Katie the Catsitter

At the start of the novel, Bethany is Katie’s best friend. They spend nearly all of their time together or talking to one another on the phone, and they desperately want to go to summer camp together. While their interests align at the start of the novel, Bethany appears to come from a much wealthier family than Katie. This is shown through her nicer apartment building and Bethany’s mom offering to pay for Katie to go to camp for a week.

Through the girls’ dynamic, the novel explores the theme of Changing Friendships and Growing Apart. Before Bethany leaves for camp, Katie and Bethany express how much they will miss one another and promise to write every day. Initially, they stick to their word, and not only do they write to one another every day, but they also put great care and attention into the way they decorate their postcards. However, this doesn’t last, as they each develop new interests as the summer progresses. The deterioration of their friendship is marked by the lack of decorations and less frequent postcards they each send and receive. While Bethany is very prominent early in the novel, she plays a bigger role in her distinct absence later on.

Because she is away at camp, Bethany’s transformation over the summer is communicated through her postcards, such as when she starts signing her name “Beth” instead of “Bethany.” Early in the novel, she takes great pains to correct several people who call her “Beth,” and insists her name is Bethany. This suggests that her name is not a minor detail, and that “Bethany” is initially a central part of her identity. The shift to signing her name “Beth” signals that she has undergone a significant change.

At the start of the novel, Bethany mocks Jess for having a crush on every boy she sees, including the Eastern Screech. However, this too changes; the content of her postcards becomes fixated on Ben, and her final postcard indicates she’s changed her opinion on the Eastern Screech, right after Katie has learned he is a fraud. This underscores the contrast between them.

Ms. Lang is Katie’s upstairs neighbor and is eventually revealed to be the Mousetress. She is kind, intelligent, and mysterious, and she serves as a role model and mentor for Katie throughout the novel. Her motivation for hiring Katie as a cat sitter appears to be twofold. On the one hand, she is aware of Katie’s financial need and wants to support her. Additionally, she recognizes Katie’s kindness toward animals and sees her as a potential sidekick.

Ms. Lang demonstrates two kinds of activism. By day, she fights for animal rights through legitimately recognized means, such as the protest she speaks at. By night, she dons the Mousetress costume and takes the law into her own hands by targeting people and businesses guilty of animal cruelty. This puts her at the heart of one of the novel’s central questions: Is it ethical or moral to do something that is illegal, like blowing up buildings, if it is for a cause that is generally considered right?

Ms. Lang is also aligned with another theme that runs throughout the novel, The Difference Between Appearances and Reality. Like many other characters, she is not what she appears to be. This works on multiple levels: She is both the Mousetress, which is not evident. Additionally, she is not the supervillain her reputation suggests.

Through her experiences with Ms. Lang, Katie gains a much more nuanced and complex understanding of right and wrong. The relationship greatly influences the person that Katie wants to be.

Katie’s mom plays a minor role in the story, partly because she is often at work or very tired from working so much. Nonetheless, she is another positive role model in Katie’s life and does everything she can to support and care for Katie. Her hard work provides an example that Katie follows when she decides she wants to try to earn the money for camp herself—especially when there is an offer from Bethany’s mom to pay for it.

Katie’s mom demonstrates a balance in her parenting approach: She knows what is going on in her daughter’s life while also giving her the space to work through her feelings on her own. For example, Katie’s mom knows something is off with Katie and Bethany’s relationship—she notices that there is much less glitter on the postcards than usual—but doesn’t force Katie to talk about it until she is ready. It is also clear how important spending time with her daughter is. For example, she puts aside her fears of wax figures to take Katie to The Wax Museum of Justice and spends her one night off helping Katie cat sit.

Mr. B is a fatherly figure to Katie. He owns and runs the bodega under Katie’s apartment. It is clear that Katie spends a lot of time down there because the two are very friendly and Katie often shares her feelings or asks him for advice. He also appears to be aware that she doesn’t have much money and often provides her with free groceries and meals.

Through Mr. B, the novel explores The Difference Between Appearances and Reality. There are several revelations toward the end of the novel that suggest Mr. B is much more than a simple bodega clerk. For example, Mr. B is perceptive, and recommends that Katie would be a good sidekick to the Mousetress. Additionally, he used to be a billionaire, something one wouldn’t expect.

Mr. B shows a positive side to extreme wealth, as he donated most of his money to help people and causes in need. He is not directly connected to something unethical or immoral. His inclusion complicates the novel’s stance on extreme wealth by providing a nontoxic model benefiting the community.