Pre-order Kitten
⊹
Pre-order Kitten ⊹
An enchanting debut novel about an adrift young woman whose growing fascination with her boyfriend’s cat ushers her into the possibilities of her own life—but not without first threatening to unravel it.
Katie is far from home and fresh out of college, desperate to skirt adulthood’s demands, and all too willing to let her wealthy boyfriend James make decisions for them both. It doesn’t help that she hasn’t spoken to her mother in a year, or that her roommate has abruptly moved out of their New York City apartment. But when James takes Katie on vacation to his family’s seaside home, he brings Silver, his childhood cat, and Katie discovers a sudden, strange, and giddy sense of connection.
Silver doesn’t mind that Katie can’t seem to get a job, hold her own at dinner parties, or make amends with her mother. Silver, who gets to lie around all day, misbehave spectacularly, act cute, be gross, and still get fed, seems to have the life Katie longs for. Soon enough, they’re inseparable, and something inside Katie begins to crack open, or maybe just . . .crack.
Darkly playful and unexpectedly heartfelt, this debut from a major new voice in fiction is a timeless reckoning with the uncertainty of becoming a person in a world that is as disorienting as it is full of hope and promise.
Advance praise for Kitten
“Yu’s novel is both a kind of Gen Z parable of existential nihilism and a psychologically deft portrait of mother-daughter trauma… the story shines with sharp intelligence. Weird lit girl is having a moment, but this spiky debut refuses to be boxed in.” —Kirkus
“Yu captures the vulnerability of early adulthood with startling precision. Abound in wit and restraint, Kitten explores the funny yet unsettling complexities of modern love. A fearless debut!”—Weike Wang, author of Chemistry
“A fresh, funny, and totally bewitching love story that asks profound questions about attachment, obsession, and how to belong to one another and to ourselves… Kitten will wind its way around your heart.”—Gina Chung, author of Sea Change
“Even the most loyal dog person will be charmed by Yu’s weird, wry, and surprisingly tender debut. A hilarious and moving novel about the pleasure and pain of realizing you can be and do whatever you want.”—Jean Kyoung Frazier, author of Pizza Girl
“A brilliant study of need, want, loneliness, and power. Soft and sharp, totally in control, utterly deranged. I lapped it up.” —Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of The Mercies and Almost Life
“Stacey Yu is unique. I relished this glorious book so much that I was completely unable to resist reading it in one sitting.”—Jennifer Croft, author of The Extinction of Irena Rey
“Strange, playful, and intimate, Kitten captures the raw edges of obsession, belonging, and love. It’s stylish and magnetic, and I didn’t want it to end.”—Lucy Rose, author of The Lamb
“A spellbinding story whose observations and understanding of our relationships both with others and ourselves is a marvel to read. The moment you’ve finished this book, it will play on your mind for days.” —Ore Agbaje-Williams, author of The Three of Us
“Kitten is as tender and brutal as a kiss to the most wounded part of yourself . . . Yu’s eye for friction and chaos should be studied.”—Ruth Madievsky, author of All-Night Pharmacy
“Enigmatic and entrancing, like burying your nose in the plume of a cat’s neck.”—Celina Baljeet Basra, author of Happy
“An endearing meditation that will resonate with anyone who has been young, lost, and stagnant… Kitten will leave you aching." —Alice Evelyn Yang, author of A Beast Slinks Towards Beijing
About
Stacey Yu grew up California and currently lives in London. She studied English literature at Columbia University. Kitten is her debut novel.
Contact
Literary: Meredith Kaffel Simonoff, The Gernert Company | msimonoff[@]thegernertco.com
Publicity US: Rachel Parker | rparker[@]penguinrandomhouse.com
Publicity UK: Bella Howard | bella.howard[@]hodder.co.uk
Film & Television: Addison Duffy, UTA | addison.duffy[@]unitedtalent.com
