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Kitten

A Novel

Author Stacey Yu

Hardcover

$29.00 US

Random House Group | Random House

5-1/2"W x 8-1/4"H (14.0 x 21.0 cm) | 14 oz (405 g) | 12 per carton

On sale Aug 04, 2026 | 304 Pages | 9798217155064

Grades 9-12 + AP/IB

Sales rights: US, Canada, Open Mkt

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Fiction > Literary Fiction
Fiction > Women's Fiction

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A magnetic, stirring debut novel about an adrift young woman whose growing fascination with her boyfriend’s cat ushers her into the possibilities of her own life—but not without first threatening to unravel it.

Katie is far from home and fresh out of college, desperate to skirt adulthood’s demands, and all too willing to let her wealthy boyfriend James make decisions for them both. It doesn’t help that she’s no longer speaking to her mother, who resents her for leaving Little Rock. Or that her roommate has abruptly moved out of their New York City apartment. But when James takes Katie on vacation to his family’s seaside house, he brings Silver, his childhood cat, and Katie discovers a sudden, strange, and giddy sense of connection.

Silver doesn’t mind that Katie can’t seem to get a job, hold her own at dinner parties, or make amends with her mother. Silver, who gets to lie around all day, misbehave spectacularly, be cute, gross, and still get fed, seems to have the life Katie increasingly longs for. Soon enough, they’re inseparable, and something inside Katie begins to crack open, or maybe just…crack.

Because if Katie has learned anything from her estranged mother, it’s that devotion comes at a price. As Katie's affection for Silver deepens, all of her other relationships begin to falter. Soon, Katie must confront what it is she desires from her life, and what she might have to risk to get it.

Both darkly playful and unexpectedly heartfelt, this debut from a major new voice in fiction is a timeless reckoning with the uncertainty of becoming a person in a world that is as disorienting as it is full of hope and promise.

“Kitten captures the vulnerability of early adulthood with startling precision. Abound in wit and restraint, the novel explores the funny yet unsettling complexities of modern love. What does it mean to be looked after versus seen? Are love and safety one and the same? A fearless debut!”—Weike Wang, author of Chemistry

“A fresh, funny, and totally bewitching girl-meets-cat love story that asks profound questions about attachment, obsession, and how to belong to one another and to ourselves. Sharply written and insightful, Kitten will wind its way around your heart.”—Gina Chung, author of Sea Change

“Strange, playful, and intimate, Kitten quietly captures the raw edges of obsession, belonging, and love. Stacey Yu has crafted a stirring portrait of what it’s like to feel deeply out of place and lonely. It’s stylish and magnetic, and I didn’t want it to end.”—Lucy Rose, author of The Lamb

“Stacey Yu’s Kitten is as tender and brutal as a kiss to the most wounded part of yourself. Yu perfectly captures how it feels to be young and terrified of yourself. To call a novel this fierce Kitten . . . Yu’s eye for friction and chaos should be studied.”—Ruth Madievsky, author of All-Night Pharmacy

“Enigmatic, entrancing, and tender, like burying your nose in the plume of a cat’s neck.”—Celina Baljeet Basra, author of Happy

“Even the most loyal dog person will be charmed by Stacey Yu’s weird, wry, and surprisingly tender debut. A hilarious and moving novel about stumbling into adulthood and the pleasure and pain of realizing you can be and do whatever you want.”—Jean Kyoung Frazier, author of Pizza Girl

Stacey Yu is a Chinese American writer. She grew up between Texas, Arkansas, and California and currently lives in London. Kitten is her debut novel. View titles by Stacey Yu

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• Falkland Islnds

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• Jamaica

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• Malawi

• Malaysia

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About

Praise

Author

Stacey Yu is a Chinese American writer. She grew up between Texas, Arkansas, and California and currently lives in London. Kitten is her debut novel. View titles by Stacey Yu

Rights

Available for sale exclusive:

• Canada

• Guam

• Minor Outl.Ins.

• North Mariana

• Philippines

• Puerto Rico

• Samoa,American

• US Virgin Is.

• USA

Available for sale non-exclusive:

• Afghanistan

• Aland Islands

• Albania

• Algeria

• Andorra

• Angola

• Antarctica

• Argentina

• Armenia

• Aruba

• Austria

• Azerbaijan

• Bahrain

• Belarus

• Belgium

• Benin

• Bhutan

• Bolivia

• Bonaire, Saba

• Bosnia Herzeg.

