I don’t even love cats and this made me super emotional. Courtney’s life story is interwoven with the tales of the feral cats she meets along the way while exploring larger cultural and societal issues.

It is beautifully written and very honest - though at times Courtney’s thoughts and judgements of other people, in particular her Instagram followers, can be quite brutal especially considering they gave her the down payment for her house?!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Once again I saw the words "memoir" and "cats" in the NetGaley description and once again I decided to request the book based on that alone. Beam me up, Scotty!

I am happy to say that this time it was absolutely worth it. I loved this book. I loved the cats. I loved the author's journey - from a well-meaning person with no idea how to proceed around the many cats in her backyard to a community organizer around cat wellfare. But above all, I loved the tone. Courtney Gustaffson is compassionate and thoughtful, whether she writes about cats, humans, mental health, physical sickness, capitalism, casual mysogyny or... basically anything.

The cats are, of course, at the center of this book. Some stories are heart-warming. Many are heart-breaking. But there is so much love, and caring, and commitment within them.

Much, much, much recommended.

Thank you, Penguin General UK and NetGalley, for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I am more than delighted to have had the opportunity to read this book. I was hooked just by the premise alone, and I stayed for its raw and honest writing style. It is obvious that Courtney Gustafson has always been a writer which explains her amazing play with words.
In this book, we as readers learn about her change of environment after moving to Poets Square neighbourhood where she finds feral cats hanging around her new place. There she quickly realises that from that moment on, cats will be the one and only thing on her mind. She finds new meaning in helping them survive by feeding them and getting them spayed or neutered. The narrative shifts between her current experiences and her memories from the past such as her growing up, having doubts about college, and much more.
I love how this book shows that the love and stability the author had been searching for in so many places finally arrives through her giving to the community of cats. It’s beautiful, moving, and deeply encouraging.
I highly recommend this book, it truly touched me.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the e arc of this book.

Having followed Poet Square Cats on instagram for years I was very excited to get to this and it definitely lived up to expectations! Courtney moves into a rental property not knowing that already living in the yard and car port was a colony of 30 feral cats. This book follows the journey of learning how to care for these cats, helping other people and cats across the city, a new life built on a love of cats and caring, and how community can change the world. This book made me both laugh and tear up and I would recommend it to all cat lovers! I also love the beautiful cover artwork

When Courtney moved to her new house in Poets Square she had no idea her life was about to take a new path. She was about to learn she had an area full of cats who needed her to take care of them. So she did and over time learnt all there is to know about feral cats, the good, the bad and the tragic.

This isnt my usual sort of book but when suggested to me I wanted to give it a try and i'm so glad i did. I really enjoyed the story. I loved how her tales of the cats interspersed with her own life and the comparisons she could make. Its heartfelt, sweet and at times sad but its also very real and honest. Courtney shows us her life and the others she met along the way whilst she rescued cats. A truly inspiring read especially for any cat lovers.

Poets Square connects with the reader through short little stories about cats. That is the surface level this book shows as a first impression. However, this book is so much more. The author uses these stories, along with a beautifully but at the same time easily constructed narration, to connect not only with animal lovers, but with whoever decides this book is attractive enough to grab it. I say this because even though I have never really been the biggest cat person, the connection I felt not only with the cats, but also with the social and personal issues the author went through and talked about was huge. There is an interrelation between the cats’ stories and the author’s own happenings, thoughts, beliefs; just overall the author uses the cats stories to criticise, highlight and question many different beliefs and messages and I feel like it helps both connect and relate deeper with each story.

The fact that you can literally visit the author’s instagram, follow the stories of the cats and search for photos and videos from the very beginning is a plus to this book. Although I had no idea about the author's instagram before reading about the book, I do not think it is necessary to know anything about it before reading this, it does not affect your reading journey in my opinion. Actually, I don’t even recommend snooping the instagram account as it can contain spoilers about some stories, which the former followers of the cats’ account might not mind, but many other new readers could.

