Licorice

Both spine-chilling and heartwarming, funny and charming,Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor winning author Kara LaReau has writtena story about fitting in, standing out, overcoming fear, andfinding a place called home.A young and frightened kitten is brought starry-eyed into a new household.A boy named Max is trying desperately to get over the lossof his former beloved pet. But ghosts don't always enjoy beingforgotten. Sometimes they have to make their presence known.In her cage at the Mount Charles Animal Shelter, Kitty has no otherchoice but to be the captive audience of the opinionated BunnyVan Hopper. But it's better than the woods. Kitty can still rememberthe rain that came and swept everything. everyone. away. Here,at least she has food and company, even if Bunny's words scareher.And then Max appears at the shelter. Max has adopted all sorts ofpets over the years. Rumor has it that he treats all of his petswith care and kindness. And of all the animals at the shelter, heactually chooses her―a scrawny and scared kitten. Kitty isgoing to be home at last. But she can't seem to get Bunny's wordsout of her head as Max takes her away in her carrier."You're going to regret this! I just know it!" Bunny Van Hopper cries.And perhaps Bunny is right.There is a scent lingering in the house on 5 Manderley Lane. Thescent rises from every chair leg, every carpet fiber, every throwpillow, even inside the bathtub. Everything smells like Licorice.It is the strongest upstairs in Max's room, almost overpowering.If the smell isn't enough, Duchess, the family's old parrot, won'tlet Kitty forget that she is a replacement. And soon, Kitty findsherself trapped in the long shadow of the cat that came beforeher. But is it just a shadow? Or is there something really thereon the other side of it.haunting her.Licorice is a fantastically kid-friendly, light psychological horrorfor fans of Neil Gaiman and Jonathan Auxier, Kate DiCamillo andKatherine Applegate alike.