Stacey Yu Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Stacey Yu is a published American author.

She is a writer who originally grew up in California and resides in the city of London. She attended Columbia University where she studied English. Her first novel is Kitten.

Kitten is a 2026 book by Stacey Yu. This is an interesting debut novel where the story revolves around a young woman who has a building obsession with her boyfriend’s cat that could open her chances for her life. However, that ultimately will not happen without first threatening to unravel it.

Others had positive things to say about this book! Weike Wang says that this book lets Kitten explore the ‘funny yet unsettling complexities of modern love’. Kirkus Reviews called this novel a ‘kind of Gen Z parable of existential nihilism and a psychologically deft portrait of mother-daughter trauma’. It was picked as a Harper’s Bazaar Most Anticipated Book.

Katie is someone who is far from home and has just gotten out of college. She lives an adult life but is desperate to work her away around its demands. It is of no help that she is not currently on speaking terms with her mother. She also owes her roommate who is also her closest friend months of rent money.

Thankfully, her generous and self-assured boyfriend James is happy to be the one to make decisions for both of them. When James takes Katie to go on vacation to the seaside house owned by his family, he chooses to bring along his childhood cat Silver. Through this, Katie finds a strange and giddy connection.

There are so many things to admire about Silver. He doesn’t care that Katie is not able to get a job and that she can’t really hold her own at dinner parties. He doesn’t mind that she can’t make amends with her mother. Silver lies around all day and alternates between acting cute or misbehaving, but no matter how he acts, he always gets fed.

Strangely, Silver appears to have the life that Katie wants. Soon they are unable to be separated. Something inside of Katie also starts to crack open at the same time– or more worryingly, perhaps just cracking.

If Katie has found out anything from her mother, it’s the fact that devotion comes at a price. Katie’s affection for Silver gets deeper and as it does her other relationships begin struggling. It is then that she has to take on what she wants from life and what she might have to put on the line so that she can get it.

Playful, observant, and full of heart, this is a debut that you won’t want to miss. It deals with the uncertainty that comes with being a person in an age that can be as lonely as it is full of promise and hope. Read Kitten by Stacey Yu to follow along with every word!