It's Like This, Cat- Newbery Winner 1964

It's Like This, Cat is the heart-warming story of a boy named Dave's adventure through adolescence and how he begins to understand more about life with his best friend, Cat, by his side. Dave gets Cat from his "crazy cat-woman" friend, Kate. He goes to visit her after Cat followed her home and falls in love with the handsome tomcat. Dave takes Cat home and they become best pals. The only person who tries to get between them is Dave's father. Dave does not get along with his father. Everything that his father expects of him, Dave is not. This causes much tension in their home. Inevitably, when Dave brings Cat home, his father is not pleased. The arguments continue throughout the book as Dave gets into trouble with the law, meets a girl, and tries to help a friend. Even when Dave feels he has nobody to turn to, Cat is always there to comfort him. As Dave gets to experience more parts of life and compares his family to others less fortunate, he begins to realize that things could always be a lot worse. The more he focuses on this, the more he sees that his father is not as horrible of a person as he always thought. This story does a great job of depicting the struggles between teenagers and their parents as they are growing up. It would be perfect for any teen to read. They may even realize that their parents are just trying to do their best to protect them and help them grow into disciplined individuals.