These Animals Are Killing Me by Katrina Morgan

Readers are invited to follow a typical, pulled-in-a-hundred-different-directions family through a year of hysterical and true-life interruptions. Their beloved pets create more havoc and chaos than deserved; a daring rescue across an icy pond as the ice cracks and the cold seeps through, harrowing trips to the veterinarian in which the protagonist arrives in worse shape than the animals, a ruined floor, and dead mice offerings. Add in pesky wildlife--a pig who helps hang Christmas lights, a brave mouse who takes up residence under the cat’s bowl, coyote howling next to an occupied hot tub, and a skunk who rudely interrupts a romantic interlude, and readers will be laughing and shaking their heads in incredulous disbelief. When main character, Katrina, has finally had enough, she stands with hands on hips and shouts, “These animals are killing me!” Readers will understand completely. The fast paced incidents will be most recognizable to adults who juggle and multi-task on a daily basis. The universal draw of animals adds a unique dimension. There are triumphs, surprises, failures and disappointments all told with twisted humor. At the end of each episode, small windows of clarity occur, in which the world rights itself momentarily and we remember what is important, what is right, what is good.