Crenshaw

Katherine Applegate won a Newbery award a few years ago for The One and Only Ivan.  In her latest story, rather than a gorilla, she has an imaginary cat as her title character.  His name is Crenshaw and he is brought into existence by the imagination of a boy who is going through some serious problems in his life.  Jackson likes truth...scientific truth.  But he can't face the truths in his life and that's where Crenshaw fits in.  This is a touching story about a family's struggles with poverty and a boy's need to feel more in control of his life.