The Nine Lives of Jacob Tibbs

Reviewed by: Mary Lehmer - Freeport Community Library, Freeport, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: January 2, 2017

Review

Jacob Tibbs is a ships cat, and he is telling the story. He was born on a ship in the mid 1800s and is in charge of ridding the ship of rats but also helping predict bad weather. When Jacob sets out on his first ship voyage, all kinds of things happen. There are storms, a mutiny, and even a few deaths among the crew. But no matter what, it's his job to get the captain and crew to believe that he, Jacob Tibbs, will be the best ship cat ever At first I wasn't sure about this story- it's a cat telling a story about sailing adventures. But it works. And, it's pretty easy to get caught up in the survival of the captain and crew on the ship. What makes the tale even better is that there were actually ships cats back in the mid 1800s. Nice historical fiction novel with an animal twist.

Overall Book Score: very good