The book is also quite informative, maybe less at the beginning, as the author herself is going through this journey of finding out how to take care of so many cats, what is the procedure, what should you expect and how to not let it take over your whole life; but overall I think I learned a lot through her own experiences. Of course, the book is not only informing the reader about these cats’ stories and addressing social issues, but it is also a very emotional book as it makes you connect and empathise with these little beings. I would add a quick warning for emotional people to be careful on when and where you read it, because more than once I surprised my girlfriend with literal SOBS because I just wanted all these cats to have the happiest of endings.

I highly recommend this book, I was surprised with how much I liked the narration and how easily it reads; although sometimes my tears were the only ones stopping me from continuing my reading. I became a fan of these cats, and have sent a message to the author once (about the book) and she was so very sweet about it. I thank Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity of reading this before release!

I've been following @poetssquarecats on social media for years, quietly witnessing the everyday moments of Courtney and her gang of feral cats as if I lived just next door. When I heard she was writing a memoir, I knew I had to apply for an ARC—and I’m so glad I did.

Poets Square is more than just a book about cats. It’s a deeply personal, moving exploration of life, love, loss, and the quiet, enduring bonds we form—with animals, with places, and with ourselves. Courtney's writing weaves together her own story of how she arrived at Poets Square, with tender and vivid memories of the many cats that have passed through her life. It’s a narrative built on resilience, compassion, and the kind of heartbreak that only deep love can leave behind.

As a lifelong cat lover, I found myself tearing up more than once. Having gone through grief with my own soulcat, this book hit in all the tender places. Courtney’s vulnerability, strength, and unwavering love for these animals is something I will always admire.

It’s rare to find a memoir that balances raw emotional honesty with such gentleness and beauty, but Poets Square does just that. I’m honoured to have read it and will continue to follow Courtney’s journey.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This is the heartwarming story of a young woman, Courtney Gustafson who, aged 32, moved into the Poets Square of the title in Tucson Arizona just prior to the pandemic. This is the first time in her life that she feels that she is in the right place despite several false starts and abusive relationships.
But life was going to change for her not just with the pandemic but personally as well. She moved in first with her boyfriend, Tim, coming later. What Courtney didn’t know was that there was a welcome committee of 30 wild and feral cats that come to meet her. On her first night , she hears strange noises and finds tiny paw prints the next morning. She defines feral as being:
‘one part domesticated by people abandoned by the system that created it.’
Initially the cats run from her and Tm comments that:
‘There’s always a few cats around.’
And Courtney thinks that:
‘every time I blinked there was a new cat outside our house like they were coming from a portal.’
And then they start coming closer and she begins feeding them and sorting out beds for them and naming them and suddenly the cats have become a community. Although at first she tried not to assign them names or
‘to attach my heart to theirs.’
She begins to get them spayed and finds homes for kittens and watches as this little colony shows her the intricate relationships between cats. Some of them disappear and others like Goldie capture her heart. After coming home with horrendous wounds he goes to a foster home and then finds a forever home where he becomes the cat he was always meant to be,
Courtney combines her cat rescue work with her day job. Pre pandemic she was writing content for a food bank. Then she became part of the distribution of food and comments that its workers, including her, qualified for food assistance themselves.
The cats are non judgmental and she shares their lives, their loves as with Sad Boy and Lola and in a sad scene a mother cat searching for her kitten who has been taken in by neighbours. There is also real pleasure which I really enjoyed reading which is when
‘a ragtag group of misfit strays try cat toys for the first time in their lives.’
Who would begrudge them that? It’s both funny and touching.
Courtney puts the cats on Instagram and TikTok and people begin sending her money and items for the cats and she comments that they don’t seem to want to help humans in the same way.
However, there is a downside to her work with the cats in being called a crazy cat lady and sexism towards cats when they are in heat. And also at the food bank when recipients are downright rude and nasty.
There are also other colonies in poorer areas of Tucson such as the Desert Palms colony. An abandoned apartment block with its ex residents living in cars, evited or illegally living there and also the Hot Dog man trying to support another group of stray cats.
But finally she is looking at the cats at home when it becomes hers and Tim’s home and not a rental ‘
‘the cats tucked into every corner of our yard, safe and surreal.’
I loved this book, it was written in such an easy, conversational style and doesn’t pull any punches when emphasising the need for spaying. Cats with one litter and already pregnant with another. Is how these colonies begin. And also of Courtney’s dedication in the face of limited money and resources and her ability to connect with people via social media. I felt her pain at having to let go of Goldie even though she was doing the right thing by him. I’m in awe that she took on 30 cats and found her true purpose in life despite being worried about breaking the terms of her lease.
At the beginning of each chapter is a simple black and white line drawing of cat which I loved due to their simplicity.
The colony of strays reminded me of my little pack. During the pandemic I was living in a house with a back garden – a whole garden to myself. And the local cats were used to visiting as it was quiet and one of my pleasures was to watch them on patrol in their patch all studiously avoiding each other. If they did meet there would be an eyeball to eyeball for moment before they went their separate ways. One cat who gradually began to come closer just disappeared and I never found out what happened to him and another one took my heart after naming and feeding him.
This was a wonderful memoir which did not gloss over the sadder side of cat rescue and how much it can change a person’s life.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC.

