Kitten by Stacey Yu

Cana Clark

Sep 12

3 min read

Kitten has been brilliantly packaged from the start. When the US cover was revealed, I saw Stacey Yu's video on Tiktok and added the book to my Goodreads to-be-read list. Pantone blue and cat eyes stare out from a pearl-encrusted pin. Eventually, I followed Stacey on Instagram and became captivated by her beautiful photos and alluring captions. And dear God, the MARKETING AND PUBLICITY CAMPAIGN! Random House was definitely going for cool girl intellectual, and they knocked it out of the park. Kitten's release included an essay from Stacey Yu on the "girlbaby" in Marie Claire, cheeky missing cat flyers posted around event locations, a Buzzfeed-style interview with Stacey featuring actual kittens, a launch party featuring custom napkins, custom temporary tattoos, and custom newspaper, and a giveaway with trendy perfumier Nostos. The book was chosen for Laufey's Book Club. The branding has been on point from day one. I couldn't wait to get my hands on Kitten.

And then I read the book. Honestly, I didn't know if I was going to finish this one. As a cat owner, Kitten was a difficult read. Seventy percent in, I sent a tearful voice memo to a friend and fellow cat owner, full of expletives.

Kitten follows a young NYC transplant and recent grad named Katie as she joins her older, wealthier boyfriend James for a vacation in the rich area of New England's east coast. They bring James' childhood cat, Silver, who delights Katie. Katie is a "baby woman," as defined by Shannon Keating.* She can't pay her rent, she's unemployed, and she relies on her roommate and her boyfriend for all her social needs. Katie has no ambition in life, only past regrets that she refuses to dwell on (like unresolved conflict with her mother), in lieu of letting others steer her in all things.

Over the course of the vacation, Katie is more and more enamored with Silver. She loves Silver's playfulness and goldfish memory. Nothing phases her, and she seeks only food, affection, and fun. If only Katie could do the same!

"The girlbaby is as pure and trusting as she is damaged and disdainful, and all these qualities make her immune to judgment. The girlbaby refuses to engage. The girlbaby finds safety in retreat."

—Stacey Yu, "The Girlboss Is Dead. But the "Girlbaby" Is Just As Bad" for Marie Claire

Unlike Silver, Katie doesn't even try to exercise agency, and she seems to be certain that James resents her for this, even though he refuses to chastise her for absolutely anything. INCLUDING: 1) Letting Silver drink coffee, 2) Giving Silver drops of wine, 3) Encouraging Silver to swim farther out into the ocean than James is comfortable with, 4) Leaving out acrylic paints, which Silver EATS, 5) Hiding this fact from James while he is on a work trip, 6) Completely forgetting to scoop litter while James is gone, and finally, and most egregiously, 7) Leaving the door unlocked and letting Silver escape.

I cringed at Katie's actions and negligence, which she allowed James to chalk up to innocent ignorance. By the end of the book, Katie is practically begging James to get angry with her. When he doesn't fully commit to chastising her, Katie finally withdraws and claims her agency (which no one was taking from her, by the way)! ABOUT TIME.

I can confidently say that I did not enjoy this book, but I do think it had very interesting things to say about the rise of the "baby woman" and "girl baby," two alike identities that twenty-and-thirty-something educated women appear to be retreating into as they grapple with a world that doesn't offer enough career opportunities or economic stability to girlboss in. Kitten is not a book for cat-lovers; it is a book for those who enjoy literary fiction and disillusioned young women and big city transplants trying to understand how they fit into a world that can longer pretend to reward them for "leaning in."

*For more on the "baby woman" and "girl baby," check out the below works: