Cute and imaginative. Follow Periwinkle as he races for the stars and explores his new home in Nigeria. Based on Okorafor's own cat, complete with crazy introduction and odd habits. The adventures are a bit simple, and Periwinkle speaks in what can best be described as cat-dialect, with unconjugated verbs.

Periwinkle is a Space Cat with a secret lair but lives as a house cat. He was slow to trust his humans and there were some adventures and mishaps along the way. Periwinkle and the family move to Nigeria, and he decides to take advantage of the wonderful view. When aliens decide to attack earth, Periwinkle must defend the humans from them. Will Periwinkle succeed?

The plot is entertaining, engaging, and draws the reader into the story. The character, Periwinkle is likable and authentic. The illustrations are colorful and easily distinguish between space and home life. Together, the illustrations and text work well together. Readers who like animals, science fiction, and graphic novels will want to pick this one up. Recommended for library collections where such books are popular. 4 stars, Gr 3 to 6.

Well illustrated graphic novel about a pet cat who is, secretly, part alien and spends his nights racing rockets against another alien space cat. When his owner, the author Nnedi Okoafor, moves to Nigeria for a year to write her next novel, the cat adapts to a new country that is often hostile to cats and defends the planets with an army of Nigerian pets and wildlife. Entertaining and original.

In this delightful graphic novel, Nnedi Okorafor imagines the life of her space cat, Periwinkle. Periwinkle waits until the family is sleeping and then takes off in a space ship to race the orange space cat. The family moves to Nigeria for a year and Periwinkle has to navigate being in a strange place and a culture that assumes he is a witch. When strange aliens invade Nigeria, Space Cat must fight them off and ensure the safety of his family.

The illustrations are delightful. At first, I hated the way Periwinkle spoke because I worry about students reading it but as I fell deeper into the story, I understood the accent and the way those words would be spoken and it flowed so well.

I think this is a must add to all libraries. I know my students will love it!

Thank you to Net Galley and First Second Books for the DRC! All opinions are my own.