In this warmhearted middle-grade novel, Oona and her brother, Fred, love their cat, Zook (short for Zucchini), but Zook is sick. As they conspire to break him out of the vet s office, Oona tells the stories of his previous lives, ranging in style from fairy tale to grand epic to slice of life. Each of Zook s lives have echoes in Oona s own family life, which is going through a transition she s not yet ready to face. Her father died two years ago, and her mother has started a relationship with a man named Dylan whom Oona secretly calls the villain. The truth about Dylan, and about Zook s medical condition, drives the drama in this loving family story."