Poets Square is part memoir, part cat education about a woman moving into a neighborhood in Tucson that she discovers is populated by stray cats with no one to take care of them. She takes it up on herself to make the first move, got popular on Instagram and became a "cat rescue influencer" and...to work on herself along the way.

Ours is a two cat household, one of which is the kitten of a mother stray that we rescued last year when the mother got hit by a car. :-( Our neighborhood is in a similar place as the author's neighborhood, with my stray rescue neighbors having 18 strays last summer.

The neighborhood around my workplace also has this problem with many strays that no one knows what to do with.

As I read through this book, I am almost inspired to start my own social media to rescue, catch, fix and release strays, because there was no way I could afford to do this on my own financially, much less work a full-time job and do all the work and running to and fro with the cat project.

Alas, I am afraid I am not that committed. But kudos to those who are.

The flip side to the cat stories is the author's mental health journey.

For some, the sadness might be too much. Too sad. But for me, I appreciated the parallels between the cat journey and that other parts of the author's life.

It ends on a positive note, though.

This could be a good book for a book group full of cat lovers to read and discuss, especially if they are close enough to each other to also talk about the hard parts of life.

This review is dedicated to Sad Boy, I hope that mashed potato is happy wherever he is now. Poets Square Cats has been my favorite account since I discovered it. I was so excited to see that Courtney was coming out with a book. She has an amazing way of communicating and getting you to love the cats she cares for. With their unique names and personalities, you really get a sense of who they are, even through a screen. This book is the same way. It was so comforting, kind, gentle, and exactly what we all need right now. This is also an incredible introduction to TNR and the important work that goes into it. I have a former stray beside me right now that showed up at the house I moved into five years ago. I constantly think of his life before he came into mine and Courtney really gives a voice to the cats that came into hers.

This just in: reading this book with your former feral cat beside you, who is happy and purring despite his weird assembly of old scars, will make you want to weep. A hopeful, compassionate, and sometimes melancholy account of what it means to love a creature who has never experienced kindness, and the weird combination of human emotions that come along with this. While this book is mostly about cats, it is also a compelling memoir that touches on trauma, gender, grief, and loneliness.

I found this memoir by Gustafson fascinating. Reading about her life fostering, caring for cats in her home in Poets Square was inspirational and really touching. She explores many topics in her memoir - mental health, community, the influence and reach of social media and finding purpose. I highly recommend this! Great first read of the year!

Poet’s Square Cats is a powerful and moving account of Courtney’s journey into the world of TNR in Arizona, where she (unknowingly) inherited a home that came with 30 feral cats. This was my first introduction to TNR, and I first followed Courtney on TikTok when I saw a video about a large misshapen cat (?) named Monster Paws. What begins as a daunting responsibility quickly becomes a life-changing mission, as she navigates the complexities of animal care, community, and personal growth. I deeply respect Courtney and her unwavering dedication to her cats, local feral communities, and the people whose lives she’s touched, and her story resonated with me on a profound level. I was definitely crying by the first page :) Courtney’s personal story hit close to home, and she out into words many of my experiences. Her work not only helps countless animals, but the people around them. Her work also serves as an inspiring reminder of how compassion and perseverance can make a lasting impact. Poet’s Square Cats is a testament to her strength, and the quiet, transformative power of kindness.

An intimate memoir about the importance of community and care in a world that can feel impossibly broken—and a story about accidentally going viral while tending to a colony of feral cats. I like story about cats and this memoir brings me to love more about cat.

I needed this crazy cat lady story!. A brilliant journey of self-discovery, self-acceptance, and self-love through the selfless act of carrying for feral cats.

Cats as praxis. Because of course.
About 3/4 of the way thru this, I realized that while the author may not realize it, her story is anarchy at work, and shows why this is the only way anything meaningful has ever been accomplished. With practical hard work and attention to doing what she could, every single day, the author built a beautiful new life for herself amidst responding to the needs she saw all around her. In it she encountered a whole new world that she never knew existed, and made a real difference in her community.
A beautiful story and absolutely not what I expected. Much love and May the cats be with you 🥰
Many thanks to NetGalley and Crown Publishing for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Many of us know of Poets Square Cats from the TikTok and Instagram accounts. We know the story of how this young woman moved into a rental house, how she unknowingly became the steward of a large number of feral cats, how this motivated her to become involved in TNR, and how the community has helped in small and one very large way (which might count as a spoiler, but IYKYK). I myself have donated a bit of money here, an item from the Amazon wishlist there.

But we know these stories through the outward facing lens of her camera, which has usually been focused on cats, and not on herself. For a really long time, we didn't even know her name. She was referred to as Poets Square Human for the longest time, and we didn't ever see her face.

This memoir turns the perspective inward and shows us the very personal story that led Courtney to the path she's on now. It could be trite to write a memoir about how diving head first into animal rescue could save a person, but this is anything but. It's sometimes raw, always very honest, and not always sympathetic. We go on quite a journey with Courtney and her physical and mental health while she bares all about the time spent working with feral cats, and flashes back often to times beforehand as well.

As she continues to grow and learn more about TNR, cat care and community outreach, the Poets Square Human shares the internal monologue, the uncertainty, the deep compassion and the human complexity we rarely see on social media. The cats are there, but they take a backseat to Courtney's story.

-I received a complimentary advance copy for review purposes. The opinions here are 100% my own.

I’ve been following Courtney online for years, and when she announced her memoir, it quickly became my most anticipated book of 2025. I was honored to receive an eARC, and reading it was a truly emotional experience. While the book is, at its heart, about cats, it is also an abstract love letter to many things: the city of Tucson, the people and cats who live there, and the deep capacity we have to care for others—even when it is difficult. The journey through this memoir was often bittersweet, filled with moments of sorrow but always tempered with hope. I’ll be purchasing a hard copy on release day, and I fully intend to share it with everyone I know. It’s a book I can’t wait for others to read and experience.

Poets Square tells the story behind @poetssquarecats, a social media account that cat-trapper and author Courtney Gustafson started when she moved into a house on Poets Square and inadvertently inherited a colony of 30 feral cats. Over the next months and years, those cats changed her life, and in her memoir, she does a beautiful job of describing how. We get to know Courtney (she doesn't post much about herself on her socials) through interwoven stories about her cats and her life, both pre-and-post Poets Square.

I cried so much reading this book. Honestly, I mostly don't like reading books that I know will be sad (in particular, "literary" fiction sometimes just feels like trauma porn and I don't enjoy that) but this is one of my most anticipated books of 2025 and, and it's fantastic. And, sure, some of it is that I recently changed SSRIs and my emotions are currently very close to the surface, and some of it is that I have had an intensely parasocial relationship with these cats and their caretaker for years now, but I don't think that negates the fact that this book made me *feel* stuff. I started off reading one chapter at a time because I needed to ease into the mood, but then I just began devouring it.

The thing that is so brilliant about Courtney's memoir is how she seamlessly draws connections between the problems facing cats, and those facing humans. These are not just the economic problems I was expecting (in addition to a cat wishlist, she keeps a human wishlist of sunscreen and socks and hand warmers and beans other vital items for those who need them), though that is an inextricable part of this book. In one chapter, "Men Call Cats Sluts," she describes the "casual misogyny of cat rescue," connecting her own experiences of sexism and harassment to the way people describe cats in heat. She draws thoughtful connections between cats and humans throughout.

Yes, this is about cats, but it's also about people, and, more fundamentally, about care: why we care, what we care about and for, how we care, finding community through care.
Not all of the stories are sad (I cried even at the happy ones, because I cry when I am overwhelmed by sweetness as with grief), but many of them are, or are tragic in illuminating the depth of inequality in this country. I recommend it to cat people and others alike.

Thank you to Crown Publishing and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Poet’s Square is Courtney Gustafson’s dedication to the cats that roam around her building in Poet’s Square. She recounts how cats helped her through major life events, including grad school and the pandemic. Her social media postings and descriptions of these cats over her living in Poet’s Square enable her to find a new community and to understand what places she wants to have in the world. Gustafson’s work also features beautiful illustrations of the cats she meets, further emphasizing their individuality and their impact on her life.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️! my favorite non-fiction read of the year.

i have never been more honored to receive an ARC in my life! i’ve been following courtney and her journey for a number of years, and had the pleasure of meeting her working for flatbush cats. regardless of my personal ties, this is still a fucking fantastic memoir that is going to sit with me for a long time.

as a woman who’s worked in cat rescue for 4 1/2 years now, there are feelings that i experienced that i never was able to vocalize. courtney wrote them down and did it beautifully. i found myself time and time again with my heart aching at the relatability of so much of what she was writing. she quite actually tore my bleeding heart out and put it on the page. if you work in animal welfare, especially in TNR, in any form, this is an absolute must read. even if you don’t, and just are a cat lover who’s enjoyed the poets square saga over the last few years, there are still many parts of this book that will feel relatable to you.

cats aside, it’s admirable how personal courtney got. she writes about mental health in such a beautiful, captivating way i felt like i was right there with her reading through the pages. it’s hard because this is so much about cats, but then it kinda isn’t? it’s a not wordy beautifully written piece of art about cats and humans, and humans and cats.

i cannot recommend this memoir enough, be prepared to have a few tear jerker moments (i had way too many to count). i can’t wait to pick up a physical copy when it’s released and proudly display it on my desk at work so i can talk to literally everyone about it. flatbush cats loves and misses you in brooklyn 🫶

Thank you to NetGalley and Crown Publishing for providing me with this ARC.

