Jill Murphy’s review from Bookbag:
Jade lives in a recognisable but not particularly pleasant Britain of the near future. Huge corporations are running the show and the population lives in ignorance now the internet too has been largely taken over by big business. Only criminals and political extremists look at the freeweb now it’s illegal. A purported cat flu epidemic has effectively privatised cats. Breeding is strictly controlled by the Viafara Corporation and cats cost upwards of two million euros – only the rich can afford them. Any cats not bred in this way are potential disease carriers and are put down.
So when Jade finds Feela in her garden and takes in the beautiful cat, she and her mother are taking a huge risk. Comprot troops soon raid the house, looking for the illegal animal, and Jade’s mother’s failing heart finally gives out. Left alone and determined to protect Feela, Jade has no choice but to go on the run, and no one to turn to except the school misfit Kris Delaney. And so they try to reach Ireland, where a recent revolution has overthrown the corporations, pursued by vicious government agents.
Jon Blake has painted an ominously credible future Britain in this very satisfying novel. It’s familiar, and so its subtle differences don’t need pages and pages of exposition, but they are sinister and very frightening subtle differences. It’s a chilling picture of just how near authoritarianism stands and just how ignorant of the danger we are now, today, not how ignorant we might become. After all, if we can go to war and kill a million people on the outright lie about weapons of mass destruction, and if news reports can frenzy for days on one ill bird, how unlikely is it that cats could be privatised by a manufactured scare about cat flu? It’s not a quantum leap in logic or possibility, is it?
The main narrative is the chase, as Jade and Kris flee the armed Comprot operatives, and it’s as pacy and tense and action-packed as any adrenalin-junky reader could wish for. There are some heart-stopping moments and the two central characters are forced to show great courage. But they’re also forced to reassess their thoughts, feelings and values – Jade must lose the scales on her eyes and face the truth about the society she lives in, while Kris must learn to accept that while you can distrust governments and corporations, life is very little without trusting relationships with fellow human beings.
Inevitably, thrown together as they are, the two mismatched teenagers find out they’re a match after all. The romance is rather touching actually, and not in the least bit overdone or saccharine. Kris and Jade find love by sparring with one another and sharing danger, not by mooning and spooning. And it never gets in the way of the story. Both of them are fully-fleshed and interesting people, both with flaws and both with considerable depth of character. I was really rooting for them, and for Feela the cat too, of course.
I’ve read several very good chase novels for teenagers lately, but I think this one is my favourite. The writing is top notch and it has something for everyone. Take it as my tip for a major award.
Sam North’s review from Hackwriters:
It’s future without cats – most are dead of the deadly HN51 virus. Only the very rich can afford cats now and they are strictly controlled – ordinary people live in fear of catching a deadly flu from untagged cats
Into Jade’s garden walks Feela, a beautiful female cat with no collar. Jade has never seen a cat and is immediately transfixed and just a little afraid. Jade and her mother have fallen for the animal and hide it. It will change their lives forever. She tries to keep it from her best freind Kris, but itsn’t very good at it and he makes friends with Feela immediately, but doesn’t give them away. The ruthless comprots (Government Child Protectors) now rule England and what they say goes and they say no cats. When Jade sees her Doctor with a scratch he calls in the comprots and they raid her house. Although Feela has mysteriously disappeared, the comprots do so much damage and are so threatening her mother dies of a heart attack. Luckily Kris has stolen Feela that day.
Now Jade, Kris and Feela are on the run from social services. They are trying to get to Ireland where cats cat still roam free.
This is a thrilling story for kids 8-12 and any age. Curiously the second cat book I have reviewed this year, the first being The Catkin by Nick Green, about kids learning to be cats.
The Last Free Cat sets Kris and Jade, barely in their mid-teens, against the whole of England and the vicious comprots. They flee, never knowing who will betray them.. They get a ride from a truck driver Finn, who eyes the catbox greedily and tries to steal Feela. Kris has to fight for the cat in an illegal street market. he wins and they steal the truck. Then there’s a boarding house where they grow suspicious and afraid of Kris and Jade and call the comprots. Nowhere is safe. They run again, borrowing a canal boat. But is there no one they can trust? The media is hunting them now and just when they think they have nowhere to go they find allies in the Free Cats League anddiscover they are not alone.
This is a truly exciting thriller with lots of twists and turns. Kris and Jade are discovering all kinds of resources they never knew they had to keep and protect their cat. They are living in a vicious interfering New Labour kind of Britain where social services and political correctness have destroyed liberty. Can they reach the coast before the comprots catch them? What exactly will they do tokeep Feela safe, especially now she is pregnant.
Jade begins very naive, Kris perhaps too smug, but together they learn much about themselves and just what they are prepared to do to protect a defenceless animal. The Last Free Cat is one of the best young adult adventures in a long time. Be prepared to share. Everyone will want to read this.
Mandy Francis’s review for Write Away
A fast-paced and exciting dystopia for children, Jon Blake’s novel takes an interesting subject and keeps the tension going throughout. With a strong female lead and some love-interest, perhaps the story will appeal more to female readers but this was a very satisfying read. Particularly interesting, and perhaps relevant, were the themes of freedom and responsibility. How much would we risk for something we believe in? The characters of Jade and Kris are well-drawn and Blake invents a frightening world in which Comprot holds sway and stun guns, threats and fear are par for the course for the less affluent. Comprot seems to know the teenagers’ every move and there are several high octane chase sections. This is a worthy and exciting novel, which raises a number of pertinent issues.
Reviews of other Jon Blake books:
On Geoffrey’s First (young adult novel):
“A most successful novel. . .Jon Blake is an author to watch out for; perceptive and with a good ear for teenage talk when authority figures are not listening.” (Times Education Supplement, 11.11.88)
“A funny and moving love story. . .Geoffrey is an excellent creation. . .he is extremely funny.” (Sunday Times, 25.9.88)
On Yatesy’s Rap (teenage novel):
“Written in a totally believable first person, fizzes over the page, leaving its readers exhausted from laughing, crying and just keeping up.” (New Statesman, 1986)
On Stinky Finger’s Peace and Love Thing (junior comic novel):
“The writing is of great quality. It’s precise and grammatical and dry and witty and it sneaks in some fairly sophisticated vocabulary barely unnoticed.” (Bookbag website, 2008)
