Jenny Kalahar

Shelve Under C: a Tale of Used Books and Cats (Turning Pages) Jenny Kalahar

A novel for everyone, Shelve Under C is a big, leaning stack of humor, heart, stray cat hairs, old book dust, mystery, family drama, longing and hope.     Used bookshops often have a cat or two roaming the aisles, sleeping on the shelves, or sleeping on the customers. Here is a novel all about one bookshop and its resident cats, Stomper and Buglit; and about Kris, a 12-year-old boy who apprentices in the shop. Kris is a little bit like the cats: he's a foster child getting used to a new family, and the cats are being fostered in the bookshop for the local shelter. Stomper and Buglit are a little bit like Kris: they get into trouble, have some wild adventures, and find out just what being part of a family really means.     Unlike some novels that have a bookstore setting, Shelve Under C has the real spirit of the store, its owners, its apprentice, its customers and, especially, its cats as the beating heart of this fuzzy beast. It's full of wonderful characters, a wild storm, a doggy bucking bronco, catnip capers, an almost-deadly chicken salad sandwich, and . . . books! No need to knock -- the door is open. So come on in, grab something to read, and get comfy on the big, red sofa.