Poets Square is a memoir about a woman who moves into a rental home in Tucson, Arizona, and accidentally inherits 30 feral cats who live on the property.

I loved this book so much. It’s about so much more than just cats. It’s heartwarming, sad, funny, and details stories of grief, hardship, and loneliness, but also love, companionship, and care. Courtney brilliantly weaves her own life experiences in with anecdotes about her cats. This is so different from the average memoir and I would recommend this book to literally anyone (and I will when it’s released), but especially to any cat or animal lovers.

Thank you for the ARC. When I heard about this book coming out, I immediately added it to my bookshop.org want list and followed the author on social media. I read this book in one day, I could not put it down. I loved reading about the different cats personalities, but this book is so much more than that.

Gustafson writes about her job, education, relationships, family and is able to tie it all together seamlessly. I especially enjoyed the glimpses into working at the Food Bank during the pandemic, her struggle to form relationships at school, and her relationship with her family. This book is not about the cats, it is about who we are, our struggles, wants, needs, etc. Loved this book and can't recommend it enough.

This beautiful little memoir made my animal lovin’ heart so incredibly full! Not only did the author discuss the rewards and struggles of navigating cat rescue, but she also dove into the broader life lessons she has come to learn over the years which was very relatable to me. This memoir brought me happy tears, sad tears and several laughs throughout. So inspiring and refreshing to read about communities who come together with compassion for animals. My favorite book of the year by far- I will be purchasing a hard copy to keep on my bookshelf and recommend to others for years to come!

Publication date: April 29, 2025

Thanks to Crown Publishing and NetGalley for allowing me to read a digital ARC copy in return for my honest review.

Poets Square is an incredible memoir about the cat rescuer behind Poets Square Cats, and the cats she's encountered and cares for. The book is written in interconnected essays and each one holds deep truths about humanity. As someone who used to work at a cat rescue, I found the emotional beats extremely relatable. Working with cats is a study in suffering and persevering, and usually about helping people, because when cats are in need, the people around them are too. Anyone who follows poetssquarecats or works in animal welfare will naturally gain something in reading this, but so will anyone else who picks up this book that is at the end of the day a human story.
Thanks to Crown and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Poets Square by Courtney Gustafson is a very moving and emotional memoir. After moving into a new home, Courtney becomes the caregiver to thirty feral cats. What follows is a journey of resilience, empathy, and hope.

I have followed Courtney online for a number of years, so this is as definitely one of my more anticipated reads of the year. Poets Square lived up to and exceeded my expectations. This book perfectly encapsulates grief and relationships. It is a heavy read, but I think that’s what made it such a good book. Courtney seemed to put in words the emotions I felt after losing my pets, and I think because of that this story will resonate with a lot of people. I loved reading about the thirty cats and I hope Courtney is able to continue saving lives of both people and animals.

This was a wonderful memoir about cats, life as an adult, societal issues, and mental health. I’ve followed the Poets Square Human (Courtney) for a while now on both TikTok and Instagram. I was excited to hear that she had written a book about her experiences with TNR and her colony of feral cats. Her storytelling on those platforms are beautiful and paints a vivid and sometimes humorous picture of the cats. What I didn’t expect from this book was a touching and moving masterpiece of literature that brought me to tears several times.

I don’t want to go too into detail about the book itself because I think it’s worth a read, but I did want to point out one of the many powerful quotes that I found:

“But the items I had added to the list for people - winter hats, wool socks, protein bars, and soup - didn’t move. No one donated them. Why was it so much easier to feel compassion for the cats?”

This is one of the many powerful quotes that make you sit back and think about how society views animals versus humans. Courtney’s memoir, the cats, and the humans she talked about will be sitting with me for a very long time. 10/10 worth the read.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an advanced copy of Poets Square: a Memoir in Thirty Cats!

Courtney has written a wonderful book that both gives us a look into her life of caring for a colony of feral cats that I have learned about through her TikToks; but also a look into how our communities can work together to help each other under capitalism. A wonderful read for anyone who is community-minded, and a huge bonus if you love cats.