Thank you so much to the publishers for allowing me to read this book. From the synopsis I had high expectations and it lived up to them and more. It's books like this that remind me why I love reading non fiction. It was purrfect (sorry, had to be done, but so true)

At the heart of the book are the cats, but it's so much more. It's about community, kindness, poverty, mental health, misogyny, loneliness. As a cat lover you might think how brilliant to have all those cats, it's the dream. But actually, this shows the hard work, the worry and the heartbreak that goes into caring for these wonderful creatures. I read it in 3 sittings. I will happily read it again and recommend it to everyone.

"The difference between wild and feral may seem subtle, but it's a distinction that matters...Feral, for all the wildness it implies, just means that an animal was abandoned by the system that created it"

This was such a sweet read as someone who has loved cats all my life and know they love me back. From the cat who used to wait on the driveway and walk home with me, the cat who used to sit close but a distance away and the cat who rubs against my hand when I am asleep. This book really showed the true magic and how cats can infiltrate every part of our lives and help with things we don't think is possible!

I loved this book so, so much. For starters, I've never seen any description so accurate of how it feels to love a weird little furry monster so dearly that you feel like it's walking round with your heart held hostage as it tries to get into every dangerous situation it can find. And to then multiply that feeling to all the hurt and lost and lonely cats in the world.

But it's not just a story of the colony of cats the author found when she moved into a new house, or how it led to working to look after feral cats across the city. It's about learning to find and build community, to get out of survival mode and come out of the cold. To witness suffering, grief, loss, and brokenness in both feral cats and the (usually poor) communities they live in and to keep showing up. It shows how the humans around feral cats need care too, and both have been abandoned by society.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

i've followed poets square cats on tiktok and insta for a few years now, bringing thousands comfort from lockdown onwards, so i was very excited when this book was announced as courtney seems like such a lovely kind person.

since i got my own cat 2 years ago i've became so so so ridiculously sensitive to any sort of peril or slightly sad content about cats so i excitedly opened this book, found the writing and the story lovely, so well written, and then i was sobbing by 20% in. and i realised for my own health, i couldn't continue

but i loved it! i'm just a sensitive lil soul

I'm usually a dog person. This book single-handedly made me feel so much love for feral cats. It's like every single chapter felt a deep conversation with a friend who is going through these situations. You're learning about them but you're also loving the cats, what they represent for her, and the stories they have. It's beautiful.

This book would be very easy to read for someone who don't usually read a lot of non-fiction. It's nice, pleasant, and not too complex. It will make you feel ALLLLL sorts of emotions.

I highly recommend this book. I can't get enough of it!!

