A talking cat?

The Cat Who Saved Books ~ by Sōsuke Natsukawa, translated by Louise Heal Kawai, 2017, speculative fiction, 208 pages

Bookish high school student Rintaro Natsuki is about to close the secondhand bookstore he inherited from his beloved bookworm grandfather.  Then, a talking cat appears with an unusual request.  The feline asks for — or rather, demands — the teenager’s help in saving books with him.  The world is full of lonely books left unread and unloved, and the cat and Rintaro must liberate them from their neglectful owners. 

Their mission sends this odd couple on an amazing journey, where they enter different mazes to set books free.  Through their travels, the cat and Rintaro meet a man who leaves his books to perish on a bookshelf, an unwitting book torturer who cuts the pages of books into snippets to help people speed read, and a publishing drone who only wants to create bestsellers.

Their adventures culminate in one final and unforgettable challenge — the last maze that awaits leads Rintaro down a realm only the bravest dare enter.

This is a tale of books, first love, fantasy, and an unusual friendship with a talking cat.  It's a story for those for whom books are much more than words on paper.  Written by the #1 bestselling author in Japan, it's a celebration of books, cats, and the people who love them.