Summary
The Nine Lives
of Romeo Crumb
Life Two
L. RifkinSecure Transaction
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Price: $16.95 USHardcover | ISBN: 0-97432211-3
L. Rifkin proves once and for all that every cat is born to live and die nine times in “The Nine Lives of Romeo Crumb”. In fact, the familiar myth is turned completely on its head in her remarkable nine book series.
As Romeo takes the first breath of his second life, memories of the brutal battle between the Sticks and the Alleys have left him scarred. Facing the reality that Fidel savagely killed his beloved Queen Elizabeth fills him with revenge. The Sticks throw themselves into combat training in preparation for the next battle, but the Alleys have something else in mind. They attack the Factory and kidnap Twinkle Toes just as his life was beginning to thrive after being abused by his people. Fidel sends word that Twinkle Toes was abandoned on the tiny Island where the Great Statue looms. Romeo and a few Sticks hitch a ride on a ferryboat to rescue him, only to find themselves stranded. And there’s no Twinkle Toes. Fidel has tricked them again. After a series of near death adventures, the Sticks make it back to the Factory. They find the rest of their friends being held hostage by Fidel and his gang, which now includes a new member. It seems Twinkle Toes has turned traitor. Romeo knows it’s up to him to save everyone, but how? And so starts his dangerous journey to become the hero he was meant to be.
Upon entering the shadowy and clandestine world of felines, L. Rifkin made a remarkable discovery, that cats do have nine lives. As a teacher for almost ten years, Rifkin observed the countless books her students read, and it was their natural curiosity about the secret communication between animals that finally inspired her to write “The Nine Lives of Romeo Crumb”. Setting out to test how the dark tone of “Life One” would be accepted, she read it out loud to a class of fifth graders under the guise of an unknown author. When they chose to miss recess time and again in order to hear more, and told other friends about the cool book their teacher was reading to them, Rifkin knew it was time for “Romeo” to make his entrance into the world. Thus she created her remarkable nine book series, each book ending in one of Romeo’s deaths until all his nine lives were gone.
L. Rifkin currently teaches kindergarten in Los Angeles, California. She and her husband, artist/illustrator Kurt Hartman, share a home with their infant son Henry and four rambunctious cats.Gr. 6-8 – In this contemporary fantasy, cats can receive mortal wounds and recover eight times before their lives end permanently. Young Romeo Crumb was born to New York City alley cats who let him be taken to the Pound to protect him from Fidel, the evil leader of the “alleys.” He becomes a “stick,” a domestic cat, unaware of his heritage. Queen Elizabeth, a neighbor cat, introduces him to the streets and takes him to the Factory, where he attends school, learning survival techniques, cat history, and how to read. Romeo and his friends become involved in conflict with the sinister Fidel and his “henchcats,” with adventures, intrigues, rescues, and attacks leading to a final confrontation during which he learns the truth about his parentage. The characters are fully drawn, and Romeo’s efforts to find his family and help his friends ring true and create a sympathetic protagonist. His world is brought to life through descriptions of the decaying Factory and a field trip into the subway system. Fast pacing and building suspense will draw readers into the story and leave them looking forward to the projected eight additional books in this series.
School Library Journal January 2005
