Licorice

Heartwarming, charming and sometimes spine-tingling, this story by award-winning author Kara LaReau is about fitting in, standing out, overcoming fear, and finding 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 loss of his former beloved pet. But ghosts don't always enjoy being forgotten. Sometimes they must make their presence known.

In her cage at the Mount Charles Animal Shelter, Kitty feels safer than she did in the woods. And then Max appears at the shelter. Max has adopted all sorts of pets over the years and he seems kind. When Max chooses Kitty, she is going to have a home at last.

There is a scent lingering in the house on 5 Manderley Lane. The scent rises from every chair leg, every carpet fibre, every pillow, 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't let Kitty forget that she is a replacement. And soon, Kitty finds herself trapped in the long shadow of the cat that came before her. But is it just a shadow? Or is there something really there on the other side of it ... haunting her...

Licorice is an atmospheric and gripping story full of twists and turns and gorgeous black and white illustrations throughout by Kelly Murphy.