I don’t know what I expected from this book - probably something very twee and cute - but this was more. Yes, there are a lot of cats within this book. However, this is more an exploration of the author’s struggles and mental health, both before rescuing stray cats and after.

I really admire her strength and determination to rescue and save as many cats as she can, and how one Instagram post resulted in her becoming an official rescuer with fundraising opportunities.

A good balance of cats and human interest, this is worth a read.

As a certified crazy cat lady, I couldn’t have loved this book more. Ostensibly a memoir about how the author became a cat rescuer by accident, it’s also a beautiful meditation on the nature of cats and how the experience of feral cats scrabbling to survive is so different to that of pet cats, and then this in turn spills over into an indictment of America under late stage capitalism, where humans struggle to survive by living in their cars while around them cats conduct their own struggle to survive. Some chapters are challenging and upsetting to read, but Gustafson treats everyone - feline and human alike - with such respect that even distressing stories about cat hoarding are told carefully. I didn’t know of Courtney and her Poet’s Square cats prior to reading this book, but suffice to say I now follow their Instagram account avidly!

It would be hard for anyone to write a book about cats and cat rescue that I didn't love and Poets Square did not disappoint. I, like many others, follow Courtney's Instagram and was so excited when I found out that she was writing a book, and I inhaled it. I loved learning about how the bats came to be in her life - imagine moving into a house and finding 30 cats life in the yard?! I did find some of the stories about cats that didn't make it quite upsetting, but I'm aware this is the reality of rescue. Her stories of human connection were beautiful and heartbreaking - I adored reading about how helping cats allowed her to meet and help so many people who were going through difficult times. Overall an excellent book and would recommend to anyone who loves cats and is passionate about animal rescue. Thank you to the publisher for this ARC.

Cats, cats and more cats. Courtney Gustafson’s life began to be centred around all the local feral cats when she moved to Tuscan, Arizona. She started to feed them, then got more and more involved with their lives, taking them to the vet, getting them neutered. She showed them on social media, which meant more money was available to tend them. In between their exploits and idiosyncrasies, we hear about Courtney’s early life and her vulnerability. A heartwarming story, even if you’re not keen on cats.

I went into this book knowing nothing about the author, I just picked it up because it had cats! But it turns out that Gustafson is a cat-influencer and this is all about her life and her cats. I really enjoyed this! This book is, of course, about cats. But it's also about Courtney, and about life in general. It's really well written and I would've assumed this was a fantastic ghost writer if other reviewers hadn't said it matched her caption style.

It was really interesting to see how someone ended up with 30 cats and how they logistically dealt with that, as well as how she then moved to the stage she's at now with being able to capture and spay/neuter strays and provide care for them. I also really enjoyed seeing how Courtney talked about the communities around these cats, how they were also important and that she cared for them too.

This was a really quick read and one that I'm glad I picked up on a whim!

This is a really lovely book about a young woman who moves into a house and finds 30 feral cats living around her. She decides to try and help them and ‘a star is born’. Ms Gustafson has thousands of followers on social media (I’m not one) and I found the book a great insight into a world I’m unfamiliar with. The author becomes the one to call in surrounding areas when people find cats out and about and she becomes quite the expert.

The author is honest about her situation and her need for community and I think there’s a universality to that that many people will connect with ~ whether you like cats or understand social media. There are some funny bits, some sad bits, and always a belief that this will work out. Her interactions with hot dog man really sum up the dire situation with feral cats…

I’m not sure I’m the best audience for this book but I really enjoyed it. I was given a copy of the book by NetGalley

As a self-identifying cat lover, this book is gorgeous. I wasn't familiar with this specific cat rescue operation, but even going in blind it was such a delight. The way the author connected both personal and general life events to the cats (the slut-shaming one in particular stood out to me) was extremely well-done. I really enjoyed this - it's a great way to connect with cat lovers or animal rescue volunteers/employees, and it also shows the reader the ways that they could help any local feral cats. Normally I don't even read nonfiction, but this book was an easy exception. 10/10