Charming story with lovely artwork, especially if you like European architecture.

Cilla, an optimistic kitten, sets out to find the famous quiet garden with her friend Betto. The entire journey to see whether the garden truly exists is only half the fun. The friendship between the kittens and the backdrop of paintings was so endearing to me ( )

Series Info/Source: This book was a Christmas gift to my son from his grandparents (and I stole it to read!!). It is a stand alone book.

Story (5/5): This is the story of two cat friends Cilla and Betto. Cilla is constantly being rejected from forever homes and wants to find the mythical garden of safety and food that supposedly exists. The two go on an epic cat journey to find this garden. This is well done and I enjoyed the way the story was presented. I loved their adventures on the Malta isles and enjoyed all the kitten tales and people/animals they met along the way.

Characters (5/5): I really felt for Cilla, she’s such a young and hopeful cat. I loved Betto’s dedication to his friend as well. The two meet a whole cast of interesting quirky characters along the way and they are all well done.

Setting (4/5): Having this take place in the State of Malta was interesting. It’s a unique setting that I didn’t know much about. The whole thing has a lot of history and a very Mediterranean feel to it.

Writing/Drawing Style (4/5): I loved the story here and how there were pages of fine art that the cats kind of journeyed through as stories were told. There are a lot of stories within stories, which I always enjoy. This graphic novel is creatively put together and nicely designed. However, I wasn’t a huge fan of the overall drawing style. At times the cats and their surroundings look a bit scribbled or unfinished.

My Summary (4.5/5): Overall I enjoyed this. This is a fun and heartfelt tale of two cat friends going on a journey to realize one cat’s dream. The unique setting and stories told within the story were well done. The drawing style wasn’t my favorite, it felt both too busy and a bit unfinished to me, but it was easy enough to follow. I would recommend this to cat lovers who enjoy the idea of cats adventuring through an exotic setting. ( )