katie the Catsitter series! Truly such a comforting read and I recommend it to all the young readers at my library.
I absolutely love this graphic novel series. Join Katie as she continues to train to be a superhero sidekick. As she deals with feeling jealous of her friend, so will soon learn a big secret about her friend's mom! I hope there are more installments to this series!
I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. Another great story about Kate the cat sitter. A fun graphic novel that kids will enjoy.
A great continuation of the Katie the Catsitter brand. I wish these books came out faster. I feel like I forget the specific cats between reads because I've been reading them as they come out.
Katie continues on her sidekick journey and continues to entertain readers of all ages. I, personally, enjoy anytime the cats make an appearance but also the continued focus on friend and family relationships. A definite add to my middle school library!
I really enjoy the Katie the Catsitter books, there's something about slowly growing a world with new characters and challenges, but tying them into the previously stories that works well.
That said, I felt this story drag for awhile. It felt like there was a slow build, then suddenly it popped off with actions and it it seems out of the place.
The story itself is good, introducing new challenges and working in friends with their own struggles, but the pacing wasn't the best.
I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. This is my honest review.
This was a book that my daughter picked during a round of request roulette, and I think she picked it in part because the main character and I share a name, since she later told me she was picking books she thought I'd like. And who wouldn't want to read a book with a main character that shares the same name as them, right? In this case, because this is a graphic novel, I wasn't exactly thrilled about it.
This book is the third in a series, but I didn't feel like I was completely in the dark about what was going on. While it did seem like there was a villain who returned from a previous book, I didn't really feel like I needed to know why Katie was so suspicious of him exactly to accept the suspicion as valid.
It was also interesting to me the way the media jumped to such drastic conclusions about who was to blame for things without considering other possibilities, although I will acknowledge that they were likely mirroring our reporters, with some exaggeration. The way viewers just believed whatever the reporters were telling them was definitely some social commentary, likely to make the point that we shouldn't just believe everything we're told.
I felt like there was a fair amount of exposition in this graphic novel, so I didn't dislike it as much as I typically dislike graphic novels. Not like there were whole paragraphs of narration or anything, but there was enough dialogue and inner monologue to largely tell the story in words, for me at least.
Overall I give Secrets and Sidekicks 3.895 out of 5 stars.
Love hanging out with Katie and her friends and family again. Love all the cats and all of their special abilities. Can't wait for the next book.
So happy to see more about the different cats and their personalities and abilities. This series does not disappoint!
This is such a fun series, and I am delighted that there will be more to come! Katie is a sweet main character - she is also prone to jealousy, trying too hard, and stretching the truth to protect her big secret - her neighbor is a superhero, the Mousetress! Katie is training to be her apprentice, but has kept that piece of information from her single mom, who works hard and is often stressed.
Much of this book requires some knowledge of the previous two books in the series, but newcomers will catch on - and then want to go back and read the others! I love the cats and their unique abilities; I also love Katie's very real friends and friend problems that exist alongside her secret life of superheroes.
SUPER-fun and highly recommended for ages 8+
Honest feedback from my 10 year old daughter.
Another great story of Katie the Catsitter! Friendship, robots, and cats?!? What’t not to love!
I shared this ARC with my 11-year daughter who LOVES graphic novels. She's read the first two books in the series and really loved them. This book was enjoyable but not her favorite.
The artwork continues to be fun, and Katie is an enjoyable character. As a parent, I liked that the book addressed friendship, a challenge at this age for a lot of kids. There is a lot happening in this book and the storyline moved around quite a bit. Overall, my daughter's feedback was that she just didn't love this story as much as she had loved the previous two. That certainly won't stop her from reading more in the series later on though! A decent addition, we both look forward to seeing where Katie's next adventure takes her.
Katie the Catsitter is back with more cuteness!
If you liked the first two, you'll enjoy this one as well.
Katie continues her training with the Mousetress, and they try to get to the bottom of the giant robot attacks in NYC.
I love seeing all the cats and their unique abilities! As a cat lover, it's so fun to see the cats help with the heists and hijinks.
The art is lovely, and really fits the tone of the story.
This series is great for middle schoolers as well as adults who are looking for a cozy read. There is a message about being kind to animals, and doing good in the world.
As with the previous Katie the Catsitter books, I enjoyed this read. Albeit less so than the previous two. The artwork was consistent with the previous books and the story moved well, but I did find that there was a lot being covered in the book and, as a result, it jumped around a lot more than was necessary. Katie is sorting out friendships with her school friends and fellow sidekick, trying to solve the robot mystery, trying to chase down the Screech, trying to support Madeline in her endeavours as a hero, and balancing a relationship with her mom. I really wanted the book to focus on a few things and do those well rather than try to cram in so much that each item got slim coverage. For example, it may have been better to have this book focus on Katie's friendships and how they are evolving, including how she was competing for sidekick status; or to have focused on her relationship with her mom and her mom finding out about the superhero gig maybe even paralleled to Madeline telling her parents who she is. But to do both and then to also have all the other hero stuff thrown in, too much. At the same time, it was still a good story and a good next step in the series. I am assuming that there will be more as some elements of the plot were left unresolved, or at least not as resolved as they could have been.
Definitely a fun read for a middle schooler and one who likes Catwoman, cats, and hero stories.
My daughter loves this book series. Graphic novels are just such an easy way to read a story that captures her attention immediately. If you have an upper elementary student that loves cats, this series is for them!
A solid addition to a series my 5th graders love! I've already purchased two copies to add to my classroom. I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.
That was soooo fun!!!! Katie is on the top of her excitement of being the Mousetress’s sidekick, while suddenly the NYC is getting giant robot attacks regularly. Another problems are Katie hasn’t told her mom about the superheroes-supervillains stuffs and TM is still framed as the villain, even though she evidently stopped the robot attacks. The citizen would rather praise a superhero who did nothing than admit that TM isn’t evil. Sigh. Cue The Man by Taylor Swift. AND THEN Katie’s friendship with Beth is also tested yet again.
Some of the jokes were actually funny, the cats were adorable as always (God, I miss my cats), and the plot was enjoyable. A really good graphic novel indeed.
Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Children’s for the ARC of this!
I love this series so, so much. Cats and superheroes? Amazing. The art is the cutest and the main character dealing with coming of age drama against the crime fighting backdrop works so well.
Katie the Catsitter #3: Secrets and Sidekicks by Colleen AF Venable is dearly loved by my 12-year-old daughter. She loves Katie, the playfulness of the cats, how they helped with the cases, how cute and funny everything is, and the mystery and secrets. The ending is amazing, and she can't wait to read #4, as this series is one of the best to her. A solid 5 stars!
Thank you to Random House Children's for providing us with an ARC.
Once again, an exciting graphic novel adventure within the Katie the Catsitter series. Kids who love cats and epic adventure won't be able to put this book down. From chasing robot mice, to cats saving kids, all with lots of friendship weave together for an unforgettable story. The cats using suction cup boots to walk up the wall was especially fun.