• Bouvet Island

• Brazil

• Bulgaria

• Burkina Faso

• Burundi

• Cambodia

• Cape Verde

• Centr.Afr.Rep.

• Chad

• Chile

• China

• Colombia

• Comoro Is.

• Congo

• Cook Islands

• Costa Rica

• Croatia

• Cuba

• Curacao

• Czech Republic

• Dem. Rep. Congo

• Denmark

• Djibouti

• Dominican Rep.

• Ecuador

• Egypt

• El Salvador

• Equatorial Gui.

• Eritrea

• Estonia

• Ethiopia

• Faroe Islands

• Finland

• France

• Fren.Polynesia

• French Guinea

• Gabon

• Georgia

• Germany

• Greece

• Greenland

• Guadeloupe

• Guatemala

• Guinea Republic

• Guinea-Bissau

• Haiti

• Heard/McDon.Isl

• Honduras

• Hong Kong

• Hungary

• Iceland

• Indonesia

• Iran

• Israel

• Italy

• Ivory Coast

• Japan

• Kazakhstan

• Kuwait

• Kyrgyzstan

• Laos

• Latvia

• Lebanon

• Liberia

• Libya

• Liechtenstein

• Lithuania

• Luxembourg

• Macau

• Macedonia

• Madagascar

• Maldives

• Mali

• Marshall island

• Martinique

• Mauritania

• Mayotte

• Mexico

• Micronesia

• Moldavia

• Monaco

• Mongolia

• Montenegro

• Morocco

• Myanmar

• Nepal

• Netherlands

• New Caledonia

• Nicaragua

• Niger

• Niue

• Norfolk Island

• North Korea

• Norway

• Oman

• Palau

• Palestinian Ter

• Panama

• Paraguay

• Peru

• Poland

• Portugal

• Qatar

• Reunion Island

• Romania

• Russian Fed.

• Rwanda

• Saint Martin

• San Marino

• SaoTome Princip

• Saudi Arabia

• Senegal

• Serbia

• Sint Maarten

• Slovakia

• Slovenia

• South Korea

• South Sudan

• Spain

• St Barthelemy

• St.Pier,Miquel.

• Sth Terr. Franc

• Sudan

• Suriname

• Svalbard

• Sweden

• Switzerland

• Syria

• Tadschikistan

• Taiwan

• Thailand

• Timor-Leste

• Togo

• Tokelau Islands

• Tunisia

• Turkey

• Turkmenistan

• Ukraine

• Unit.Arab Emir.

• Uruguay

• Uzbekistan

• Vatican City

• Venezuela

• Vietnam

• Wallis,Futuna

• West Saharan

• Yemen

Not available for sale:

• Anguilla

• Antigua/Barbuda

• Australia

• Bahamas

• Bangladesh

• Barbados

• Belize

• Bermuda

• Botswana

• Brit.Ind.Oc.Ter

• Brit.Virgin Is.

• Brunei

• Cameroon

• Cayman Islands

• Christmas Islnd

• Cocos Islands

• Cyprus

• Dominica

• Falkland Islnds

• Fiji

• Gambia

• Ghana

• Gibraltar

• Grenada

• Guernsey

• Guyana

• India

• Iraq

• Ireland

• Isle of Man

• Jamaica

• Jersey

• Jordan

• Kenya

• Kiribati

• Lesotho

• Malawi

• Malaysia

• Malta

• Mauritius

• Montserrat

• Mozambique

• Namibia

• Nauru

• New Zealand

• Nigeria

• Pakistan

• PapuaNewGuinea

• Pitcairn Islnds

• S. Sandwich Ins

• Seychelles

• Sierra Leone

• Singapore

• Solomon Islands

• Somalia

• South Africa

• Sri Lanka

• St. Helena

• St. Lucia

• St. Vincent

• St.Chr.,Nevis

• Swaziland

• Tanzania

• Tonga

• Trinidad,Tobago

• Turks&Caicos Is

• Tuvalu

• Uganda

• United Kingdom

• Vanuatu

• Western Samoa

• Zambia

• Zimbabwe

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Kitten

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