Otters in Space, by Mary E. Lowd

Review by Mamma Bear

In a dog-eat-dog world, there's little room for a cat with high ambitions, and even less for her feisty, alley cat sister...

Welcome to the world of Otters in Space, a future Earth where the pesky humans have wandered off to the stars and their overly loyal canines have remained to build society in their image and wait and wait... and wait for their return. It's not a great place to be a cat, and Kipper and her family know that as well as anyone. So when Kipper's sister decides to change the world and then mysteriously vanishes, there's nothing to do but suspect the worst.

Has Petra met with foul play, or has she gone on a wild goose hunt, searching for a way into space and the fabled cat utopia to be found there? Kipper intends to find out, and her own fantasies of the feline paradise drive her straight toward the space elevator and a whole lot of trouble.

Otters in Space takes a little while to get to the actual otters, but don't fret. They are there in spades for the second half of the book. It's a fun read and a solid adventure overflowing with furry characters to love, world-building that is unique and delightful, and a simple, sweet narrative that makes the book appropriate for any age.

Though I had a few quibbles with Kipper's logic, and occasionally disagreed with her choices, the read was engaging, fun, and full of delightful surprises like Emily the octopus chef, a whole band of otter space pirates, and the very concept of "rivers in the sky." As a first installment in this series, the world was infectious, and Otters in Space is a fantastic hook that will definitely make you seek out the next volume.

The ending puzzled me a little, in particular the non sequitur resolution of what actually happened to Petra, but it wasn't enough of an issue to detract from the real fun, which is Kipper's adventure and Lowd's wondrous vision of "otter space." This book will be a solid win for fans of lighter space opera, otters, and just plain fun.