Nimbus

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Author(s)

Jan Eldredge

Publisher

Balzer + Bray HarperCollins Childrens Books

Genre(s)

Age Range

Release Date

September 05, 2023

ISBN

978-0062680372

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Nimbus had a rough start as a kitten. But her fortunes changed the day she met Fletcher. The boy nursed her back to health from a life-threatening injury and adopted her.

But when Fletcher’s aunt brings home a mysterious jar, an ancient nightmare demon is unwittingly unleashed. Despite battling the monster to save her friend, Fletcher’s superstitious aunt blames Nim for the attack and secretly abandons her at a dump.

There, Nim is befriended by a theater-loving rat and taken in by a kindly witch named Agatha and her motley crew of cats. Nim soon discovers that her battle with the demon left her with special powers—but more than that, she begins to suspect that she has always been destined for something extraordinary.

To return to her beloved Fletcher, Nim will need to harness her magical powers and enlist the help of her new friends. Along the way, she will discover she may be braver and luckier than she ever imagined.

Editor review

1 review

Cats have adventures, too!

November 02, 2023

Overall rating

4.0

Plot

4.0

Characters

4.0

Writing Style

4.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

N/A

Fletcher, who is very interested in found objects and making arrows, lives with his weather man father, who also hosts horror movies on the weekends. When his father has to go to a convention, his Aunt Caroline stays with him. Fletcher would rather stay in his room and talk to his cat, Nimbus, whom he rescued as a tiny kitten, but Aunt Caroline thinks he should go outside and meet kids his own age. When an old clay jar that was given to Fletcher opens, a horrible force of evil is unleashed. It takes the form of a hairy goblin and attacks Fletcher, but Nimbus manages to dispatch it, being wounded in the process. Aunt Caroline thinks that Nimbus has hurt her nephew, so puts Nimbus in a box and dumps her quite a ways from their home. There, Nimbus meets Rhett, a rat who isn't afraid of cats. Seeing how badly injured Nimbus is, Rhett suggests that she stay with an old woman near the dump who takes in strays. This seems like a bad idea, especially when Agatha, who is a green witch, doses Nimbus with herbs that make him sleepy after sewing up his wound. The other strays suspect that Nimbus might be the reincarnation of Agatha's familiar, Grimalkin, especially since Nimbus can visit other people's dreams. All the loyal cat wants to do is to return to Fletcher, but there are a lot of supernatural things going on, and Nimbus stays at Agatha's to try to figure some things out. Along with Rhett, she eventually takes off to find Fletcher, but must deal with the rats, who think that she has stolen their Dragon's Eye and means them harm. The Ways of Magic are very strange; will Nimbus be able to figure them out?

Good Points

Hunter's Warrior Cats books are continually popular in my library, and I can see Nimbus being popular with readers who are very into this series as well as their own cats, but want a little more magic. When I was in middle school, I checked out a book of magic spells from the public library, and still sort of believed that if I did them correctly they would work, so readers who still think magic is possible will love this one. Nimbus is an endearing character, and even his rat sidekick is likeable. This would make an adorable animated feature. Agatha is a realistic witch, and I would have loved to know more about her gardens and herbal magic. The end has Agatha setting up a magical school, and I could see another book based on this, although it would be very different from this one.

I thought there would be more fighting with the ancient demon, but this concentrated more on the dream walking and Nimbus' magic abilities. Not really a weakness, just not what I was expecting after the beginning of the book.

This is a good choice for readers who like books involving dreams, like Durst's The Girl Who Could Not Dream or White's Gravebooks, or those who enjoy a good animal adventure story, like Fiedler's Mouseheart trilogy or Moon's Delphine and the Silver Needle.

Karen Yingling, Staff Reviewer Top 10 Reviewer 2014 reviews

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1 review

Overall rating

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Plot

5.0(1)

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5.0(1)

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5.0(1)

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Beautiful Familiar's story

July 26, 2024

Overall rating

5.0

Plot

5.0

Characters

5.0

Writing Style

5.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

5.0

As a fan of novels with animal characters and a big fan of Katherine Applegate, I was very excited to read this novel that combines two of my favorite animal characters, cats and rodents. It didn't disappoint. Thank you, NetGalley for the opportunity. It starts as a story of a cat and her boy, then mixes artifacts, amulets, magic, witches, familiars, and evil goblins...leads us into a classic journeying back home, but with a twist. This novel is told from the perspective of the animals, but we get the personalities of the humans and I love Agatha. Fletcher (Nim's owner) comes across powerful and evil relics that will put his life in danger, and Nim in her naive efforts to protect him will be misunderstood and accused of being the cause of his illness. His Aunt takes Nim away, abandoning her far from home as a solution. It's time for Nim to learn about the world and herself (also as a cat) if she wants to go back home. But it isn't easy. Magic will help her but also hold her back. When it feels like repetition and inexperience writing sometimes it is more of part of the plot, and well explained as we move forward. There is a reason why magic keeps holding Nim back. I love that we get to learn more about the other cats' stories, grief, or past. There is a reference to prejudice and examples too. The author mentions other books ( I like it when authors do that) also Rhett (a rat who is one of my favorite characters) adds a lot of charm with his wish to be more than society thinks of him... and especially with his Shakespearian quotes. Also, how can we not love Nim when she is inspired by Bilbo and Gandalf to be brave and clever? All infused with a discovery of self, coming-of-age, Wicca-inspired magic with its respect for goodness, healing, and herbs. The action scenes are well-written and easy to visualize. The cover is gorgeous. It was an exciting read and I finished it in one day. I am looking forward to reading more from the author.

Cover 5 plus